Page 9 - 15DEC2019E-5

SOCIAL CHANGE

n 2003, Meera* from Malda, West August 2019. Nevertheless, the trend of fer equal representation to trafficked
Bengal was only 16 when she was bride trafficking doesn’t seem to end in brides, the state’s Kharkari village has
sold off as a ‘bride’ to Vijay* in Me- the state anytime soon. started a massive campaign called
wat, Haryana, who was ten years Many decades have passed but Har- Pardeshi Bahu Hamaari Shaan (non-
I older than her. After just two years yana’s brides (from outside the state) state brides are our pride). With this
of marriage, she was again sold to a are still tagged as mall ki bahu (shop- initiative, Kharkari becomes India’s first
party at a price of 50,000. The reason? ping mall brides), a term that has led the village to come forward to fight against
She had given birth to two daughters. whole state to fall into disgrace. Though bride trafficking.
A year after Meera was married off the state government takes the credit The convenor of the campaign Pard-
the first time, another 15-year-old girl for improving the sex ratio, giving it eshi Bahu Hamaari Shaan, Sunil Jaglan,
from Assam, Laxmi*, was sold off as another reason to boast about the mas- chose Kharkari to kick-start the cam-
a bride to 29-year-old Naresh in Jind, sive campaign — Beti Bachao, Beti Pad- paign on 26 October, 2019, after seeing
Haryana. Post her wedding, Laxmi was hao — it is still far from shedding its a positive outlook among the villagers
made to forcibly either work in Nar- label as the state of mall ki bahus. to fight the decades old taboo of bride
esh’s farm or rear the family’s cattle. To- However, a glimmer of hope has trafficking.
day, with only a vague hold of her iden- emerged as at least some parts of the Jaglan, who is the director of Selfie
tity, she lives a life of a widow with her state have been actively coming out With Daughter Foundation, has estab-
two sons and no property to her name. against trafficking and are taking lished the campaign named Pardeshi
Meera and Laxmi’s cases are not steps to save the victims. In a bid to of- Bahu Hamaari Shaan to honour the

Haryana men vow to stand

for rights of ‘sold brides’

In a bid to offer equal representation to sold brides, the state’s Kharkari village becomes India’s
first village to fight against bride trafficking with a massive campaign called Pardeshi Bahu
Hamaari Shaan and the upcoming marriage registration camp, reports pari saikia

exceptional. Bride trafficking is quite brides bought from other states and
common in a state like Haryana where also to help shed the tag of ‘sold brides.’
many men are compelled to look for Speaking with the reporter, Jaglan
wives outside their community due says, “I am fighting for the rights of traf-
to a skewed gender ratio within the ficked brides in the patriarchal society
community — a problem sowed by the of Haryana who were illegally bought,
members of this community itself. lured or forced into coming to our state.
There are many cases that tell the It’s time that these brides should be
ordeal of trafficked brides from other A glimmer of hope has honoured with full respect as they are
states where they were treated as one of us now.”
commodity, mostly brought at a price emerged as at least “Haryana is mostly known for all the
( 20,000 to 1,50,000 and above) to take some parts of the state wrong reasons to the outside world.
care of household chores, work as free But, the time has come now to own up
labour at farms or otherwise, for pro- have been actively to our mistake and give the equal sta-
ducing sons as heir for the families. coming out against tus to the trafficked brides who were
A recent report released by the state bought to the state from parts of West
government claims that the abysmal bride trafficking and Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
sex ratio in Haryana has improved are taking steps to and others,” says Sunil.
from 832 girls for every 1,000 boys The Selfie With Daughter Founda-
in 2012 to 920 girls per 1000 boys in save the victims tion, a prominent name in the annals
9