As a 16-year-old, all that I knew and cared for was to ace my boards and to get admission in a good college. Little did I know of the thousands of girls my age who regularly go missing in the dark world of prostitution.

Celebrating Mother’s Day at The Conclave on May 16, YFLO (Young Ficci Ladies Organisation) focused its attention on human trafficking with Trace Your Trafficking Footprints, a discussion with Leena Kejriwal, who started the MISSING campaign to raise awareness about girls that fall prey to trafficking and disappear forever. On the panel were Aklima Gaji and Chhayatan Gayen, whose daughters were trafficked and then rescued.

What is the reason behind girls going missing in large numbers? “As the demand for sex workers rises, more girls are abducted or lured into this business. It is the urban dwellers that create the demand, whereas the rural dwellers form the supply,” said Leena, a photographer, sharing hard-hitting facts and figures with the audience.

“The average age of girls in the sex market has dropped to seven and children are sold for as low as Rs 5,000. Ninety per cent of 12-year-old children watch porn and get sex education in the most inappropriate way. Sex trafficking is a human issue made worse by pornography. If people are watching more child porn, then child trafficking rises,” added Leena.

The mothers, Aklima and Chhayatan, narrated how they lost their daughters and fought to get them back. “Women in rural areas often end up being traded in prostitution as sex traffickers lure them in the name of employment,” said folk arts curator Nandita Palchoudhuri, who moderated the discussion.

Text: Sayani Chatterjee