Bride trafficking has emerged as a veritable menace in the eastern states of India. Poor women from states like Assam, Orissa, Bihar etc. are trafficked into Haryana and Punjab by enticing them with dreams of a better future. Once trafficked, they are sold off as brides to anyone who is willing to pay, after which they are mostly subjugated to a life of slavery with basically no rights and are often abused, both mentally and physically. They are also often sold forward to other men repeatedly. Even after they are rescued, these women usually have nowhere to go as their families do not accept them due to prevalent stigma and they remain ostracised by the community at large. With the COVID-19 crisis, innumerable survivors were abandoned by their “buyer families”, and even from shelter homes and brothels, leading to an unprecedented scale of reverse migration towards Assam, a major source area for trafficking. Many women walked more than a thousand miles back “home” but they remain unwelcome because of the stigma and have no room for settling in or being accepted into the social fabric; leaving them prone to be re-trafficked or appropriated by the trafficking ring to become agents for trafficking of other vulnerable young girls in those areas.

There is a dire need for creating a conducive environment for these returnees, addressing their rehabilitation needs and implementing preventive measures for women and girls who are especially vulnerable to trafficking in the area; which would include provision of education and skills for employment and financial independence.

The target area of the project falls under the Char regions of Dhubri in Assam. These are regions of the river Brahmaputra that undergo repeated flooding and erosion which forces the dwellers to migrate every year thus never allowing them to settle indefinitely. They also lack access to proper education and amenities which has resulted in them being acutely marginalised and interminably vulnerable. This has led to high rates of trafficking in these areas. Hence there is a need for effective intervention in these areas.