Ordeal of a girl forced into prostitution
ISLAMABAD: Thirteen-year-old Kiran Javed, who escaped a prostitution den in Jhelum, was regularly subjected to violence by the brothel owner.
In her court statement, Kiran said her stepfather Shaukat and real mother Allah Rakhi had sold her for Rs100,000 to Parveen, who ran the whorehouse.
Narrating her ordeal to The News she said that she was forced into prostitution and taken regularly to Kosar Hotel for this purpose, along with another minor girl.
ìParveen had many other girls but the two of us were the youngest and she used to let clients have a look at us first,î she said, still feeling insecure and tense.
“When I was first taken to the hotel, I thought I would have to wash dishes and clean up rooms but the way I was forced to dress made me suspicious,î she recalled, adding that she was told nothing would happen.
As she spoke, tears rolled down her eyes. “Saying no to the clients upset the people running the brothel and I got beaten up – I had to provide services every night although at times my entire body used to be full of bruises.”
Kiran said her mother used to visit the brothel only to make her obey Parveen’s orders. “She used to hit me if I ever complained.”
Always wanting to run away, the little girl finally got the chance she had been waiting for on July 31. “I lied to my client about my mother’s death and managed to escape along with another girl.”
She planned to head to Lahore to be with her real father but mistakenly took the van to Rawalpindi where two elderly women helped her reach a police station. “I had hidden Rs300 from Parveen, especially for this day.”
Kiran’s real father sells ‘Parathas’ filled with minced meat in Muridke. When her parents divorced she went with her mother along with her elder sister while both brothers stayed with the father.
“My father is a noble person and I want to go to him,” she said pointing out that she was still not out of danger as the brothel people were chasing her.
She had fled school because of corporal punishment and has hence remained uneducated. She does not remember the exact address of her real father but seems to have a fair idea of the locality. “Can you people take me to my father,” she asked twisting her fingers.
According to the assessment of her lawyer, Syed Almas Husain Shah, her story was true. “She narrated the entire tale with peculiar details, which is difficult to do in fake cases,” he told The News.
In majority of the cases relating to selling girls for illicit purposes, Shah said that girls were given into Nikah at the time of selling. “That is the usual way culprits avoid legal action,” he explained.
He said under Section 13 and 14 of ëProtection of Women Act 2006’, Parveen and her accomplices could be sentenced to life imprisonment with up to 30 lashes. “Selling or buying a person for prostitution carries the same punishment but mostly such dens are prepared to handle legal complications.”
Source: The News
Date:8/5/2008
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