This story is from February 18, 2020

West Bengal man ignores sex worker’s past, embarks on a happily-ever-after journey with lady love

The month of love saw a fairy-tale end to a young girl’s life of torment and struggle. The girl, who had been forced into flesh trade and sold to a brothel, got married to a man, who agreed to spend their lives together, undeterred by her past. The happy couple has set up home and dreams to start a business together. It’s now, a whole new life for Sulekha, the name given by the NGO that rescued her. Forced into sex trade and kidnapped to a brothel, Sulekha had suffered years of pain and abuse at the hands of pimps. She said she had given up hopes to ever be free again, leave alone get married.
West Bengal man ignores sex worker’s past, embarks on a happily-ever-after journey with lady love
The couple on their wedding day
KOLKATA: The month of love saw a fairy-tale end to a young girl’s life of torment and struggle.
The girl, who had been forced into flesh trade and sold to a brothel, got married to a man, who agreed to spend their lives together, undeterred by her past. The happy couple has set up home and dreams to start a business together. It’s now, a whole new life for Sulekha, the name given by the NGO that rescued her.
Forced into sex trade and kidnapped to a brothel, Sulekha had suffered years of pain and abuse at the hands of pimps. She said she had given up hopes to ever be free again, leave alone get married.
Sulekha and her family lived in Haldiam where they sold puffed rice for a living. She was just 15 years old when she was thrown out of the house by her grandmother. She had just lost her father and her mother being an invalid, could not stop the physical assaults on her. “One day, she kicked me out of the house and my poor mother could do nothing. I landed up at the Mecheda railway station. I sat there, begging for work, when two men approached me and said there was a household that would employ me as a domestic help, pay me and give me food. I agreed. They gave me something to eat. The next I opened my eyes, I was in a brothel. I was beaten mercilessly by the owner and forced into sex trade. I tried to escape several times but was always caught and brought back,” Sulekha said.
She was yet to be 18 when the brothel was raided, reportedly at the behest of International Justice Mission, an NGO that rescued trafficked girls and rehabilitated them. Sulekha was sent to a home in Narendrapur till she turned 18. Thereafter, she was trained at the bakery of one of the best-known heritage confectionery brands on Park Street, so that she could start out on her own. “Though I yearn to start baking again, the person I fell in love with, worked in a bag-stitching unit near Kasba and he encouraged me to join him there. He looked after me and after a period of courtship, proposed marriage. I did not hide my past from him. I often pinch myself to check if I am still dreaming,” she said.
Sujoy (name changed), is a happy man. He dreams of saving enough money so that he can set up a cake-making unit for his wife. “That’s her second dream and I will fulfil it somehow,” he said.
IJM spokesperson Saji Philip said, “This is the first time that I have come across a case, in which a rescued girl revealed her identity to the man she loved and he still went ahead with the wedding. We feel fulfilled in our mission.”
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