BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

ENSLAVEMENT ACROSS BORDERS : THE CASE OF TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN BANGLADESH

Author: Sumaiya Kabir

DOI Link: DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2004v25n3a3

ABSTRACT

Over the years, trafficking of women and children has gained considerable importance as a humanitarian and social security issue in Bangladesh. Unemployment and abject poverty have instigated labour migration and international trafficking of women and children who are sold into virtual slavery where they are treated, transferred and traded as merchandise. Although there is no reliable quantitative data that indicate the extent of human trafficking in Bangladesh, findings of media reports and NGOs working in this area reveal that trafficking of women and children from Bangladesh into bordering areas and beyond has spiralled to alarming proportions in recent times. The present paper attempts to analyse the underlying dynamics of the problem of trafficking in women and children, and explores the ways of means of dealing with the problem.