Sex trafficking from Pakistan to China
This week, AP obtained a list of 629 Pakistani girls and women that since 2018 have been sold as brides to Chinese men. As read on the National Post, it is believed that they were all sold to the grooms by their families.
Woman in wedding dress. / Photo: Pexels – Reference image
The Woman Post | Luisa Fernanda Báez Toro
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Leer en español: Tráfico sexual de Pakistán a China
The list of victims was compiled by police since 2018 as an effort to break up these trafficking networks exploiting the country's poor and vulnerable women, reveals the Daily Mail.
According to The Times-News, the information revealed on this list includes the brides' national identity numbers, names of their Chinese husbands and dates of their marriages.
“No one is doing anything to help these girls. The whole racket is continuing, and it is growing. Why? Because they know they can get away with it”, said an anonymous official to AP.
According to Daily Mail, women are being sold for as much as $65,000 but, according to the police, they are often sold for as little as $1,500.
Earlier this year, AP revealed that Pakistani-Christian girls are at the highest risk of being trafficked as brides to China, usually because they belong to some of the poorest communities in Pakistan.
When the brides get to China, they find themselves isolated, at higher risk of being abused and unable to communicate, relying on translation apps to ask for water.
Also read: Where is it safe to be a woman in the world?
What is being done?
As read on The Telegraph, these sex trafficking investigations have reportedly ground to a halt because of government reluctance to harm ties with Beijing. Women that originally testified are being threatened or bribed into silence and there is a lot of pressure on investigators.
China's Foreign Ministry said he was unaware of the list.
“The two governments of China and Pakistan support the formation of happy families between their people on a voluntary basis in keeping with laws and regulations, while at the same time having zero tolerance and resolutely fighting against any person engaging in illegal cross-border marriage behavior,” the ministry said in a statement.
Also, as read on Geo TV, the Ministry of Public Security of China launched an investigation regarding these connections and found no evidence of women being sold, or that there was forced prostitution and a sale of human organs going on.
"It is clear that certain media has made groundless story again without full investigation and inrespect of the facts. Its intention is very suspicious," was said in the statement. We will never allow a few criminals to undermine China-Pakistan friendship and hurt the friendly feelings between two peoples. We also hope that media reports should seek truth from facts”, he said.
