Sex trafficking: The untold exploitations of Bangladeshi women in India

Every year, many girls are trafficked out of Bangladesh with the promise of a better life abroad, only to end up in the underbelly of cities like Mumbai and Pune, India.

An investigation takes a look into this dark world that involves brokers and law enforcers on both sides of the border.

In the bustling heart of Pune lies Budhwar Peth, India's third largest redlight area tracing back to the 18th century and home to around 110 brothels.

Bangla music from a shop selling tea and biscuits mixes with the horns and the chatter. Dotted amidst the shops that line its cramped narrow lanes are many old wooden door frames, some coloured powder blue or green but most left in their original shade, all with cracks that tell their age.

From the busy lanes, these door frames look like they lead to dark nothingness.

One of these frames leads to a long corridor where the only light source is the lamp lit in front of photos of Hindu gods.

The corridor, that can barely fit two people, leads to a narrower corridor with three doors on both sides. The doors on the right lead to identical looking rooms with a single metal cot with a bare mattress and a pillow. The cot is flushed to the walls on three sides with only enough space to close the door on the fourth side. On the left, exactly opposite to each door is a small squat toilet.

The only light source in the space is the yellow light bulb in the corridor.

The exterior wooden walls of the rooms are tilting and the yellow oil paint, reflecting the light from the bulb, is peeling in many parts.

In rooms like these live some 800 to 900 commercial sex workers, and over 20 percent of them, numbering around 200 to 250, are Bangladeshi girls and women, multiple sources within rescue networks.

Every year, many girls are trafficked out of Bangladesh with the promise of a better life abroad, only to end up in the underbelly of cities like Mumbai and Pune, an investigation by this newspaper has found. 

Many Bangladeshi sex workers, once victims themselves, now serve as brothel managers, perpetuating the vicious cycle. They employ fellow countrywomen, who later become traffickers responsible for bringing new girls from Bangladesh into the clutches of these brothels.

Pakhi (a pseudonym), a Bangladeshi woman, runs her own brothel.

The outfit is modest by any standards -- a rented flat where she guides five girls, earning Tk 12,000 per day through their sex work.

During our multiple visits to this brothel in May this year, we saw that whenever any customers came to a girl, the other girls gave them space and waited outside.

Fifteen years have elapsed since Pakhi, then a young 20-year-old woman from Jashore, left her home with her husband. The path to Budhwar Peth was not of her choosing.

What Pakhi thought was a blissful arranged marriage took a dark turn when she discovered her husband's gambling addiction, which plunged the family into financial turmoil. Her husband suggested they cross the border to Mumbai, where he promised better opportunities awaited. Naively, Pakhi agreed.

"We crossed the border by paying Tk 10,000 to brokers," she recounted of her journey in 2008.

But her husband and the brokers had a different plan, and Pakhi soon found herself sold to a brothel in Pune for two lakh rupees, about Tk 2.67 lakh in today's Bangladeshi currency.

The initial days were fraught with despair, as escape seemed impossible and Pakhi was not paid a single penny during this period, except for some tips from the customers.

"I only received cosmetics and food thrice a day," said Pakhi, while sharing the experiences. Food was basic meals of lentils, rice, and seasonal vegetables.