Although slavery was abolished in the 19th century, it still exists today in different forms and names all over the world. Now-a- days, modern slavery includes human trafficking, forced labour, slavery or slavery-like practices such as servile marriage, forced marriage, sale or exploitation of children, debt bondage etc. It was prohibited by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1956 UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery.
According to the Global Slavery Index 2013, almost 29.8 million people are living in conditions of modern-day slavery all over the world. The index was published by the Walk Free Foundation, an Australia-based rights organisation. The index, which gave ranking to 162 countries, said India has almost 14 million slaves, followed by China at 2.9 million and Pakistan at 2.1 million. Three quarters (76 per cent) of those trapped in modern slavery are concentrated in just 10 countries.
What is the situation of modern slavery in Bangladesh? According to the index, Bangladesh is in the 10th position in terms of the total estimated number of enslaved people in 162 countries. But considering the ranking (as a proportion of enslaved people of the overall population) Bangladesh is in the 71st position where Mauritania, Haiti, Pakistan, India and Nepal respectively ranked first, second, third, fourth and fifth. Although Bangladesh is in a good position, still the estimated number of enslaved people is quite alarming. The index said about 3,30,000-3,60,000 people are trapped in modern slavery in Bangladesh. The government, concerned authorities and people of the country need to be more cautious to resist modern-day slavery. Otherwise, our situation will also deteriorate like Pakistan and India.
In Bangladesh, slavery exists in different forms such as human trafficking, sex trafficking, forced labour, forced child labour, domestic servitude, forced begging, forced marriage etc. Hereditary slavery is found too in Bangladesh among tea garden workers and prostitutes. In Bangladesh, modern-day enslaved people, specifically women and child labourers, are also found in fields (agricultural sector) and factories who labour under brutal and unscrupulous employers. Some enslaved people also work in homes for families that keep them virtually imprisoned. Moreover, some people are forced to beg in the streets.
Victims of modern slavery have their freedom denied. They are used, controlled and exploited by another person for profit, sex, or the thrill of domination. They are also ill-paid or unpaid. In some cases, they are kept in isolation. They are physically and mentally tortured so that they can not escape from their chained or enslaved life. The causes that are responsible for modern-day slavery in Bangladesh are poverty, lack of awareness, illiteracy, hereditary obligation, forced marriage, tendency of earning more income or profit, sexual exploitation and involvement of the most powerful section of people in slavery-like activities.
In the last five years, the government took a number of initiatives to reduce poverty as well as remove illiteracy and forced marriage. But still more effective initiatives have to be taken to remove modern-day slavery with combined efforts from the government and the non-governmental organisations. The government needs to extend its social security network programme to remove poverty. All the families of tea garden workers and vulnerable groups of people should be brought under the social security network. The government should encourage people to be engaged in the agricultural sector by providing incentives to prevent their exodus to towns only for earning money. Punitive actions with proper monitoring should be taken for removing child labour and forced marriage under the existing laws. Alternative education programme with vocational training should start in tea gardens, slums, red-light areas and other areas where vulnerable groups of people live. An initiative to organise frequent awareness programme should be taken both in towns and villages to make aware people aware of human trafficking, sex trafficking, forced marriage and forced child labour. There should be laws regulating norms and wages for servants/maid servants and prostitutes. Sufficient number of day-care centres should be established for rearing up children of working women just to discourage domestic servitude.
Modern-day slavery is not always apparently visible in Bangladesh. It remains hidden within houses, communities and worksites. Moreover, it happens under the guidance or direct involvement of influential persons of society. Modern slavery is not always as self-evident as some other crimes like homicide or even theft are. So we should be more careful to stop it.
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