Women escape from forced life as prostitutes

Dubai: Two women who were duped into coming to the UAE on the pretext of being offered jobs and then forced into prostitution managed to escape from their "agents" yesterday.

A man who encountered them near the Kuwaiti Roundabout in Sharjah and asking motorists for a ride took them to the Sharjah Indian Association from where they were taken to the Indian consulate's shelter in Dubai.

"We were forced to entertain 23 to 25 men a day. I have three children back home and I came here to work as a cleaner. I have not been paid at all. I am also scared ... what if I have contracted some disease," one of the women told Gulf News.

"I have got in touch with the Department of Non-Resident Indian Affairs in Kerala as well as the Indian Minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi and gave details about the two women who were brought here on the pretext of being given jobs," said K.A Mathews, president of the Indian Association Sharjah.

Revolt

Mathews said the women, both Indians, did not fly directly from Kerala to the UAE but came via a neighbouring country.

In a written statement to the association, the women ages 31 and 32, said they were married and had come to the UAE on September 10 on a visit visa.

The visas were provided by a travel agent for Indian rupees 10,000 (about Dh800) each. The agents whom they dealt with in Kerala had promised them jobs as cleaners in a hospital in the UAE.

One of the women said the news of her father's death forced her to revolt against the agents.

"Since I came here I have not called home, so one of the agent's men whose job was to guard us took pity on me and gave his mobile phone to me. I telephoned home only to hear my father had died.

"I desperately wanted to go home and asked the agent to give me my passport back. But he refused."

They were kept in a flat in Sharjah.

Ten days ago the women refused to entertain any more men. As punishment they were taken to a building near the Kuwaiti Roundabout and locked in a flat.

"For the first couple of the days the agents' men came with food, but later their visits stopped. Left alone, we planned our escape. We came across a screwdriver... slowly we unscrewed the lock and got out of the flat early in the morning. All along we kept our fingers crossed no one would come to the flat," said one of the women.

Authorities should take strict measures against those criminals in order to put an end to human trafficking and other similar practices. They deserve a life sentence.
Rania
Dubai,UAE

It still surprises me after having left the UAE two years ago, that this type of thing is still going on. The UAE needs to stop these agents from being able to bring people into the country under false pretences and maybe they should review the immigration as something is still going very wrong.
Tahani
Brighton,UK

I wonder how this crime can take place in a country which claims to be safe specially for women. I think the authorities should take action as stiff as possible against culprits so that such heinous crimes are not committed again.
Hamid
Sharjah,UAE

A lot of people are puzzled as to why it is so easy now to get prostitutes in Dubai? Why has it become so open and accessible? Is it part of 'satisfying' the tourism industry? UAE government needs to crack DOWN hard on the sex trade here, police raids on a massive scale should be carried out on agents, death penalties or deportation should be implemented on the people responsible. And rehab/support centres should be opened for the victims.
Baz
Abu Dhabi,UAE

I would suggest that the Indian Consulate take advanced steps in stopping these inhuman acts together with local police authorities. I am sure there might be several more cases like this and it?s like a warning for all of us. The public should also support the local authorities by providing them with any such information they get within their neighbourhoods.
Sanjay
Sharjah,UAE

The agents should be punished so that no one will do this in future. Here the agents are sinners and the women innocent, so let them go home as soon as possible.
Rijo
Dubai,UAE

This is really very very bad, and the concerned authorities should punish the agents and ban his trade license. This is very shameful.
Tajjammul
Dubai,UAE

I feel sad for these women. The agents must be punished, these ladies must get their justice.
Rajesh
Ajman,UAE

I don't have the words to say about what is going on, but I hope the authorities will take action against the agent.
Faheem
Abu Dhabi,UAE

The authorities should punish the agents by means of severe imprisonment and by imposing huge fines, with the amounts being given to the relatives of these ladies. I hope Indian Association will make arrangements for their immediate departure.
Muhsin
Sharjah,UAE

This is not happening for the first time. Everyone knows this has been happening for many years but no one wants to help, no one want to fight for them. We want only to live for ourself. You heard only these two women's case so you are saying release these women as soon as possible but what about others who are suffering and living in the hell? Everyone knows but no one want to do ...
Sandeep
Dubai,UAE

We are all to be blamed for this ruthless treatment of these women. Prostitution should be completely banned in this country. Each of us should take some time and spirit to track down such brothels being operated in this country and we should report it to the concerned authorities. Don't close your eyes when you come across crimes.
Mohammed
Dubai,UAE

This is an act of violence against women. I salute these women who have shown extreme courage in speaking out about their experiences and demanding justice.
Angie
Dubai,UAE

It's such a pity and we may not even want to imagine what they might have gone through.
Vandana
Dubai,UAE

Such people should be punished severely, who in the name of jobs commit crime.
Yatish
Sharjah,UAE

The goverments of the UAE and India should punish them for using needy people in this way.
Samir
,Kuwait

I feel very bad for all those ladies who got trapped into prostitution. This is an Islamic country and still we can find prostitutes roaming the streets at night.
Irfan
Dubai,UAE

Some people are just so greedy about money that they don't care about the families of these women back home.
Josie
Dubai,UAE

Severe punishment should be given and exposed to the news so the rest of the world can see it.I am sorry for those victims.
Mohammad
Abu Dhabi,UAE

I really feel pity for these two women who came here to protect their families, and this is what is happening.
Baiju
Dubai,UAE

I feel sad about the incident. We have to punish these culprits so that in the future nobody can dare do the same act.
Leena
Mumbai,India

It's not unknown that these unlawful things happen in Dubai, but what makes it worse is that people are not people anymore and are instead turned into machines with no feelings or emotions.
Harjeev S.B.
Dubai,UAE

These women should be released and the Indian authorities should arrange new jobs for them.
Sharaf
Thiruvananthapuram,India

Please send them to back to India as soon as posible.
Mohammad
Karnataka,India

The media reports such cases many times, but still girls are getting trapped.
Fayarus
Dubai,UAE

The culprits should get life-long jail term for this unhuman act.
Hary
Tallil,Iraq

At any cost, everyone should help the officers in investigating.
Jack
Haryana,India

The authorities should catch these people and take legal action against them.sharafjebel alidubai
sharaf
Thiruvananthapuram,India

Many ladies come abroad to work only to earn for their families, but many are cheated for the sake of flesh. It's really a pathetic situation for ladies.
Roopa
Bangalore,India

I think this is happening a lot here and the government should take serious action.
Yasir
Dubai,UAE

There really needs to be better control of recruitment agencies to stop this. Maybe they should also be made more accountable.
RV
Dubai,UAE

This sort of incident keeps happening here. It is a shame that our own Indians cheat our Indian ladies. It hurts to see them cry. Please save them and let us put a full stop to this problem. Also the ladies should be warned to be more careful when making a decision about working out of country.
Nalini
Dubai,UAE

Release these women as soon as possible. Don't use them like prostitutes.
Yusuf
Sharjah,UAE

The authorities must crack down on the agents and severely punish them in such a way that no other agent will dare to do such an inhumane act with other unfortunate ladies who do not have many options in life. It's a pity that, in a country like UAE, people are able to play with the law and get away with it! What ever happened to all the visa controls for young ladies traveling alone?
Khan
Dubai,UAE

If that's the reality than I am sorry for Indians who do this.
Rohit
Jaipur,India

I feel sad for these women. The authorities should punish agents who exploit women.
Girish
Dubai,India