Survivor Series: I will fight for justice and the upliftment of survivors like me

My name is Sarifa Khatun and I am 23 years old.  I live in Swarup Nagar Block in North 24 Parganas. When I was 20 years old, I met a man named Sarajit Mondal. He lived in the neighbouring village Goalpokhar and I instantly fell in love with him. At the time, I was a first-year student. We started meeting often, and one day, Sarajit asked me to marry him. 

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He also convinced me to elope with him and bring 30 grams of gold that my family had along with a sum of Rs 80,000. We then went to Mumbai. We lived together for two months before he sold me to someone for Rs four lakh. I was held captive for two months, during which I was subjected to unimaginable physical and mental trauma by the person I had been sold to. 

One day, I managed to escape and stowed away on a train to Howrah without a penny to my name. Despite having no money, I struggled and managed to reach my village.  

I was so relieved when I got home. But that relief was short-lived. I was subjected to heavy discrimination and no one wanted anything to do with me, or even speak with me. This added to my trauma, which left me feeling more dejected with no sense of self-esteem. The only person who supported me through this all was my mother.  

I decided to reach out to Seva Sadan, a local support group in Goalpokhar, where I met Rebecca Khatun who counselled me to deal with my grief, overcome my fears. For the first time, I understood that none of what had happened was my fault. 

That is also when I realised that I wanted to raise my voice and work to empower survivors of trafficking. Today, I am an active leader in Bijoyini, a collective of survivors of human trafficking. I have been trained by the organisation, which has added to my confidence and capacity to do better.  

I am currently working with other survivors by helping them to be more confident and bold, and to claim their rights and bravely deal with the stigma surrounding trafficking. It is my mission that my experience and training will inspire survivors to take charge and fight for justice. My life’s objective is to punish the person who made me suffer and preyed on my trust. I want to be an active part of changing the negative stereotypes attached to trafficking survivors to ensure that nobody experiences the pain that I did. 

I have joined Indian Leadership Forum Against Trafficking (ILFAT) to advocate for anti-trafficking legislation, eradicate trafficking from society, and fight for justice and the upliftment of survivors like me.