Hyderabad: 7 out of 10 slaves women

Hyderabad: Seven out of 10 people in the modern slavery system are women, reveals the report by Freedom fund, a United Kingdom (UK)-based organisation, after a four years of rigorous study in hotspots of India, Ethiopia and Nepal by considering women and girls as significant target group.

The figures reveal that more women than men are subjected to forced labour in the private sector, women comprise the overwhelming majority of victims of commercial sexual exploitation and women are more likely to be living in forced marriages. 

Experts stated that slavery continues to thrive behind closed doors, and it is women and girls who are most affected. In many countries, the simple fact of being female creates a heightened risk of becoming a victim of slavery. Pervasive gender discrimination means that girls are marginalised, treated as second-class citizens within their communities and viewed as an economic burden by their families. 

Ms Sowmya Decha-mma, assistant professor at University of Hyderabad, said that, “Not just the bonded labour but also lot of unpaid domestic work is almost equivalent to slavery for which ma-ny women are suffering in the nooks and corners of the country.

The Freedom funds report, “Her Freedom, Her voice” provides more insights about the women exploitation, the team has explored southern and northern parts of  India differently and found that, in Southern India up to 80 per cent of workers in cotton spinning mills are female, and most are adolescent girls from lower castes. Girls are recruited to work under fraudulent pretences and lack basic employment rights and protections. Many work more than 60 hours a week.