A young woman from Chin State, Burma was rescued from the clutches of another woman, seemingly involved in trafficking in women, by Mara community officials based in New Delhi the capital of India.

The 25-year old woman holding a Saudi Arabian domestic work permit and a fake passport from Nepal, provided by the unidentified woman trafficker, was to be sent to Saudi Arabia.

“She was to depart for Saudi Arabia with her fake documents, but we rescued her on Monday after being tipped off,” said a Mara community leader from New Delhi.

The woman was lured by some women traffickers and has been identified as the daughter of Mr. Va Long, Paletwa Township, Chin state. She was doing odd jobs in Saiha town of Mizoram state, Northeast India.

“They (traffickers) got me the passport. I do not understand the process of going to a foreign country. I only thought of getting more money to support my family,” said the hapless woman, who is being cared for by the New Delhi Mara community.

It learnt that the woman was issued visitors permit instead of a work permit for Saudi Arabia and could stay for just 40 days. The women traffickers took money over two years after luring the woman.

“The woman could stay in Saudi Arabia with the permit for a limited period. Her passport would have been confiscated putting her at risk,” said a leader of the Mara community.

The Mara community helps asylum seekers from Burma through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in New Delhi.

Mizoram police says that since 2009 trafficking in mostly poor women from rural families has been on with the promise of good jobs for their daughters, but in reality, they sell the girls to brothel owners in towns and cities like New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata in India, making between Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000 for each girl. The police estimate that around 20 per cent of the girls in India’s big city brothels come from the northeast. - Khonumthung News