This month, Apne Aap invites you to join us in the global fight to end trafficking by making a donation in support of our work. Below are some of the latest stories from the field and updates on our advocacy initiatives. | |
Apne Aap Founder Featured on 20/20 Special on Gendercide
Apne Aap Founder and President, Ruchira Gupta, was featured on ABC's 20/20 this Friday in their investigation on Gendercide in India. Coupled with the recent World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report showing nearly no progress in India's treatment of women and girls, this segment paints a grim picture for the future of females in the country. As this year draws to a close, please make an investment in empowering women and girls and help Apne Aap turn this trend around -- donate today! Watch the Segment > Donate in Support of Indian Girls > |
Advocacy to End Sex Trafficking Students Take on Trafficking This past weekend, Apne Aap partners SHAPATH continued their campus advocacy to end sex trafficking at the three day long Neev celebration at Symbiosis College. Students sold wristbands in support of the cause and collected signatures on our petition to amend the Indian anti-trafficking law. The events included a concert, panel discussion, documentary filmmaking contest, and a street play! Congratulations to SHAPATH for all their effort! Civil Society Leadership  Apne Aap Founder and President was awarded the Karmaveer Puraskaar Award for leadership in Civil Society by iCONGO and CtrlS. On receiving the award, Ruchira noted "it is because of the courage of women in prostitution today that we are able to make a difference against the traffickers, against the pimps, customers, brothel managers, transporters, recruiters, all who are constantly trying to prey upon these poor and low caste girls, selling them to brothels so that they can be raped repeatedly. It is because of their voices that I was able to get their story out; it is because of their courage that we were able to get their daughters into school; and it is because of their hard work that they are gaining the ability to access livelihoods, open bank accounts, demand legal protection, and testify against traffickers to get them put in jail." Spreading our Message Globally Ruchira Gupta and Apne Aap's US representative, Zoë Young spoke to student groups at Princeton and Temple Universities last month -- informing students about the issues of sex trafficking globally and what young people can do to end the trade. Apne Aap was invited to speak at Princeton by student group, PAST - Princeton Against Sex Trafficking - a newly formed student group who are campaigning tirelessly to raise awareness of sex trafficking. The group is working on a documentary, speaker series, line of survivor-made products and more. We can't wait to see what the future has in store! Apne Aap Communications Officer, Anindita Roy, represented Apne Aap at the "No to Domestic Violence" conference hosted by UNFPA and Hurriyet Newspaper in Turkey last month. Speaking before an audience of Turkish Government officials, practitioners, activists, journalists, lawyers and academics, Anindita discussed the exploitation of women in India and the intersection of violence against women and trafficking. The audience was astounded to hear about the scope and impunity of the trafficking network in India, and Turkish government officials committed to taking steps to end violence against women. |
Excerpted from the Red Light Despatch - Apne Aap's newspaper by and for the women and girls of India's red light districts. If My Mother Were Educated... By Karishma Khatoon Forbesganj, Bihar: My name is Karishma Khatoon and I am 13 years old. I am in 7th standard and I stay in the residential school, KGBV, managed by Apne Aap Women Worldwide. We celebrated International Literacy Day this year at our school and I participated in activities like elocution and drawing competitions. When I was taking part I realised that if my mother was also educated and had received these opportunities then she would not have been forced to live in a red light area. She would not have become addicted to drugs and alcohol. Instead, she fell ill and today is nearing death at a young age. If she could have had an education she would have led a life of her choosing rather than be forced to obey others. If she was educated she would have had her own earnings and married an educated man with a good job. We would have had our own house, clean clothes and good food to eat. I would have been living with my parents, my family and playing with my brother at home. We would have been at school together. Our parents would take us for outings and if my mother ever fell sick she would be taken to good doctors. If my mother would have been educated our neighbours would have respected her and would talk to us nicely rather than fight with us and abuse us. If she was educated she could read and write, she could file complaints to the police in cases of emergency and the police officer wouldn't scold her and send her back home. If my mother was educated the ration dealer would not fool her by saying that her name is not on the list. If my mother was educated she would have been respected by the principal and teachers of my school, she would have been given a chair to sit and told about my progress at school. Life would have been beautiful and easy if my mother was educated. All of this is a dream but I can make it a reality for myself. I have an opportunity to live a different life and do things my mother could not. Read the Red Light Despatch Online > |
Thank you so much for joining us. We are truly grateful for your continued support -- the fight to end sex trafficking relies on the activism and compassion of engaged individuals just like you. Help spread the word and together we can demand an end to commercial sexual exploitation! Sincerely, Zoë Young Apne Aap International Apne Aap does not distribute your information to any third party source. If you were added to this email list in error, just hit "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the page. We'll be sorry to see you go! | |
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Demand Change! Apne Aap's petition to the President of India to amend and strengthen the country's anti-trafficking legislation is now up on change.org. The petition calls on India to protect the victims of trafficking -- the women and girls trapped in prostitution -- and punish the johns and pimps who fuel the industry. Please sign the petition, post it to Facebook, email it to friends, and help us get the word out!
Sign the petition NOW! > |
Field Update 
Engagement is happening quickly at our new outreach center in Dharampura. Art therapy sessions with daughters of women in prostitution and those at risk (pictured above) are in full swing; a new livelihood teacher has joined the team; and the handicrafts created by our vocational training graduates are being showcased at Dilli Haat Market in New Delhi! Apne Aap would also like to congratulate our Kolkata team on the impactful leadership trainings held over the past month with women at risk and victims of trafficking. We look forward to seeing more survivor-leaders in the fight against trafficking as a result of everyone's hard work! |
Volunteer! Interested in joining the fight against human trafficking? Sign up for our Volunteers mailing list! We'll send out emails periodically with tasks, projects, calls to action, and ideas for fundraisers and advocacy events you can host in your own community. Just click the "Join Our Mailing List" button below and follow the directions to update your account settings. |
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