PUNJAB - For years, the focus has been on men from Punjab who get trafficked to Europe, which is also colloquially known as Kabootar Baazi. This investigation by Journalismfund's grantees reveal how Punjabi women are increasingly being trafficked by travel agents from India, but due to the social stigma, the state doesn’t have enough information about this growing menace.

In this first part of the investigation, the team documented Punjabi female survivors of trafficking who were promised better opportunities in Europe along with a safe legal passage. However, upon reaching Europe, most of them found their passports being confiscated on some pretext like safekeeping, and were later blackmailed and even faced sexual exploitation.

© Nicola Gobbi

Supported
€16.990 allocated on 16/04/2021
ID:
MSU/2021/008

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