When Lafiza was only 2 years old, her mother abandoned her and her father, so her grandmother took care of her. In 2021, Lafiza’s father passed away and her uncle stepped in to help care for her. In March 2023, Lafiza traveled to Dhaka in Bangladesh to visit her aunt. Shortly afterwards, she met a boy named Sohail, and continued a friendship with him after returning home. Lafiza and Sohail started dating, and spent long hours on the phone together. Lafiza’s grandmother noticed, and questioned Lafiza about her long phone calls. Lafiza shared that she was chatting with Sohail. When her uncle learned about this, he wanted to talk to Sohail and his family about marriage. But before he could do this, Lafiza ran away from home on June 1, 2023.
Lafiza’s uncle looked everywhere for her, and finally contacted Sohail, who said they had traveled from Bangladesh and were in India together. Around June 20th, Lafiza’s uncle received a call from India; Lafiza had been detained by the police in Gujarat. She had no official documentation on her. The DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) in Surat was familiar with our work, and called us to tell us about Lafiza’s case. This is when we stepped in to help.
Lafiza was placed in a children’s home for girls, and we met her on June 26, 2023. Lafiza shared that Sohail sent her to India with his sister while he remained in Bangladesh. He sold her to Javeed (a male in his 30s) who first raped her, then forced her into prostitution at a spa in Surat. The spa manager (a male in his late 30s) also raped her. Both men continuously raped and sexually exploited young Lafiza. Javeed drugged her so she was not fully aware of the atrocities he inflicted upon her.
We stayed closely connected to Lafiza; we talked with her several times over the phone, and visited her six times at the shelter home. We offered Lafiza one-on-one counseling and life skills sessions, and Lafiza began a journey of healing.
For over a year, we have been trying to get Lafiza repatriated (peacefully returned to her family) back to Bangladesh. In February 2024, we learned that just before she testified in court, Suraj, who was acting as a translator (of Bengali to Gujarati) threatened Lafiza, and offered her rupees two lakhs (~$2384) to withdraw her statement against Javeed. Lafiza bravely refused. During her testimony, Lafiza shared in detail about how she was exploited from the time Sohail’s sister brought her to India.
On August 28, we received good news. A POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) Court in Surat convicted the three accused; Javeed the pimp, the spa manager, and the other accused received a 20 years prison sentence. The 24-year-old female, Sana (who transported Lafiza from Ahmedabad to Surat), received a seven year prison sentence. Lafiza was compensated rupees two lakhs (~$2384). We are thrilled to note that this is Freedom Firm’s first conviction in Surat!
Despite Lafiza sharing her horrific account of rape and sexual exploitation, Lafiza was deported (severely expelled, instead of repatriated) by the Indian government back to Bangladesh. We believe this is a serious error and misjudgment by our legal system, and we plan to address this decision.
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