Mennonite Weekly Review

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — An advocate for women and children enslaved by South Asia’s sex trade brought the story of these “scarlet daughters” to Bethel College March 8 on International Wom­en’s Day.

Sarada Sree­deviamma of Kerala, India, works to draw attention to the plight of those often sold or forced into sexual servitude. She tries to find ways to help them start new lives.

Sreedeviamma, whose talk was sponsored by the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution’s Peace Lecture series, began her program with a plaintive melody, sung from the perspective of a woman or child immersed in the world of forced prostitution.

“Why me?” Sreedeviamma sang. “I am born poor. I am born a girl… . I am invisible, but I do have a heart that bleeds with pain, that bleeds with shame, that bleeds with guilt.”

Author of the 2003 book, Scarlet Daughters of South Asia: A Poignant Portrayal, focusing on the sex trade in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangla­desh, Sreedeviamma said the problem is widespread.

“Trafficking in women and children is the bane of all countries,” she said. “Trafficking is a mega-global business.”

As part of the research for her book, Sreedeviamma — an applied economics professor at Kerala’s Cochin University — made case studies of women and children engaged in prostitution, including the burgeoning sex tourism industry in several Asian countries.

“These were really, really precious experiences to me, pain­ful,” she said.

Those trapped in such a life­style face obstacles ranging from illiteracy and poverty to the low cultural status of women in many Asian cultures.

Sreedeviamma, who also is a psychologist with UNESCO, said her work includes helping these women and children develop life skills and find educational opportunities. She also tries to help them discover safe places where they can start new homes and escape the fear and servitude scarring their lives.

“This is the right time for nations to collaborate on providing viable solutions,” she said. “Slowly the changes are coming.”

During Sreedeviamma’s presentation, the 2003 Academy Award-winning documentary Born to Brothels was shown.

The 15-minute film, directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, features footage shot in one of Calcutta’s red-light districts as a news reporter researching the sex trade teaches the children of prostitutes to take photographs.