FAISALABAD, Jan 6: Women, especially those from the marginalised sections of society, continue to suffer at the hands of mafia people involved in the trade of helpless girls.

From kidnap, to forced marriages, to being sold for rape and bonded labour, Safia (32) of Rashidabad locality of the city, had been subjected to all sorts of atrocities during the last one year.

Safia’s ordeal began when she went to Faisalabad sessions courts where her mother had filed a case against her father who expelled her from his house along with her three unmarried sisters.

On the court premises, Safia met one Saima who apparently sympathised with her after gleaning details of her circumstances. Saima also offered to help her in getting her sisters married. Safia, having no brother and an aging mother became a willing victim and accompanied Saima to an undisclosed location, hoping she will help her out of her hopeless situation.

Safia told Dawn that Saima gave her some sweets and she fell unconscious. “I found myself in a locked dark room when I regained my senses,” she said amid sobs.

Initially she was chained. Then she was released and forced to work as a cotton-picker along with other women, many of them also kidnapped.

She said a man, who identified himself as Manzoor, informed her that she had been sold to him by Saima and now she was somewhere in Rajanpur district.

“My first price was Rs35,000, then I was sold to another man for ‘marriage’ for Rs75,000,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She said Manzoor raped her for three months and subjected her to brutal physical torture on refusal. He also forced her pick cotton in the fields, she said.

The ill-fated woman was later sold by Manzoor to one Pathan of Bangla Birmani, Rajanpur. Pathan also raped Safia several times and then contracted verbal ‘Nikah’ with her.

“I refused to marry Pathan and resisted strongly, but to no avail,” she said, adding that she was kept under a strict vigil and could find no chance to escape from captivity. Pathan wanted to sell me to another man.

“I made several attempts to escape from the place but remained unable to do so because of unfamiliar surroundings and tight security.

At last, during cotton picking I found an opportunity to escape from the captivity. On my way, I met a man with donkey-cart and requested him to take me to some bus stand, pretending that my father was ill,” she said. “I had to beg money to reach Faisalabad,” she added.

Sadly, her ordeal did not end even after securing freedom from the clutches of her captors. Since then she has been running from pillar to post to get register a case against those who kidnapped, sold and raped her several times.

“I cannot go to any of my relatives because of the stigma attached to being kidnapped and raped. Though there is no fault of my own in suffering all this, but I fear that my circumstances can cause problems for my sisters,” she said.

Safia submitted an application to DIG (operations), who marked it to SP (investigation) and from there it was sent to Kotwali police station. Now the matter has been referred to the women police, but the justice is still elusive for Safia, now residing at her lawyer’s house.