False Promises, Lost Lives: Rohingya Women's Journey As A Refugee

In November 2023, Zubaida Begum was 24-years-old when, lured by a trafficker, she travelled to Jammu from Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Kutupalong is known as the largest refugee settlement in the world with almost one million Rohingya refugees. She was promised a luxurious life for herself and her child in Kashmir by a trafficker. Instead, she ended up in jail.

The Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group from Myanmar, are denied citizenship and basic rights, making them stateless. The community, primarily living in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, has endured decades of violence and repression in the predominantly Buddhist country.

In 2017, following a military campaign by Myanmar, over 750,000 Rohingya were forced to escape to southern Bangladesh. The United Nations described the Myanmar government as having “genocidal intent.” The mass exodus resulted in the establishment of the world’s largest refugee camp in the region.

Zubeda remembered the incident when her husband was killed in Myanmar, she felt helpless. Fleeing to Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh in search of safety, she clung to the hope of a better future, only to be deceived by false promises and fall into the cruel trap of traffickers. The trafficker told Zubeda that she would marry a wealthy man with good fortune in Kashmir. “I was hopeful for a better life, but everything turned upside down,” she said.

Zubeda, along with another woman Anwara Begum and a minor girl, was trafficked to India through the Kolkata border. After the three women reached Jammu’s railway station, before they could be handed over to local traffickers, police arrested them along with one trafficker. The second trafficker managed to escape from the spot. After spending months in jail, Zubeda, along with another Rohingya woman, was granted bail by the local Jammu court. Like hundreds of other refugees, they are facing charges for illegally migrating to India without valid documents under the Foreigners Act 1948.

Explaining the procedure, Ujjaini Chatterji, an advocate based out of New Delhi, said that Zubeda and others have to be assessed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP.) If the refugee claim is satisfied then they have to be given Long Term Visas (LTV.) It takes three months to complete such assessments, which then have to be recognised by the MHA. Even if the refugee has a UN Refugee card, the same isn’t accepted by the MHA.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), nearly 79,000 refugees from Myanmar, including Rohingya, reside in India. Only around 22,000 are registered with the UN Refugee Agency. Currently, over 40,000 Rohingya are living in India, with nearly 7,000 residing in camps in Jammu.

Most Rohingya in India have been issued UNHCR cards, identifying them as a persecuted community. Over the last few years, hundreds of Rohingya have been detained by Indian authorities for not carrying valid documents and few have been deported. They have labelled them as a security threat, blaming them for having links to Muslim extremist groups.

Rohingya women, who were trafficked from Bangladesh to Kashmir, prefer to keep their struggles and identities hidden due to fear of deportation, as the Indian government considers them illegal immigrants.

In recent years, the Indian government has deported some Rohingya back to Myanmar despite ongoing persecution of the community. In March 2024, India deported a batch of seven refugees to Myanmar, which was criticised by many. New Delhi has accused them of being a security threat, alleging connections to Muslim extremist groups. For years, the Rohingya in India have faced a hate campaign on social media allegedly led by right-wing Hindu groups.

Shahida, 24 (name changed) fled from Myanmar to save herself from deadly violence and like other refugees, also took refuge in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, a home of thousands of Rohingya refugees. After eight years in the camp, Shahida had health complications (fever, throat infection, cold), She went to a Turkish field hospital, a specifically designated healthcare centre for Rohingyas to see a doctor.

While reaching the hospital, Shahida was attacked by kidnappers with a chemical spray. After being attacked, she fainted and became conscious the very next morning. While unconscious, she was taken to India via the Kolkata border. After finding herself among the unknown faces and away from the refugee camp, Shahida cried for help but was beaten and asked to keep silent. Finding herself among unknown places and people, Shahida doesn’t know when she was handed over to the Kashmir-based traffickers.

In Kashmir, Shahida was sold for two lakhs in Baramulla district, where her marriage was done by force. “Whenever she called us, her husband beat her up constantly. We want to get her back,” Jameel, who is Shahida’s cousin brother.

Jameel, 29, living at refugee camp Kiryani Talab, Jammu is struggling for survival in the ongoing heatwave. Like other Rohingyas, Jameel left his village of Arkan in Myanmar after they were attacked by the Buddhist community supported by the Myanmar Army in 2012. The attack resulted in several deaths and many injuries, including his close relatives. Following the attack, a curfew was imposed by the Myanmar government, leading to systematic discrimination and shortages of food and water. The situation compelled Jameel and his family to flee Myanmar and seek refuge in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh in 2012.

As the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh became increasingly crowded, Jameel decided to look for an alternative place for survival and entered India in 2013, eventually finding refuge in Jammu.

“Initially, we were able to live peacefully in India. However, in recent years, life has become difficult due to the continued threat of deportation and detention of other refugees, leading to traumatic conditions. Many Rohingya refugees, including women and children, have been detained and held in different centres in India. There is a constant fear of detention, especially with different agencies collecting details without clear reasons,” said Jameel.

Jameel says that the Kashmir police busted several human trafficking gangs, but the case of Shahida went unnoticed. Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested several traffickers involved in the trafficking of Rohingya women from Bangladesh to Kashmir.

On November 28, 2023, the Kashmir Police arrested five persons, including a Rohingya man, allegedly involved in human trafficking in Jammu Kashmir’s Bandipora district. The accused were trafficking Rohingya women via Bangladesh to get them married to locals in Jammu and Kashmir in exchange for money. The police said that a Rohingya man involved in the human trafficking was identified as Manzoor Alam.

In the latest crackdown against human traffickers, Baramulla police claimed to have arrested two traffickers and rescued four minor girls from their custody. After busting the network, police are investigating the matter to nab the other suspects involved in the trafficking racket.

A police official, on the condition of anonymity, said that they have booked several traffickers involved in Rohingya women trafficking.

“These traffickers are sensitive criminals. They mostly target young ones on the pretext of luxury life or jobs. It’s very difficult for us to track down these traffickers. Once we get leads, we arrest them and book them under relevant sections of law,” he said.

Left on their own while most of their male members languish in jails, the women of the Rohingya community are continuously being targeted by human traffickers with promises of a better life in Kashmir and other Indian states.

Jameel said that their community is being oppressed day in and day out. “Our daughters and sisters are being sold like goats and sheep,” he said.

He said that Jammu police have nabbed several traffickers, and have unmasked several networks. “I don’t have exact data, but our Rohingya women have been trafficked in numbers, they are being exploited,” he said.

Jameel’s voice trembled as he spoke further about his fears for the safety of women in their community.

“Every day is filled with anxiety, wondering if our loved ones will be the next victims. It’s heartbreaking to know that our sisters, mothers, and daughters are at risk. As men, we feel a profound sense of responsibility and helplessness knowing the dangers they face,” he confessed.

According to Human Rights Watch, India’s forced deportation of ethnic Rohingya refugees to Myanmar underscores the grave dangers that Rohingya refugees face in the country. International Law deems prohibited any forced return of refugees to areas where their lives would be in danger. Rohingya Muslim refugees in India face tighter restrictions, arbitrary incarceration, violent attacks frequently provoked by political leaders and an increased likelihood of forced returns.

“The reason behind the increasing human trafficking of Rohingya women is that they are primarily looking for safety and protection, and, at times, their family members give them away to the hands of traffickers without any knowledge,” said Chatterji who works extensively on the issue of protection of Rohingya refugees.

“Apart from trafficking, the Rohingya women face indefinite arbitrary detention. They are not even being allowed to represent their cases in courts,” she said. The UHRC has a pivotal role in protecting these women from trafficking, and proactive measures need to be taken for their safety, she added.

“They are being trafficked in times when they have already faced systematic violence and they shouldn’t be further traumatised,” Chatterji said.

Asif Mujtaba, a New Delhi-based research scholar and founder of Miles2Smile NGO, has been working closely on the relief and rehabilitation of Rohingya refugees. According to him, of the many oppressed and marginalised communities that the NGO works with, Rohingya women are the worst affected. He said that they severely lack access to basic facilities of education and healthcare, apart from facing continuous hateful propaganda from right-wing Hindu organisations.

“The private institutions don’t want to help them because of poverty too. So, they are left at the cruel hand of fate. I have seen numerous cases where these people lost their lives because of poor medical facilities. It’s high time to think of them as fellow human beings rather than infiltrating aliens,” he said.

(This story was supported by the Pulitzer centre)

Mubashir Naik and Irshad Hussain are Independent Journalists in Kashmir.

(This appeared in the print as 'False Promises, Lost Lives')