: I Was Forced Into Prostitution As A Teen, But Rescued 1200 Girls From Trafficking #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational Few define the words ‘strength’ and ‘resilience’ the way Bhimavva Chalwadi does.

I Was Forced Into Prostitution As A Teen, But Rescued 1200 Girls From Trafficking #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational
Few define the words ‘strength’ and ‘resilience’ the way Bhimavva Chalwadi does. Today, the 35-year-old is a confident woman, who has helped hundreds of women escape harrowing circumstances to be able to stand on their own feet. But 20 years ago she believed this day would never arrive.
Growing up in the slums of Vasco, Goa, with an alcoholic father, a mother who single-handedly provided for her family on a ragpicker’s salary, and five sisters. At the age of 15, Bhima was “dedicated??? as a devadasi—young girls who are “married??? to an idol, deity, or temple, and a common eventuality for them is sex trade and exploitation—by her parents.
“I spent most of my childhood at home — never stepped out to go to work, or to school. I’d take care of my sisters. My father was a labourer, and a heavy drinker, who didn’t contribute at home. We survived on my mother’s earnings. As I neared my teenage years, people began taunting my mother by saying that she had no sons and much to worry about. We didn’t have any man to care for us, so everyone began suggesting that my mother dedicate me as a devadasi,??? she tells The Better India. As a young girl, Bhima would overhear these conversations, with no idea of what that would truly entail, and without any power to stand up and protest.
Bhima was dedicated as a devadasi at the age of 15. (Photo: Bhimavva Chalwadi)
Beyond a tourists Goa
After three to four months, Bhima was taken to Baina, which at the time was a famous red-light area in Vasco. A report stated that the area had a population of about 6,700 at its peak, which included bar owners, gharwallis, small-time hawkers, contract labourers, and sex workers. Most of these women were from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
“I tried to run away two or three times,??? Bhima recalls. “They would catch me and bring me back, and would complain to my mother, who would often worry aloud that if I continued my ‘shenanigans’, who would care for my sisters

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