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- “There is nothing more powerful than women’s collective action”
In conversation with HarperBroadcast, award-winning journalist and activist Ruchira Gupta talks about her debut novel, I Kick And I Fly; her NGO Apne Aap—which fights the rampant violence of child sex-trafficking; why people should read her book and join the fight for protection of children against sexual abuse.
Read the conversation below:
Q. How and why did you decide to tell the true story of Heera (and many others like her) via the medium of fiction?
Ruchira Gupta: With I Kick and I Fly, I want to make a difference by inspiring action against child sex trafficking. I wrote the book as a fast-paced adventure story because I wanted to reach young and old alike.
There is nothing more powerful than literature to change hearts and minds. Fiction allows me to delve into emotions and make the stories of victims and those at risk to sex trafficking accessible to a very broad audience.
I tell their stories through 14-year-old Heera, a fictional character who escapes the sex trade by becoming a Kung Fu champ.
Heera’s triumph is based on true stories I experienced of brave girls who changed their destiny with the help of my NGO, Apne Aap. I am a life-long activist against sex-trafficking, who wants to create a world where no child is bought or sold.
Very often when I try and convince people that we can end sex-trafficking, they don’t think it is possible. But in real life, I have witnessed that change is possible in my NGO’s work. Girls from red-light areas did go to school, win gold medals in Karate, graduate from college and find jobs not based on bodily violence.
I used to present this success as data and say that my NGO has helped more than twenty thousand women and girls exit system of prostitution. But it did not sink into public consciousness. People would keep saying “men will be men”, “prostitution is as old as the hills”, “prostitution helps poor women earn money” or even “prostitution is a choice.”
All I saw in the red-light areas was absence of choices and survival strategies which were not sustainable. I met women sinking into debt, disease, and death. I also saw hope and resilience, the power of education and women’s collective action. I saw girls who with a little help found a different destiny from their mothers.
All it took was society not giving up on them.
I decided to tell the true story of girls like Heera through fiction so I could make readers understand that body shaming, bullying and sexual abuse are not inevitable but can be challenged.
Like all literature I love, my story is based on truth and hope.
Q. The novel is a seething indictment of systemic and institutional failures as well, and how these institutions abandon those who need their promise of protection. How do you feel institutions of power have evaded responsibility in countering child sex-trafficking? And how can they do better?
RG: The backdrop of my story is a marginalized nomadic tribe living in a dirt street of brothels. They are controlled by criminals with the help of local police because no one cares about these “disposable people.” The system is completely broken for them. They don’t even have access to the government entitlements allocated for them, like low-cost food and education. They are so crushed by caste and class oppression, that they think that their exploitation, is their destiny.
Many young people, in less extreme situations, are similarly controlled by fear, shame and guilt. They are bullied, body shamed and sexually abused and they think it is their fault.
I want young people to read my story and know that they are not crazy the system is crazy. And they can fight back.
Institutions of power, have often evaded responsibility in countering child sex trafficking due to corruption, complicity, patriarchy, casteism and a lack of adequate resources. Instead of protecting the vulnerable, some institutions, including law enforcement, have colluded with traffickers.
To address this, we need strict enforcement of laws, investment in comprehensive victim support programs, and training of law-enforcement and judiciary to handle sexual abuse cases effectively and sensitively. Collaboration between NGOs, government agencies, and communities is crucial to create a unified front against child sex trafficking and other sexual abuse.
We also need to challenge the intersection of sexism, casteism and elitism which make poor girls a resource in poverty. We have to hold sex-buyers accountable who create the demand for trafficking by demanding “very young girls.”
Q. The novel also engages with questions and realities of caste and class dysfunctions in our society. How are minorities more susceptible to the violence of trafficking?
RG: The novel delves into the harsh realities of caste and class dysfunctions, making minorities, particularly those from marginalized communities, more susceptible to the violence of trafficking. Girls like Heera from nomadic indigenous communities face multiple vulnerabilities due to social status, lack of education, and economic hardships. Traffickers often target these communities because of their limited resources and lack of protection. Empowering marginalized communities through education and economic opportunities can significantly reduce their susceptibility to exploitation.
Q. Tell us about your NGO Apne Aap. How can our readers join the fight against child sex-trafficking?
RG: Apne Aap is an NGO dedicated to combating sex trafficking and empowering vulnerable girls and women. We end inter-generational prostitution by educating children from red-light areas and connecting women to sustainable livelihood options. We also advice the UN on laws and policies.
Readers can join the fight against child sex trafficking by learning, raising awareness, volunteering, or donating to my NGO Apne Aap (apneaap.org). You can donate to sponsor a girl education or kung fu class. You can become a social media ambassador by sharing the website with others or information about the book I Kick and I Fly.
In addition, I have created learning and educational resources on my own website RuchiraGupta.com. You can begin by signing and sharing the freedom pledge there. You can also learn about the issue by watching my Emmy-winning documentary on the home page and share it with other.
By working together, we can create a safer environment for vulnerable girls and women, providing them with opportunities for education, livelihood, and independence.
Q. As the book impresses on its readers, in a patriarchal society, the concept of social mobility for women is restricted to either marriage or prostitution. How have you experienced this to be a reality in your work at Apne Aap?
RG: I have encountered numerous sex-buyers who ask for young girls from certain ethnicities and tribes. Traffickers see a profit in this and go prey upon marginalized communities for such girls. The families of these girls are so enmeshed in poverty, and oppressed by caste that they cave in.
But I notice that patriarchy is a thread that unites all classes and castes. All of them think that girls can be preyed upon. In the case of the tribe, I write about, they feel that that their daughters are not destined for school or dignified livelihood. They think they will be punished by fate if they educate their daughters or try to fight the sex-traffickers. They even create rituals around the exploitation of their daughters and wives both as a coping mechanism and excuse.
The women and the girls want to escape but because they are not sent to school or taught other skills, they find themselves in the cycle of exploitation.
Breaking free from these limiting roles and expectations for women requires transforming societal attitudes and norms. Empowering women through education and economic opportunities is crucial in providing them with alternative paths to autonomy and social mobility.
Q. While the “angry young man” trope is celebrated in our culture, the angry young woman is considered an aberration. How do you think emotions are gendered in our society to dictate models of behavior?
RG: Emotions are often gendered in our society to dictate models of behavior and manipulate women into submissiveness. The “angry young man” in literature and movies is depicted as a hero figure while the “angry young woman” is depicted as unattractive or unladylike.
Challenging these stereotypes and promoting emotional freedom for all genders is essential for a more inclusive and empathetic society. Recognizing and valuing the emotional experiences of both men and women can lead to healthier relationships and a more compassionate society overall.
Q. Heera’s father in the novel represents a dormant, yet menacing presence, who is willing to sell her into trafficking despite being her father. Often male figures—who are traditionally the “protectors”—in the novel serve as pimps for their daughters and sisters. What are your thoughts on this? Also, how have you encountered this grim reality in your work at Apne Aap—where family members have betrayed young girls?
RG: I have encountered heart-wrenching instances where male family members, who should be protectors, have betrayed the trust of young girls by selling them into trafficking. But I also learnt that these family members were subject to force and manipulation by the traffickers because of their own subjugation due to poverty, casteism and lack of education.
That is why the character arc of the father in my book is quite complicated.
Q. What is your response to critics of feminist narratives who claim that such narratives can perpetuate ‘reverse-sexism’?
RG: My book has male characters who are kind and gentle like Heera’s brothel. I also have three important male characters: Baba, Manish and Shaukat, who have a back story to explain their cruelty to women. Their characters are complex and transform as the plot evolves.
Critics of feminist narratives must understand that feminism seeks to address systemic gender-based inequalities and advocate for gender equality. After all, as my story shows, feminism frees men too.
It does not aim to promote discrimination against men but to challenge existing patriarchal norms and power structures.
Q. Solidarity among the women in the narrative becomes their strongest weapon against the misogynistic society. Essentially, the protagonists create a ‘Herland’. Would you say that women’s liberty is most accessible in this men-free zone?
RG: There is nothing more powerful than women’s collective action.
In I Kick and I Fly it is a group of women from different classes and castese—an educated woman’s rights advocate, a mother breaking stones on the highway to feed her hungry children, a prostituted older cousin, a tea stall owner—who come together to make sure Heera stays in school. The novel portrays solidarity among women as their strongest weapon against a misogynistic society.
But remember there are two important male allies: The gentle brother and the supportive schoolteacher.
A ‘men-free zone’ is not the ultimate solution. It is a “violence-free zone” for both men and women that I create by the end.
Q. What are your thoughts on representing the body as a site of horror or violence in literature—especially the female body? What are some challenges to writing stories that contain traumatic events and responses?
RG: Female bodies have been violated down the ages as men have turned us into cheap labour or made us produce cheap labour to amass power and property. Literature is bound to depict this. After all, literature, even in the form of fantasy, depicts the truth.
My challenge was that I wanted to write about a tough subject like sex-trafficking and I wanted young people to read my book without scaring or frightening them.
I turned to the great Indian epics for inspiration—where the violation of the female body is central to the plot. They allude to the violation of Draupadi and Sita but don’t describe the violation in graphic details. Instead, both women come across as strong characters who resist and fight back.
In I Kick and I Fly, I do not describe the violence in graphic detail but leave readers to infer its horror through the emotional responses of my characters-pain, trauma, anger…fear.
Q. Why should people read I Kick And I Fly?
RG: People should read I Kick And I Fly to feel inspired by a girl who fights back against all odds, to enjoy a nail-biting page turner with complicated family relationships, travels to foreign land, kidnappings, fights, friendships and fun and because it tells a story of hope and truth.
With this book, I pass on the baton to you the reader to join the movement against sex-trafficking.
In Conversation with Kartik Chauhan for HarperBroadcast
Author’s Note by Ruchira Gupta
I was hiking in the hills of Nepal, when I came across rows of villages with missing girls. I followed the trail and found that a smooth supply chain existed from these remote hamlets to the brothels of India.
Little girls as young as twelve were bought and sold for a few hundred dollars. They were locked up in tiny rooms, raped every night, for years.
All these girls were from poor, farming families. Many like Heera were from nomadic indigenous communities and just like her were being groomed for prostitution. Like her, they were either not sent to school, or bullied till they dropped out or were pulled out by their fathers for prostitution.
I was sad, angry, and determined to do something about it. At that time, I was a journalist. I decided to expose the horror in a documentary, The Selling of Innocents. I won an Emmy and decided to use the goodwill of the prize to make a difference. I left journalism and started an NGO called, Apne Aap .
There is a real lane in Forbesganj, very like Girls Bazar. Our NGO, Apne Aap has a community centre in that lane. Children get help with homework, learn karate and eat lunch there. Every single child in that lane now goes to school.
Women very like Jamila Bua, Mai and Meera Di meet regularly in the centre and solve their own problems with the help of Apne Aap social workers. The fill forms to access government entitlements like low-cost food, housing and loans to start small businesses. They go collectively to speak to authorities when there are delays.
Apne Aap’s legal team helps victims file police complaints, testify in court, and get traffickers convicted. There is a real Gainul and a real Ravi Lala. They are in jail. The cattle fair is no longer allowed to bring dance or orchestra groups.
You will be happy to know that seventy of the seventy-two brothels in the lane are closed. Women have taken over the huts and turned them into real homes for themselves and their families. Girls no longer sit outside huts waiting for customers.
Traffickers did try to jump over our NGO’s hostel wall to kidnap the children. Our hostel girls from the red-light area do win gold medals in karate. Some are in college now. Others have graduated and have jobs as teachers, doctors, lawyers and chefs.
You have been in Heera’s shoes for so long now that you must want to know what happened to her. There is not one but many Heeras. They truly exist. This story is based on true incidents from their lives.
Their journey from fear to courage, from captivity to freedom wasn’t easy. Many of their fathers were addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling and controlled by men like Gainul and Ravi Lala. The two gangleaders had forbidden all parents from sending their children to our hostel.
Just like Mai, some mothers in the lane stood up for their daughters. They disobeyed their husbands, even though they were beaten up. Their daughters were the first batch of girls in our hostel. Traffickers would come and stand at the gates of the building, verbally abusing the children and the staff. One time three traffickers jumped over the walls and kidnapped a girl. Another time two sisters were locked up in a hut and told they could not go back to the hostel.
I was constantly threatened. A pimp, once, pulled out a knife at me. Often traffickers would stalk me hurling abuses and throwing stones. Our offices were attacked, files and equipment stolen.
I had to seek government protection, hire lawyers, file police complaints and cases in court. I posted guards outside my home and hostel. We also built higher walls around the hostel to prevent the traffickers from jumping over.
I started karate classes to help the girls fight back. The girls began to win district and state level competitions. Something changed. The very townspeople who had asked the school principal to expel our red-light children from school began to respect them.
The two sisters who were locked up in the hut have finished school. One is a chef and the other is a teacher. The girl who was kidnapped is a karate teacher. Someone like Mai really has a betel leaf shop and someone like Meera Di is a seamstress.
Most of the events in this book are inspired by real people, places and events.
I started writing this story when a fourteen-year-old girl just like Heera won a gold medal in a karate competition in Forbesganj. That girl also grew up in the nomadic Nat community in the red-light area. She too was being groomed for prostitution along with other girls in her lane. A lane just like Girls Bazar.
Lanes like Girls Bazaar still exist all over the country and in many parts of our world including the US. Traffickers like Ravi Lala and Gainul continue to exist. Corrupt cops like Suraj Sharma did really do collude with them. Human trafficking is the second largest organized crime in the world, according to the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) involving billions of dollars. The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally, with hundreds of thousands in the United States.
But the good news is that with more awareness about sex-trafficking, there are better laws and services for victims like Meera Di in over a hundred countries.
Slowly, slowly, the red-light area of Forbesganj has begun to change-children are in school, traffickers in jail and the women have taken over the huts and turned them into real homes. The small businesses in the back rooms are no longer based on body invasion.
I am happy to report that I was able to play a part in this. I took The Selling of Innocents to the UN, the US Senate. With its help I worked with allies to successfully advocate for a UN Protocol to end Trafficking, the first US trafficking law that would punish the perpetrator and provide more services for victims and at risk communities.
Apne Aap survivor leaders and I testified to Indian Parliament for the passage of Section 370 I.P.C that now punishes traffickers and allocates budgets for the vulnerable. Gainul was convicted for life imprisonment under this law. Sixty-four traffickers are convicted as a result of court testimonies and police complaints by Apne Aap girls and women.
Apne Aap has helped more than a thousand girls through school and college. More than 20,000 Apne Aap members across red light areas in India have government documents and access their entitlements like low-cost food, housing and loans.
So how did I do it? I was an English literature student who was a journalist. I had no magic wand, no experience or knowledge on how to stop the kidnapping of girls or put traffickers in jail. I resolve to do something and invented ways and moved forward.
I listened to the women and girls. I chatted with them, sat in circles with them, went into their mud huts and got to know them. Apne Aap’s business plan was based on four dreams the women had-school for their children, a room of their own, an office job, and punishment of their perpetrators. This has been translated into an execution plan known as Asset Based Community Development.
Every woman or girl who becomes an Apne Aap member gains ten assets. These are both tangible and intangible- a safe space, education, self-confidence, ability to speak to authorities, government ids and documents, low-cost food and housing, savings and loans, livelihood linkages, legal knowledge and support and a circle of at least nine friends.
Each asset is a building block in an unfolding story of personal and community change.
I wrote this story because I wanted to share with you that change is possible. I have witnessed it in my own lifetime.
Thank you so much for reading I Kick and I Fly. I hope you find a friend in Heera who will give you some clues in making the changes you would like in your own life.
Heera’s story is a story of hope in spite of the great odds. It’s about our bodies—who they belong to and the command they can give us. It is the story of a community that resolves to make change contagious and succeeds.
The karate classes continue.
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