Standing up for exploited girls

One woman’s quest to stop human trafficking around the world. By Tina Bogaars (author) and Eleanor Yap (author). Young women and girls are common targets of human trafficking networks around the world. Once an at-risk girl herself, Saleemah Ismail is fighting to empower these women through education and legislation. The immediate past president of UNIFEM Singapore talks candidly to SALT Online on why this work is important to her: UNIFEM’s list of achievements are many, but what for you are the highlights and why? The UNIFEM Scholarship for Girls is something I believe in. I feel that it is important to invest in girls’ education and equally as important to have a deterrent like the penal code to protect them from exploitation. I have had a series of defining moments in my life. Several years ago, I met a 14-year-old girl named Lara working in the Batam sex industry. I’ll never forget the pain I saw in her eyes. A sex-trafficked girl is a rape victim. A girl forced into prostitution is being raped. How could I allow a child like Lara to be raped? I know I couldn’t just walk away. When I was 15, I myself had been approached by a much older man offering me jobs and money for sex. The fact that I was wearing my school uniform did not deter him. I had a happy childhood. I had an education and a loving supportive family. I knew what my rights were and how to protect myself. But what if I hadn’t? How would my life have been? Would I have fallen prey because I was poor? Would I have had the strength to walk away? These questions motivated me to focus on at-risk girls. I feel that I was an ‘at-risk’ girl myself and I know how hard it was to stand up to these pressures especially when combined with an adverse economic situation. How did you get interested in humanitarian work? I have incredibly kind, compassionate and wise parents. They are my role models. I grew up in a loving home, which was also a shelter for anyone needing a safe space. It was not uncommon for someone to knock on the door seeking help in the middle of the night. We sheltered a few runaway kids too. For example, we had a teenager who had walked out on her physically abusive father. Her mother was grateful that her daughter stayed with us instead of sleeping on the beach alone. Everyone, including us, slept on the floor. At night, the bedroom and living room floors would be covered with the folding mattresses. Our two-bedroom HDB flat often housed more than 20 people at a time. And as long as they were willing to eat what we ate, they could stay as long as they needed to. My father was a storekeeper while my mother was a washerwoman, so they were not rich but they were generous. They did what they did because they felt it was natural for them to be taking care of others in the community. Like my parents, I don’t think what I am doing is any type of humanitarian work. I believe this is just part of living in a community. What motivates you to carry on doing this work? When I see a young girl like Lara smile again, I see possibilities, I see potential − that is what motivates me. I feel joy knowing she will get the support she needs to live a life free of violence, with access to healthcare, education and livelihood. She can choose to be whoever she wants to be without fear − a mother, farmer, office worker, teacher, scientist, politician or business leader. What can you share about women and children trafficking in Asia? What about Singapore? According to a United Nations’ definition of trafficking, two million are trafficked each year and 80 percent of these are women and girls who are sexually-exploited. The US recently placed Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam on a human trafficking watch-list. Singapore has objected to its inclusion on the list. Last year, in partnership with The Body Shop, we started a situational analysis research on sex trafficking in Singapore. The results will be published in late 2010. This is the first survey of its kind, and we are being very strict about the methodology and process of the fieldwork as we want to be completely objective. I certainly do not want to make any assumptions before the research is completed. What have been some of the challenges in your work? Sometimes challenges occur not because of disagreement but because of fear or ego. For example, during the time we were addressing child sex tourism, we faced resistance from a fellow activist. She felt that we should go head-to-head with the Government because she feared the Government would take the credit for the social change if we have behind-closed door dialogues. Who gets the credit was far from my mind as long as we did what was best to address the issue. Another hurdle was presented by liberal civil society organisations unhappy that faith-based organisations were at the discussion table. I disagreed as I believed that it was important to reflect diversity and engage everyone in an open and objective dialogue in order to achieve change. Many faith-based groups are providing direct services and it would be unrealistic to exclude them from any discussion to do with social issues such as trafficking. It does take longer to reach an agreement because everyone brings their belief systems to the table but once we focus on the common ground, this kind of collaboration was far more effective and impactful. But above all, to tell you the truth I am my own biggest challenge in this work. There were moments when I doubted myself. There were moments when I did not think I could step up and so inertia set in because it was easier than stepping up. I am my biggest challenge. What is your wish list for the next five years? Traffickers are a network of people – from the person who first approaches the girl, to the pimps, brothel owners, hotel owners, and the client himself. However, it is a network which can be dismantled by another, stronger network. My wish is that UNIFEM continues to grow stronger, and continues to focus on increasing its social impact and outcomes in this region. My wish is that one day every girl has the opportunity and support to live to her potential, and that both men and women work together to end violence against women. I wish that women everywhere have the opportunity to generate a meaningful livelihood for themselves and their families. Saleemah Ismail is the immediate past president of UNIFEM Singapore, a non-profit group working towards women’s empowerment and gender equality in developing countries. She and her organisation were instrumental in the implementation of the child sex tourism legislation in the revised 2007 Singapore Penal Code. Saleemah Ismail is also a board member of the Singapore Council of Women Organisations and a board member of aidha, an organisation that provides financial education for migrant and low-income workers. This story was first published on SALT (www.salt.org.sg), an e-magazine by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre. Additional info provided by cataloguer: The article is accompanied by two photographs showing three girls at a shelter in Aceh a few months after the 2004 tsunami and a half-portrait of Saleemah Ismail.