Kashi’s Story
*Trigger warning: This story contains mentions of physical & sexual abuse and rape.
When Kashi was just five years old, her family sold her into domestic servitude to a wealthy couple in Mumbai in an attempt to alleviate the hardships of poverty. In the 12 years that followed, Kashi was relegated to a life full of housework and physical abuse, stripped of the freedom and opportunity all girls deserve.
“I had no freedom,” she remembered. “They always locked me up. Everywhere I went, I had to go with them.”
Kashi’s owners treated her like she was property, disregarding her humanity and beating her regularly. Her childhood was further characterized by abuse and mistreatment when she was raped by one of the owner’s sons at 15.
“I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen,” she said. “I wanted to tell someone, but I had no evidence to prove what happened. He said he would accuse me of making up stories.”
The abuse Kashi faced only heightened as she was sexually abused by other relatives and eventually sold to a brothel in Sonagachi, a dangerous red-light district. There, she was beaten and raped by customers.
Within a few weeks, International Justice Mission (IJM), a Dressember partner focused on intervention by working with local justice systems to combat violence and exploitation in the form of human trafficking on a global scale, found Kashi and mobilized Kolkata police to bring her to safety.
When police, advocates and social workers entered the brothel, they did not immediately find Kashi, as she was hiding behind a curtain, still in fear of the madam.
“Sometimes I would get angry and wonder, “Why have I even been born? What is the purpose of my life?””
“I was very scared,” Kashi said quietly. She had been told that she would be beaten severely if the police came. “They told me to come out, and said they are there to help me.”
Though Kashi was initially reluctant to share her story at the police station, she began to trust the IJM staff and became one of the strongest, most cooperative survivors IJM ever worked with.
Following Kashi’s freedom from human trafficking and sexual exploitation, she was moved into an aftercare home, a cornerstone of protection that Dressember’s programmatic partners offer to survivors. There, Kashi remained for a year and a half of the restoration process where she participated in crucial trauma-focused therapy and built a strong relationship with her caseworker. She learned how to express herself and adopted interests of her own as she began schooling and vocational training.
“If you want to do something in life, you have to leave your past and focus on the future. I want to forget my past and start a new life ahead of me.”
Though Kashi had no formal education at the time, she longed to study in a real school and was eventually placed into a special program for non-traditional students to study and live at a private school through IJM.
In November 2014, Kashi started her first day of school and reclaimed her childhood in doing so. Today, Kashi is a dedicated and ambitious student - her teachers believe she’ll be able to finish school in just three years. Alongside studying her favorite subject, English, Kashi plays the violin and sings Hindi songs. She dreams of working in a beauty parlor and returning to Mumbai to find her family once she finishes school. Focusing on the future and the opportunities it holds, Kashi works hard to achieve her dreams.
“Without education, you can do nothing,” she said with quiet confidence. “My dream is to study so I can stand on my own two feet. If you want to do something in life, you have to leave your past and focus on the future. I want to forget my past and start a new life ahead of me.”
While Kashi moves on with her life, IJM continues to fight to prosecute the people who trafficked her.
In her own words, Kashi shared her determination to bring change and freedom to girls going through what she survived:
“I want one thing: what I have gone through to not happen to any other child.
The fight to change society and protect other girls—this is my fight now, and I know I will complete this fight and win.
I will not be known as a girl who has gone through bad things. I will be known as a girl who has overcome bad things.
My name is Kashi, and I will hold my head high. Always. I will not let it come down. This is who I am.”
You can watch a recording of our Giving Tuesday virtual event here to learn more about our work supporting victims and survivors of trafficking. To support the fight against exploitation and protect survivors like Kashi, consider donating or sharing Kashi’s story.
About the Author
Layla Nath is in her sophomore year at American University where she studies political science and journalism! Due to her love of advocacy and academia, she is involved in her college community as a teaching and research assistant. Her desire to help others through writing and research, alongside her passion for sustainable fashion and social justice has led her to this team as an Editorial Intern!