Asha's Story
Asha’s owners, who had purchased her for Rs.1,00,000, (roughly equivalent to $1,900.00) allowed her to leave the brothels at times, but she was never allowed to take her little girl with her. The owners knew that if Asha took her baby girl with her, she would never return, but as long as her baby, Priya, was not with her, she would always return to the red light districts.Her love for her child was greater than the fear and pain she experienced on a daily basis from those who purchased her services. She loved this child with a love that she had never received – even as a child. Her mother had died when she was only 1 ½ ; her father, for some reason, held her responsible for the death of his wife, and so throughout her childhood, he along with Asha’s brother abused her severely, even coming to the point of almost killing her.Not having succeeded in his plans to kill her, Asha’s father forced her into marriage at the age of 15; Asha, a child from a Hindu background, was forced to marry a Muslim man. Asha became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl who died when she was only 1 ½ old. Along with this tragedy, was also the pain of a marriage that included frequent fights that arose from Asha’s apparent inability to adjust to the ways of Islam. Several years later, Asha became pregnant again and gave birth to Priya. The tension in the home had increased so much that her husband and her in-laws demanded that she take her daughter and leave their home.
Alone and desperate, Asha, with her child, got on a train and travelled from where they lived in Bangalore, Karnataka to Puna, Maharashtra. She was not sure why she had chosen to come here or what she was going to do. She wandered around the station confused and scared. A man was watching her. Sensing the confusion on her face, he approached her, and asked her if she was okay. She shared her predicament with him; the man assured her that he would be able to find a good job for her and her daughter. Left without much of a choice, Asha trusted him and went with him. He took her straight to the red light districts of Puna and sold her.Asha was moved between various red light districts by her owners; she lived this life for five years before she met BTC staff workers James and Sylvia who were part of the BTC team that visited with and prayed with women in the red light districts. Asha grew to trust them. One day Asha, with her little girl, escaped her captors and fled to a hotel in a nearby town; from there she called James and Sylvia. The BTC team immediately came and took the mother and child to safety.
On June 28, the team brought Asha to the Ashagram Women’s Center. Asha’s life has changed dramatically; she is taking literacy classes and learning to make jewelry. It will not be easy to work through all that Asha has gone through, but the journey towards healing has begun.
Meanwhile, her little girl has quickly adjusted to the life at the children’s home. She laughs, plays, sings, and learns about a God who adores her. She is also attending Kindergarten at a local school. Her mother’s courage and BTC’s presence has given little Priya a chance at a life that she would otherwise never have had.Written by Jooly Philip