Zimbabwe MP says women trafficked to Kuwait are being forced to have sex with 10 men a day

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA):  Can we have less noise in the House, Hon. Members.

HON. NYAMUPINGA:  That 34% of African countries are major sources of human trafficking to Europe, while 26% of countries mostly in East Africa are major sources of trafficking to Arab countries.  On this one, let me also add that these girls or the women who are being trafficked, we have almost about 2000 or over 1000 that are roaming around in China as we speak right now.  They were trafficked to China and some of them are now desperate and stranded in China.

Also, some of them, we have about 200 Zimbabweans and the majority of the 200 are women, are on the death row in China because they have been used by the so called Nigerians who are coming here, marrying them through an Act that we enacted in this House.  They marry them and then ask them go to China to buy their wedding gowns.  As they go to China to buy their wedding gown, they are given a bag, with a is called false bottom and in that false bottom, there are drugs packed in there.  They are told when you get to China my friend is going to receive you and will show you the shops where you can buy your gown.  She gets to China and the emigration and customs of China know that and these girls are captured and convicted.

Once that is done, the Nigerian will go and marry the next one.  I do not know the game of changing names and whatever happens.  I think also the Minister of Home Affairs, through the Registrar General, should also look at this.  So, these women now – you know in China, they will tell you that once you bring drugs, its death penalty, almost 200 are on death row and of the 200, the majority are women.

What can be done?  We need to revisit some of the laws, even some the laws that we included in the new Constitution that was ratified in 2013.  There is need to do that, Mr. Speaker Sir.  What do we need these Nigerian for?  I have never seen many Nigerian women.  I have only seen Nigerian men.  They leave their wives in Nigeria there and they come and abuse our women here.  I think the Government needs to look at that whether they have a Government to Government agreement where they look at these issues together and make sure that it is rectified.

The rise of globalisation and the widening gap between developing and developed countries, poverty, unemployment and lack of equal opportunities are factors to trafficking in persons.  There is need to interrogate the global supply chain in human trafficking.  We call upon the Inter-Ministerial Committee that we have not seen, that we only saw on the day they were having a press conference chaired by Home Affairs, to look into this issue and facilitate country to country agreements on the protection of migrant labour.

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