Noura Hussein did not want to marry. At 16, she was still in high school, aspiring to become a teacher. But her family forced her to a marry a man of their choice — a cousin as it turned out — against her will. They made a contract with the groom’s family, but Noura refused, […]
Source: Washington Post
The Washington Post is the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington, D.C., and was founded in 1877.
‘Smallville’ Actress Allison Mack Indicted for Sex Trafficking
Actress Allison Mack, who spent a decade playing Chloe Sullivan on the TV show “Smallville,” was indicted along with Keith Raniere last Friday on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor. Raniere was the leader and founder of NXIVM — a self-proclaimed self-help group that authorities allege was a cult that made women sex […]
China’s One-Child Policy and the Rise in ‘Imported’ Brides
Tens of thousands of foreign women, primarily from Southeast Asia, are moving to China for marriage. At once, they’re trying to escape poverty but are also being drawn to China because of the country’s shortage of women. For decades the effects China’s one-child policy and strong preference for sons has created a severe gender imbalance […]
Texas Parents Burned Daughter for Refusing Marriage
In the middle of 2017 Maarib Al Hishmawi’s parents told her that they had found a man that she would marry. She was only 15-years-old at the time, and her parents said the man was going to pay the family $20,000. After marrying him, Maarib would move away from her home in San Antonio, Texas to be […]
Thai Court Fines Andy Hall $321,000 for Defamation
A Thai court in Bangkok has ordered labor rights activist Andy Hall to pay 10 million baht ($321,000) in damages for defamation. Hall had helped expose labor abuses committed against Myanmar migrant workers at factories operated by pineapple canning company Natural Fruit. Natural Fruit retaliated by filing four defamation suits against Hall. The Washington Post reports: […]
Police are Trained to Spot Drug Trafficking. Why not Child Trafficking, too?
Deputy Patrick Paquette recalls the night that forever changed his career in law enforcement. One night he pulled over a 29-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl who were in possession of marijuana. It looked like a routine case of drug possession, but something seemed off. The girl looked sad, worried—unwilling to make eye contact. She […]
US House Passes Anti-Online Sex Trafficking Bill
The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow legal action against websites that host advertisements for prostitution — some of which advertise trafficked children. This includes websites like Backpage. The bill will now go to the Senate and, if approved, to the White House. The new legislation arose as current […]
Enslaved in Libya, Nigerians Now Face Sex Traffickers Back Home
Thousands of stranded Nigerian migrants in Libya have been sent back home in an effort to save them from Libya’s slave markets. But for many of these migrants, escaping slavery in Libya doesn’t mean they’ve escaped human traffickers in Nigeria. Experts warn that returned Nigerian women are dropped in the middle of the country’s thriving […]
Survivors of Child Marriage Speak Out in West Africa
As she sits on the floor and holds her baby, she is panicked and tears fill her eyes. Her husband, nearly 20 years older, might kill her if he knew she was telling this story. Speaking anonymously, she says she was married at age 13 in the West African nation of Guinea because her parents […]
New Film Highlights Worker Abuse in Qatar’s Preparation for World Cup
While soccer provides tremendous joy, it also “carries a considerable underbelly, a thick layer of rottenness shrouded by the grace and grandeur of the sport’s eminent performers”, according to this article in The Washington Post. Seven years ago, FIFA made the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Although it is a small […]