Research Paper On A Thousand Splendid Suns

t wasn’t easy tolerating him talking this way to her, to bear his scorn, his ridicule, his insults, his walking past her like she was nothing but a house cat. But after four years of marriage, Mariam saw clearly how much a woman could tolerate when she was afraid.” (pg64). In the story A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, he touches base with how life really is like in the Middle East and other countries. One topic that he touches on is Sexual Exploitation and Child Marriage. Girls are forced to marry men they don't know who can be much older than they are, and then are forced to have sex with them to start a family and a legacy. Women and girls make up 98% of the victims in sex trafficking. Sex Trafficking, also known as Human Trafficking is modern day slavery. It involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or
commercial sex act.
Traffickers lure victims and force them into labor or commercial sexual exploitation. China has the has the highest volumes of sex trafficking in the world. Researching further into this topic it seems that sex trafficking is not just something people see and hear about on the news or in police shows. This is something that is happening all around the world to women and children daily in China. They are taken from their homes and families to be exploited and used as a profit. Sex Trafficking started in the early 1600's as a form of prostitution and slave trading, but did not become a political issue until the early 1900’s. When sex trafficking first began they would move women from Africa to Portugal. Sex Trafficking is found all over the world but primarily in China and Middle Eastern countries. Women and girls would be taken from the streets, their homes, and their families and be transported far and wide for prostitution purposes. China has many laws revolving around marriage and family planning. In the past few years China has addressed these trafficking issues
and made laws that specifically address trafficking, kidnapping, and sexual exploitation of women and children. In 1991, the National People's Congress Standing Committee enacted a "Decision Relating to the Severe Punishment of Criminals Who Abduct and Kidnap Women and a Children". This means that when arrested and charged, the Abduction and sale of women and children are separate offenses. This results in a higher sentence and more jail time. Prior to this act many traffickers who sold women would be released. Now kidnappers and sellers are prosecuted. Another law was passed called the "Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests". This was the first law in China to protect women's rights. The LPWRI does not allow kidnapping, trafficking, and buying women although it does not have set penalties for these offenses. This law does not give a definition of discrimination against women. Those who buy abducted women who are then forced to have sex will be tried for rape. The penalty for rape is a three to ten year sentence. Sexual exploitation of girls underage can receive a sentence of life in prison. The death penalty may be given to people who abduct and traffic a women, rape, prostitute a women, or steal and infant for the purpose of selling the victim, or lastly sell the victim outside of China. There is also a law now to protect minors from getting abducted and trafficked. This law became effective on June 2007 it protects them from sexual exploitation and prostitution. Women and Children in China everyday experience this in their day to day lives. There is a story of a girl from Cambodia. Her name is Kolab. For her entire life she has never known who her real parents are as she was abducted from infancy. She only studied to the fifth grade and then was forced to work as her families servant. She worked in a Karaoke bar they owned and was forced to sell drugs and sex. Kolab was born in 1991. Her 'adoptive' parents treated her like a house servant and frequently beat her for no reason. After her chores she would help with rice paddies after finishing the housework. When she was seven she learned that her parents had sold her for the equivalent of a 1,000 U.S dollars since they could not afford to raise her. When she turned 13 years old she was sold again. This time to a woman in the capital city Phnom Penh. She worked for the woman who only paid her $12.50 U.S dollars a month. She cooked, cleaned, and washed clothes non stop. Two months after she was raped by the woman's husband. When she finally escaped she did not know where she was supposed to go. Two men offered to have her stay with them but when she arrived to their home she saw 15 girls on drugs who were being held captive. She went through this for most of her life until she was finally able to escape and the police helped her. In china the consequences for sex trafficking and the exploitation of women are vague. When a case is brought to trail in the Chinese court system, they try to break down as much of the case as possible to give the person the most charges. For example, if a man comes in accused of trafficking women and selling them for sexual acts but along has raped them himself, he would be charged for rape, selling women, and for abducting a women. The punishment to these laws and what they entail are also vague and are not open to the public's knowledge.
There are many possible changes that could be made in China regarding sexual exploitation of women. Women's rights is a new idea in China and some people are not for it. There needs to be clearer laws regarding what the punishment would be for trafficking women and children, rape, and forcing women into prostitution. If other people know the punishments for these charges, and they are more clear, it may decrease the chances of these crimes happening. In conclusion sex trafficking and exploitation of women in all countries needs to stop and it won't unless there are stricter laws against it. Women and children are victims everyday and unless more people are aware of what is going on it will never stop being an issue in today's society.