‘From captivity to leaders’: Three former slaves in India win village council elections
- Millions of bonded labourers work in Indian fields, brick kilns, rice mills, brothels and as domestic workers to pay loans that can stretch across generations
- In 2016, India announced an ambitious goal to rescue more than 18 million bonded labourers by 2030
Three former bonded labourers were elected to village councils on Wednesday in what experts have called a game-changer for millions in India who are trafficked to work and pay off debts.
One of the trailblazing winners was Kudumula Devamma, 40, who spent two decades fishing to repay loans taken by her father-in-law and husband in southern Telangana state.
“It is something I never ever dreamt of,” she said.
“My first priority is to improve the condition of my community and help them stay free,” said Devamma, one the first female former bonded labourers to be elected to a panchayat, or village council.
Millions of bonded labourers work in India in fields, brick kilns, rice mills, brothels and as domestic workers to pay off loans. Most are illiterate, keep no records, are paid a pittance and do not know how long it will take to pay off their debt.
Two others survivors of debt bondage, the most prevalent form of slavery in India despite being banned in 1976, were also elected to councils in the area.