continued
Bride trafficking is the practice of luring victims from marginalised sections of society with promises of monetary benefits and a better lifestyle in China, leading to fake and often forced (by the family) marriages between Pakistani women and Chinese men. Reports suggest abuse of these women including forced prostitution and pregnancy in China. It was first
highlighted in the Japanese news outlet
Nikkei Asia in 2015.
In April 2019, Pakistan’s
Daily Times reported that in March, “a news agency raided a matchmaking centre in Lahore where six women — two of them were just 13-year-old girls — were waiting to travel to China. The women had been given 400,000 PKR (US$2,800) as an initial payment, and were promised another 40,000 PKR as a monthly stipend in future.” Other reports
added that they were also promised mobile phones and Chinese visas.