A life of indignity

The Missing Project is seeking public support to create awareness about the missing girls in the country.

July 05, 2015 08:50 pm | Updated 08:50 pm IST

Leena Kejriwal’s installation; the artist at the event.

Leena Kejriwal’s installation; the artist at the event.

Every year, a number of girls mysteriously disappear causing their parents, relatives and friends to ponder where they ended up. Their worst fears are that these unfortunate girls do not land up in the commercial sex racket. Indeed, many do end up as prostitutes through coercion.

This worrisome fact bothered artist-cum-activist Leena Kejriwal to such an extent that she set up Missing project, a crowd funding campaign which put up installations in different cities, at the Indian Art Fair. The project highlights that “three million women are working as prostitutes in India, with 1.2 million of them being young girls. The average age of recruitment of girls into prostitution is between nine and 12 years.”

This project might not be the ultimate solution for their problem, but it is a tentative step in a positive direction. “I might not be able to end it, but I am trying to curb the demand for trafficking. I have a strong message that needs to be told. The reaction from public reassures me that I am on the right path, it reinstates my belief in the cause,” says Leena.

Describing the project, Leena says, “The Missing project is a series of larger-than-life black silhouettes of young girls, to be installed across various cities to raise awareness about female trafficking. The silhouettes will be constructed using iron sheets, painted pitch black; depicting black holes cut out of the sky, in which metaphorically, millions of girls disappear.”

Leena plans to combine the art work with an augmented reality app that will allow anyone with a smart phone to engage with the installations, uncover hidden stories and experiences and become a part of the project.

‘Missing’ is Leena’s first public endeavour. However, she says “As an artist, I have always been a part of the public domain through my books and photographs. I wish to engage the public right from the start, and not after setting up the installations.” Through this crowd funding campaign she wishes to raise a sum of Rs.16 lakh, which is the 50 per cent cost of the installations and app development in one city. The campaign is on till July 31 on wishberry.in

Kejriwal, who has worked in France, has been expressing herself against the issue of sexual trafficking for the past 12 years. She has worked closely with various non-government organisations like Apne Aap, New Light and Hamari Muskan – all based in Kolkata, which is the hub of human trafficking. She regrets not being able to work with NGOs outside Kolkata, which are working for the same cause.

On the issue of trafficking and why it continues, she says, “If you are a trafficker in South East Asia, you are more likely to get hit by lightning than being jailed.”

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