Actor and humanitarian Ashley Judd, board member of Population Services International (PSI) and Global Ambassador for YouthAIDS, will be writing posts for the ONE Blog during her March 2007 travels through India. During the trip, Ashley will address women’s issues, and have the opportunity to discover how families can be empowered to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancies.

Friday, Mar 23

Ruchira told us an enraging story about a woman, trafficked to a brothel
as a child who was able to flee. Tragically, amidst her rare escape, she
had to leave her small child behind.

The woman, Meena, rehabilitated her life (a rarity in this culture),
found Ruchira and asked her to help her rescue her girl out from the old
brothel. The girl, Naina, had been sold to a 60-year old man while the
child was only 8. He wanted a virgin. Ruchira, the local police, and the
mama, got the girl out, only to have her TAKEN AWAY BY A JUDGE. The
judge deemed the mother of “bad character in her past life” and declared
the pimp the father. The child was asked to produce burden of proof that
her mother is actually her mother. She could not, of course. The child
is now in custody of a remand home, meaning a juvenile delinquent house.
Shocking, appalling, impossible? Yes, but, only if you don’t know India.

I instantly became willing to stay in India as a public protest ’til
that girl was free. I was ready for civil disobedience on the curb in
front of the remand house, the judge’s house. I was ready to fast, to
call friends to travel to India to raise high holy hell with me. It
turned out not to have been necessary; the girl is not free, don’t get
ahead of yourself, or of the bureaucracy; it’s just that tonight I did
manage to pull off a stunt that has helped.

At 8:00, Seane came to my room and we each shared our experience with
Ruchira. We made it out the door to what is I hope and pray was our last
evening event for this trip. Tonight is something Kate put together, I
just knew I needed to make a speech and that it could be about the
programs, which for me, is just story telling of the best sort.

At the Rai family home, I was stunned to see great swatches of green
cultivated gardens, single file rows of Dahlias the size of dinner
plates. I sat on a small stage, while the Rai’s well dressed,
beautifully mannered guests took slip-covered seats. Mr. Rai said nice
things about Kate and me, described his family’s education fund, Kate
described PSI, and I took over to, yet again, share bluntly with
previously unengaged Indians the story of HIV here. I was hoping to
lure, shock, galvanize, charm, them out of complacency and into
activism. One of Bono’s great lines came to me: “This is not about
charity: This is about justice.” The whole trip, and especially the
story of the girl in the remand home, just lit a fire in me and tonight.
I would NOT back down.

I floated around the garden, meeting people and eventually ended up in a
small sitting room inside the family’s home of thirty years. Mr. Rai
came in, smiling bigger now, to tell me two very prominent lawyers, with
Ruchira’s help and evidence, were taking the mother and daughter’s
case!!! He explained the lower courts are corrupt, inefficient,
bothersome, mired, and that it works differently here, in that cases may
be taken directly to the highest court in the land. The lawyers will
take Meena and Naina’s plight directly to the high court and onto the
supreme court if necessary.

They all fully expect this case will be a “cri de ceour” that changes
the letter of the law, which, as it currently stands, insanely
discriminates against women who have been trafficked as ‘persons of bad
character.’

If that’s not enough to drop you to your knees!!!