Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Almost a decade ago, when the USD 62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) took shape around Gwadar in the restive province of Baluchistan, few would have imagined the demographic imbalance it would cause, thanks to the rosy picture both Beijing and Islamabad painted about benefits of the mammoth enterprise, the flagship project showcasing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Ever since, however, bride trafficking to the Chinese working on CPEC projects has become a major issue. With an increasing number of Chinese women refusing marriage or pregnancy in their homeland, Chinese men working on the CPEC projects have found an easier way: they ‘marry’ local Pakistani women, often from underprivileged families.
This women trafficking has become a new ‘trade’ for some Chinese and Pakistanis.
At the root of the humanitarian issue is China’s lopsided demographic gender gap, driven by its government’s previous one-child policy, and customs like male child preference, selective abortion, and even female infanticide. Today, China has some 34 million more men than women.
Since 2019, bride trafficking hit Pakistani and international media. This unlawful practice involves cases of fraudulent marriage between Pakistani women and girls, mostly from marginalized and poor Christian families, and Chinese men working in the Islamic country.
According to the media reports, they lured these vulnerable victims with lump-sum payments to the poor family as the ‘price of the bride’, and promises of a good life in China. Once trapped, they are abused and pushed into inhuman living conditions, forced pregnancy, or even prostitution once they reach China along with their ‘husbands’ who return home after their work contract.
The situation became so alarming that even Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had to arrest and charge 52 Chinese traffickers. However, a Pakistani court acquitted most of them, gave bail to others, and allowed them to fly out of Pakistan. Officials in Islamabad weakened the cases and directed journalists and investigators to go slow on the issue.
The media have reported similar cases of bridge trafficking involving Chinese workers in Vietnam, North Korea, Laos, Cambodia, and Laos.
Pakistan tried to cover up the issue because of its emphasis on protecting women’s ‘honor’—which often leads to honor killings—and the fact that most women victims came from the minority Christian community. Also, Islamabad’s critical dependence on Beijing for financial, technological, and diplomatic help prevented it from going against its ‘all-weather friend’.