Half of the survivors of the sexual abuse scandal that rocked a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, have successfully reconstructed their lives after being sent to Bengaluru to pursue hotel management studies. Out of the 34 girls affected, seventeen are currently employed in hotels across various states in India, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. These resilient individuals are now earning an annual income of over Rs 3.5 lakh.
“A woman working in Karnataka shared that our past is no longer a concern and we are enjoying our lives. She mentioned that her first priority is to save Rs 10 lakh before considering marriage.” This statement highlights the importance of financial stability and personal goals in one’s life. In May 2018, a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) exposed cases of sexual abuse in shelter homes in Bihar, particularly the one in Muzaffarpur run by former MLA Brajesh Thakur.
Following a CBI investigation, Thakur and 18 others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi POCSO court in 2020. To provide rehabilitation for the residents of these shelter homes, the state social welfare department decided to send them to Bengaluru to study hotel management. The first batch of 14 girls from various shelter homes were sent for a one-year diploma course in 2020, and after successfully completing it, the department sent two more batches. A total of 45 girls and 20 boys from shelter homes in Bihar, including 17 girls from the Muzaffarpur home, were trained in hotel management. This initiative provides a positive opportunity for these individuals to gain skills and improve their future prospects.
According to a woman who is currently employed at a four-star hotel, the journey to get to where they are now was difficult for many of them as they were not exposed to the outside world before. She recalls her first time traveling by air and how those with window seats were fixated on the clouds the entire time. However, they were given training in English speaking and hospitality, which has allowed them to feel like they have been reborn into a better world. The Bihar government has also decided to invite tenders for an “after-care” program to rehabilitate people living in more than a dozen shelter homes across the state. Bhojpur district magistrate Raj Kumar helped shelter home residents find employment in the hospitality industry by getting them admitted to a hotel management course. Despite the challenges they faced, they were able to obtain Class 8 pass certificates and were sent to Bengaluru with clothes, sanitary napkins, and Rs 5,000 in cash. The girls were specially counseled by the TISS team and were taught basic English and how to obtain Aadhaar cards. One of the girls from the Muzaffarpur shelter home is now working in a hotel in Karnataka.