The Cage Bird

It was a lazy summer afternoon when I first arrived there. Cramped in a 10 feet by 10 feet room, 30 divine children were napping snugly after their lunch. Some of them 6 months old, some 8,6 or 12. It is evident that all of these children were born into brothels. In this male dominated socio economic co-ordinate of the society their mothers were compelled to sell their bodies at some point in time, and the child quietly grew in her womb. Ah..the sweet sounding word “mother” could be uttered, even if for once. Their dads remain unknown. Unseen. Untouched. In brothels, the birth of a baby girl brings joy, as within eight nine years she can also be a source of business, and she will be pampered the same way as a cow is fed for more meat. Hazera. The name of a struggling woman. Someone who has a dark past and an indomitable courage to walk towards an enlightened future. Someone who has taken up the responsibility of these children almost by herself. From mentally challenged Shohag..to school going Asma..Hazera is a mom to all these thirty children. These butterflies born into the darkness..will they remain in darkness ?

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