Somy Ali Urges PM Modi to Act Against Child Sex Trafficking

New Delhi: Former Bollywood actress and dedicated anti-trafficking advocate Somy Ali has issued a poignant public appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for decisive, nationwide measures to protect India's vulnerable girls from the scourge of human sex trafficking.

As president and founder of No More Tears—a US-based nonprofit she established to combat domestic violence and human trafficking—Somy Ali brings a perspective shaped by direct, on-the-ground experience. A three-time recipient of US Presidential awards for her humanitarian work, she has spent years rescuing and supporting victims, many of them children trafficked across international borders and within India.

Writing with raw emotion, Ali emphasized that her words stem not from her past fame but from painful realities she has witnessed firsthand. “India’s daughters are not for sale,” she declared. “I am writing as a woman who has held six-year-old girls who should have been in school but instead were being sold into human sex trafficking here in the US. I am writing as someone who has rescued nine-year-olds who could not even spell their own names but had already learned the language of fear.”

Through No More Tears, Ali and her team have intervened in cases involving trafficking networks spanning from Bangladesh to Indian states, affecting villages in Punjab and urban centers like Mumbai and Chennai. She described how traffickers exploit poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality, and societal silence, often deceiving desperate families with false promises of adoption or better opportunities—only to deliver children into exploitation.

“A six-year-old does not understand sex trafficking,” Ali reflected. “She understands pain and violence. She understands hunger. She understands abandonment.” She recounted stories of children lured with tales of Disneyland visits, forged documents, and brokers offering parents money under the guise of legitimate adoption.

While acknowledging India's existing laws, task forces, and the tireless efforts of police and NGOs, Ali stressed that the problem's scale demands more robust, unified action. “It requires a coordinated, technology-driven, zero-tolerance national mission,” she asserted, aligning her plea with the spirit of the government’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign but highlighting the gap between slogan and reality.

In her direct address to the Prime Minister, Ali proposed concrete steps: seamless cross-border intelligence sharing with neighboring countries like Bangladesh; leveraging biometric and digital ID systems for real-time tracking of missing children; establishment of dedicated fast-track courts for child trafficking cases to ensure swift justice; prioritization of comprehensive survivor rehabilitation—including psychological support, education, housing, and mentorship—to prevent re-victimization; and strict accountability for any officials enabling or ignoring trafficking through corruption or indifference.

“This is not a women’s issue. This is not a regional issue. This is a national security issue, a human rights issue, and a moral issue,” she wrote. Drawing from specific encounters—a child from Mumbai who viewed abuse as obligation, a girl from Punjab who believed she was divinely punished, a child from Chennai who knew escape routes but not basic math—Ali underscored how poverty remains trafficking’s greatest ally.

She closed with an offer of collaboration: “I am ready to help. I am ready to bring the data, the field experience, and the survivor testimonies.” Insisting the issue transcends politics, she reminded that India’s rise as a global innovator cannot coexist with the disappearance of its daughters into exploitation.

“A nine-year-old should be learning the alphabet, not survival,” Ali concluded. “India’s daughters are not commodities. They are not currency. They are not collateral damage of poverty. They are the future. And the future deserves more than slogans. It deserves action.”

Her appeal arrives amid ongoing discussions on human trafficking in India, where cross-border routes and socio-economic vulnerabilities continue to fuel this organized crime despite progressive laws and awareness efforts. Ali’s call for technology integration and survivor-centered reforms offers a roadmap that could strengthen national responses if heeded.