A social movement needs to be created to combat human trafficking. Despite strict laws on punishment for such crime, we have not been able to eliminate trafficking entirely. This was expressed by guests at the launching of the drama video Bon Pora Horini (The Dispossessed Entity) by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, Agargaon in Dhaka today.

H. E. Ingebjǿrg Stǿfring, the Norwegian Ambassador and Md. Ghulam Hussain, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs also attended the launching ceremony as special guests.

“Trafficking in persons is a serious human rights violation and one of the worst forms of criminal offense in any society. One of the most effective means of addressing it is raising social awareness. The film Bon Pora Horini intends to create that awareness by screening it in villages and village markets, in areas in Bangladesh that are prone to cross border trafficking,” said Ms. Rabab Fatima, IOM Regional Representative for South Asia, in her welcome address.

IOM produced drama Bon Pora Horini is centred on the stigmatization of the victims of trafficking, their rehabilitation and calls every strata of the society to unite against human trafficking. Bangladesh’s favourite singer and a Member of the Parliament, Ms. Momtaj Begum, play the key role in Bon Pora Horini. The drama is based on real life events.

The drama was produced as part of the IOM project Prevention and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking in Bangladesh (PPVHT-B), funded by the governments of Norway and Denmark.

IOM, as in international organization has been working on safe and legal migration since 1958. Since 1998, IOM is also engaged in prevention of trafficking, repatriation of trafficked victims, their rehabilitation and provision of legal assistance. To this end, IOM provides financial and technical assistance to many of the important ministries and department. IOM is carrying out these activities in Bangladesh with the help of the government, non governmental agencies and the civil society.

Plot Summary:

As a young child, singer Momtaj used to hear stories about girls going missing from her father. Her father made her promise that someday she would do something for these missing girls.

When she grew up, singer Momtaj travelled through various parts of the country in search of missing girls. During her search, the discovery of the unfortunate sufferings of the women inspired her to write songs. On stage she narrates the stories of these girls through her lyrics. The other actors featured in this drama are Prachi, Chadni, Shaju Mehedi, Iti, Shimu, and Journal Promukh.

This drama is produced by Asiatic Marketing Communication Limited, written by Humayun Kabir Emon and directed by Shankar Shaojal. For more information please contact Asif Munier at IOM Dhaka. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Tel. +880.2.988.9765