Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Chinese nationals arrested in Lahore, Pakistan for allegedly selling women into fake marriages and then forcing them into prostitution. Photo: Ali Murtaza/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani authorities have arrested more than two dozen Chinese nationals involved in allegedly selling Pakistani women into forced marriages in China.
Why it matters: Human rights groups have documented numerous cases of women sold to Chinese men struggling to find wives due in part to the gender imbalance in the country.
A report by the U.S. State Department says such women have been deceived, forced into unwanted pregnancies, confined for forced concubinism and subjected to prostitution. Pakistani authorities say a crackdown over the past two weeks has exposed an organized crime network involved in trafficking such women.
The latest: Around 30 Chinese nationals allegedly seeking or helping to sell brides have been arrested in raids in multiple Pakistani cities, according to law enforcement officials. Local agents accused of luring poor families into marrying their daughters to Chinese men have also been arrested.
- The raids followed cries for help from several Pakistani women in China. Approximately 20 women were rescued, and some have since described brutal physical and sexual abuse, and even fears their organs could be sold.
- A court released two Chinese nationals married to Pakistani women after their spouses testified they had willingly married the men.
China’s embassy in Pakistan released a statement saying China supports the Pakistani crackdown if laws are being broken, but also said Chinese investigations had found “no forced prostitution or sale of human organs” for Pakistani women living in China.
- China has sent a task force to coordinate with Pakistani authorities and "jointly safeguard China-Pakistan friendly relations." Pakistan is an ally of China, and a number of Chinese workers live there.
- China has also withheld visas for 90 Pakistani women who were to travel to China with their spouses.
The big picture: There are documented cases of women being trafficked to China from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, North Korea and Pakistan, says Heather Barr, acting co-director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch.
- The “pull factor,” Barr says, is the gender disparity in China, which was exacerbated by the one child policy because many parents wanted their only child to be a son. There are 30 to 40 million more men than women in China, and projections suggest that by 2030, more than 1-in-4 Chinese men in their late 30s won't be married.
- The “push factor” is conflict and desperate conditions in countries like Myanmar which leave women vulnerable to trafficking.
The bottom line: The State Department’s anti-human trafficking watchdog has stated that Beijing has not met its minimum standards for the prevention of human trafficking.