The terror of what was to come overwhelmed me. I could run no more and knew that for my mother to be spared from being beaten and from possible death, I had to submit to my father’s will. I was to be circumcised, and could do nothing to stop it.

Hundreds living in India’s IT hub, Bangalore, thronged to the Holy Trinity Church to take up the torch in the city’s first Anti-Trafficking Vigil... Many people said ‘no’ to trafficking today as they solemnly walked the streets of Bangalore. When your voice merges with hundreds of others, look how loud your voice gets.

It is easier to identify physical violence when it occurs due to the scars, marks, bruises and broken bones that need to be fixed; it is a lot harder to deal with emotional violence. This is because the scars are internalized, hidden, and sometimes difficult to express.

From the moment the horrendous experience has begun, and until the last day of your life, it will never cease to torment you. I will never forget the faint sound of the scissor cutting my flesh four times, the stitching four times... and the nightmares of the vicious cycle of cutting-stitching-cutting, and legacy of hereditary pain.