Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today Monday is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2024. On December 2, 1949, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention for the Suppression of Trafficking and Exploitation in Persons (Decision 317/4). The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is celebrated on December 2 every year to commemorate the adoption of the Convention. On this day in 1949, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of Persons. International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is celebrated every year to commemorate this day.

Although almost eighty years have passed since the adoption of this Convention, slavery cannot be said to have been completely abolished throughout the world. Rather, slavery has been kept alive in a new form. Slaves are still seen behind the scenes in all developed and underdeveloped countries; Especially in our region of Southeast Asia, Arabia and Africa. And so the relevance of observing this day still exists today. On August 22 and 23, 1791, protests began in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Later Britain freed their African slaves in 1807 and the United States in 1808. The United Kingdom, France, and the United States outlawed slavery in 1833, 1848, and 1865, respectively. Also Sweden 1846, Argentina 1853, Mexico 1829, Denmark 1848, Cuba 1886, Brazil 1888, Madagascar 1896, China 1910, Afghanistan 1923, Iraq 1924, Iran 1928, Myanmar 1929, Saudi Arabia 1962, United Arab Emirates 1963, Nepal 1926. Abolished slavery from

Slavery began when primitive man entered the Neolithic period, i.e., when agriculture began. In 1760, a ruler of Babylon named Hamburabi established slavery by law. In that law, there are signs of forced employment of laborers in various works including house construction, crop production. After that, slavery was practiced in almost every civilization in the world. Its horrors were especially widespread in Greek civilization. Many Buddhists, including Aristotle, said that slavery was a natural thing. Some are born slaves by nature. In 1472 Portuguese merchants made the first slave contract. In 1663, a Virginia court ruled that if a mother was a slave, her child was also considered a slave. During the Byzantine Empire and Muslim civilization, slave trade also became widespread. The slave trade in Africa took a terrible form. About 3 percent of the population of some countries, including Ghana and Mali, were slaves. Slavery also existed in Asia, but it entered the continent much later. According to one report, in 1841, about nine million people were identified as slaves in the Indian subcontinent. Gold, diamonds or other valuables were considered the value of slaves. Slaves with more body strength were sold at a higher price. Most slaves were sold at auction. Originally, Europeans used blacks in the Caribbean as slaves for various tasks, including sugarcane cultivation. In some societies it is legal to kill one's slave, and in others it is considered a crime. Maids are usually kept to satisfy sexual lust. They were kept as concubines and their children were either kept as slaves or sold. Protests and rebellion against these inhumane slavery gradually started building up later. In the 18th century, organized slave revolts began in America and its surrounding areas. Just as Spartacus is legendary as a slave, so many unnamed slaves rebelled and died.

The American writer Harriet Beecher Stowe in her novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' portrays the sad story of slave life very poignantly through this central character. These are the stories of brutal, inhuman oppression of white people on black people. We get to know what unbearable life they have lived through centuries. These slaves had no freedom. They could not get married outside the Lord's will. Despite their brutal subjugation, these slaves produced high-quality cotton in the southern United States. Slave masters also preferred captive labor over free labor for cotton cultivation. They wanted to keep the slave system alive for their own economic interests. Their idea was that it was possible to extract all the labor power from the slave workers. Slavery means forcing a person to do labor and in this case treating a person as the 'movable property' of another person. The place or ownership changes against the will of the people bound in this chain of slavery. There is no wage for their labor. In the past it was legal to kill one's slave in some societies. We have come out of those atrocities, that's right.

However, the modern transformation of the slave system, we have to find a way to get rid of it. Although the abolition of slavery is a shameful chapter in human history, the International Labor Organization estimates that 12 million people around the world are still enslaved to forced labor, slavery, and practices related to slavery. Sociologists say that although the horror of slavery is no longer there, it has transformed but it still exists in the society. Those concerned said that human trafficking continues even though there is no direct slave trade in the modern world. Sociologists are of the opinion that although the horror of slavery is no longer present, it has transformed, but it still exists in the society. According to them, everyone has house slaves.

They are what we call working people. They get out of bed before we do, go to bed after we do. They also have no working hours, no fixed salary structure. no holiday In many homes they are not well fed. Many allocate good rice for themselves and cheap rice for working people. All these things are reminiscent of slavery. We do not protest against the so-called educated class. Because then we will be disadvantaged. So this tradition continues. Moreover, 'farmer slaves' were still to be found tilling the lands of wealthy landowners. Child labor exists in many countries of the world. The number of 14-year-old child laborers in Bangladesh is over 63 lakh. 80 lakh child labor below 17 years. There is a trend of prostitution and forced marriage. These fall under the practice of slavery. So it can be said that slavery has not disappeared from society.

The main objective of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is to raise awareness about human trafficking, sex slavery, forced child labour, forced marriage and the use of children in war. Most importantly, human trafficking has become a hot topic in the modern world. Experts have called it a new form of slavery. History shows that in 1791, protests against slavery first started in the present Haiti and Dominican Republic. Later Britain freed their African slaves in 1807 and the United States in 1808. Later, Britain outlawed slavery in 1833, France in 1848, and the United States in 1865. Yet there are still 1.2 million people in the world held captive to forced labor, slavery and practices related to slavery. However, the gradual increase in the use of free labor, gradual progress in industrialization, and humanist movements from the second half of the nineteenth century made slavery gradually unpopular with the people and unacceptable to society. In the early 20th century, Bengal was freed from the slave system.

The Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) has said many times about the reward of freeing the slaves. His farewell Hajj speech also called for the freeing of slaves. His closest companion, Hazrat Belal (R.A.), was an Abyssinian slave. He could give adhan in a melodious voice. Answering the call of Islam from distant Abyssinia, he came to Mecca. Human civilization is advancing. Third world countries like Bangladesh are not lagging behind in that progress, competing with the 'so-called' civilized nations of the world. In this context it is hoped that any form of slavery does not tarnish our way forward.

.Finally, we hope that like International Labor Day on May 1, the International Slavery Day will be properly celebrated on December 2 in our country (although many large domestic companies continue their institutional operations on May 1)Increase awareness among all categories of professionals or employees. Create a fair, friendly and social work environment. Eliminate mental slavery and torture. Let the mentality be humaneSo on this day, let us pledge to honor and restore the dignity of enslaved people and strengthen efforts to eradicate the scourge of slavery from the earth.

The writer is a, organizer, columnist and researcher Founder and Chairman, Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society.