Desperate Girls

The Badi Girls

Between 7,000 and 12,000 young girls, aged 9-16, are trafficked each year from Nepal; mainly to India. According to Nepal Monitor/On line journal, 2007, there are more than 200,000 Nepali girls in Indian brothels.

The Dalits(untouchables) are the lowest level in Hindu society, and the Badi community, in Western Nepal, are the lowest of the low. As a displaced hungry people group the Badi community has made sexual subservience a way of life. Young girls from this group “serve” other groups. This has become a tradition and means of livelihood. Many girls, even when they are unwilling, are forced to serve as sex slaves. Family members knowingly sell their daughters to traffickers.

Though prostitution is illegal in Nepal, the industry reportedly has links with highly ranked officials and political leaders. Large groups of girls are taken across the border with many police and government officials being in collusion with traffickers and brothel owners.

Traffickers and related criminals are often protected by political parties, and if arrested, are freed using political power. As a result, there is an underlying distrust of police that has led people not to file cases against traffickers.

Domestic action involves activities of NGO’s and other volunteer groups. These groups are playing a major role to address girl-trafficking and sex slaves issues. Some NGO’s are playing a very important role to improve the situation. From creating social awareness to rescuing and rehabilitation, they are providing services (and relief) to those that need it the most – the likely victims as well as the rescued ones. The Lighthouse foundation is one of these.

*See Chandra Kala’s story on this blog site.

Monday 24 September 2012

Sunday, Monkey Mayhem

The team members went their various ways this morning, and this afternoon, we met up with the team of young people from Groves Distance Ed. who are here on a mission trip.  We had a meal with them in Thamel and half of the team came home, while the rest of us had to pick up some things and then caught a second cab home.  We arrived home to chaos.  Someone had left a window partly open and our naughty monkey paid us a visit while we were out.  He had caused utter chaos in the flat.  He had been in the pantry and chewed holes in lots of stuff, which had to be thrown out.  He chewed my ear phones to pieces, eaten a few cholesterol  tablets, chewed up biros and left blue ink everywhere.  He unscrewed the lid off a full, large bottle of oil and poured it all over the kitchen, he broke some eggs, had broken open a packet of icing sugar all over the carpet.  He left blue ink all over a bottle of sleeping tablets as he had tried to open it up.  And of course, he left lots of unpleasant little other messages all over the place.  The electricity was out.  When our first group arrived home, 3 women and Robert, the women went flying into the bedroom and locked the door, and poor Robert had to be brave and get rid of it.  He chased it out onto the verandah, and it politely came back in through the window.  Finally Robert managed to get it out.  We arrived home 20 minutes later and were glad we were not here to have to clean up the mess.  We are hoping he didn't wee on our bedding.  Anyway, we all sat around afterwards, had a cuppa and a good laugh.  Only in Nepal.

Robyn

No comments:

Post a Comment