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 8 April 2013

Monday

Well, the "bunda" has come and gone so it turned out to be a rest day for us as we needed to stay at home.  Needless to say, we still have only one phase of electricity.  We have to pay a man to fix it today as if we wait for the electricity department, it will never happen.  We got our generator serviced yesterday so we managed to pump up enough water to keep us going for another day.  Any one travelling yesterday had to sneek around the back streets on their bikes.  Apparently, there were marches in different parts of the city, but all has returned to normal (Nepali normal that is).  I tried to use the washing machine yesterday, but because the power was so low I couldn't run the washing and spinning at the same time on our little twin tub.  So while the spinner was going I stuck my arm in the washing tub part, and was the manual agitator.  My doll classes resume today, till the end of the week.  One of our girls, one of the three new arrivals I told you about earlier had a birthday yesterday.  She is only 15.  So today we plan a little surprise party for her at the end of the day.  Margaret and her team begin their cooking classes today.  They have a long day beginning 9a.m. to 4 p.m..  for the next two weeks.  That is a long time to be standing in a kitchen, especially for people in their 60's.  Some of us plan to take out our little sponsored girls out on Saturday after church, so we look forward to that

Robyn
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