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.

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Tuesday - Electricity in the air.

Yesterday, we were overjoyed to see a man up a pole fixing our spaghetti wires. but our joy was short-lived.  We still have some power, but our fridge was not co-operating.  The fridge in the kitchen downstairs was working, so everything was run down there.  Then we discovered that one switch in the kitchen turned the whole house off, all four floors.  Charging our equipment is a constant frustration .Anyway, we are determined to get some one here today and get this crazy system sorted out.  It is bad enough with 10 hours off a day, without all this when it is "sort of" on.  We had our birthday party yesterday with our little 15 year old.  I got a cake with chocolate shavings on the top, and bought her two little bracelets.  She was  so happy , a bit stunned, to receive all the attention.  Her little face was beaming as she opened her little gift and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  It is one of the highlights of our trip so far.  The women are doing so well with the sewing.  They really have taken to the project with gusto.  We actually had a garbage collection yesterday.  First in 10 days.  Someone heard the whistle blowing and we all flew downstairs and ran to the gate to fling our bags of very smelly rubbish in the back of the truck.  We are getting more organised though.  We are going to dig all our vege scraps into the garden, burn our paper and then the rest can to go to the "garbo" when we see him again, whenever that is

Robyn
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