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 6 January 2015

Monday 5th January. Visas, airports and new arrivals

Grahame arrived at midnight last night, only to have to fly out again at 3p.m. with two team members from NZ. to the far west of Nepal about 600 klms. away.  We had to go to the Indian embassy this morning to get visas for India, as Grahame and I are going there for five days from the 13th.  When we arrived there was a queue along the footpath waiting to get in.  We were number 54.  We sat there all morning; this being  our second visit; only to find out that we need to be back there on Friday morning (another queue), and again on Monday morning ( another queue) , in order to acquire out visas.  Bureaucracy!!!!  We had our final team member arrive late this afternoon.  She was very late coming out of the airport, and we worried we had lost her.  Finally, she turned up.  Baggage collection taking over an hour.  Almost everyone arriving this time has that this trouble.  They are upgrading the domestic terminal here, when the international one is in desperate need of modernisation.  Dr Ted, our keynote speaker, was saying that 41 church members from a church in Indonesia he knows, went down in the Air Asia crash.  That must have a huge impact on that community. Training goes on as usual each day.  When Grahame comes back, I will be able to send some photos on the blog, as I can do it on his computer.  Sore throats, and flu  like symptoms now doing the rounds in our guesthouse.  The joys of winter in Kathmandu.  

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