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.

Saturday, 25 April 2015

Friday,





Tim, in the yellow shirt, and  Peter, with the very robust beard, doing maintenance of bikes at the church.  One of our girls really wanting to be a mechanic.   They drew quite a crowd.
Tahlia, above, is here in the guest house for the next 6 months teaching ESL to the students going to Indonesia later this year,and a crash course for the Freedom Tour girls.  The couple in blue, Leann and Ian Buckle,   have just arrived, and will be here for five years.  They will be heading up the work in Dologhat, 2 hours from Kathmandu, where we plant set up a training centre/camp site.  Tomorrow, Grahame is flying to India, first to Calcutta and then to New Delhi, to further our projects there.  We had three new arrivals today.  David Westbrook, from Mackay, will be teaching in the Bible College here for the week.  Most of the team are going out to village churches tomorrow.  It is about two hours drive, but it is lovely driving through the country.  We are hoping for a good view of the Himalayas on the way.
Robyn.

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