May 28 2007
Rape for Profit: Trafficking of Nepali Girls and Women in India’s Brothels (Book)
(Published by Human Rights Watch/Asia)
Book description…
“Hundreds of thousands of women and children are employed in Indian brothels—many of them lured or kidnapped from Nepal and sold into conditions of virtual slavery… Both the Indian and Nepal governments are complicit in the abuses suffered by trafficking victims… “
My thoughts…
The stories — of women kidnapped and sold by family friends or brothers or even fathers — reveal how Nepal’s and India’s social, political and economic environment enable the “flesh trade” to flourish. I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn about the complicity of the Nepali police force.
On an indirectly related note: Today Cheryl took me to visit her friend Olga Murray who lives half the year in Tiburon and half in Kathmandu. Olga, who’s in her eighties, founded a nonprofit called Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation. In addition to providing education, scholarships, nutritional rehab and housing to kids, they’ve developed a program to liberate “indentured daughters.”