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“Being
a CNN Hero doesn’t make us proud but it reminds us that the problem still exists
and we need to join hands to fight against it.” - Anuradha Koirala
When a bad situation befalls you, do you buckle down
and leave it to fate? Or do you stand up, fight for your right and turn around
to make things right?
When Maiti Nepal founder Anuradha Koirala had the
misfortune of becoming a battered wife and suffered from her husband’s abuses,
she had the courage to fight back and walk away. Not many in a society where
women are expected to be submissive and complacent to their spouses would have
done that. But Anuradha did more. Not
wanting to go back to an abused life or see others like her suffer the same
fate again, she did what other women during that time didn’t have the courage
to do…she founded Maiti Nepal in 1993.
Maiti Nepal is a haven for women and children who have
nowhere to go, especially the trafficked and abused. It works not only to
provide shelter for them but also to seek justice for the victims. Since then, Maiti Nepal has established three prevention homes, eleven transit
homes, a hospices and Teresa Academy.
Its programs include awareness
campaigns on sex trafficking, rescue operations for trafficked women and girls,
apprehending traffickers, providing legal support to the needy, women
empowerment programs, and providing anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to HIV
infected children and women. It also provides educational support to the
children and women who have a desire for learning and psychological counseling,
support, and life skills to girls/women at risk of being trafficked.
Problems at Hand:
Maiti Nepal is just one among many other NGOs that continue
to battle the prevalent and humongous problem on human trafficking. The problems
are complex ranging from funding, endangering lives of volunteers and victims, resistance
or difficulty in reintegrating and rehabilitating victims, to lack of government
support. Added to those difficulties, Maiti Nepal’s operations were also criticized
for using extreme measures to deal with the problem. They have been accused of “forcibly
rescuing” victims in brothels particularly in instances when the victims themselves
refuse to be rehabilitated.
Though
programs were launched and laws were passed to protect victims (Labor Act of 1992, the Human Trafficking Control
Act of Nepal of 1986, and the National Human Rights Commission Act of 1993, 11th Amendment Bill of 1997, National
Plan of Action (NPA) against Trafficking in Children and Women for Sexual and
Labor Exploitation in 2001), studies made show the need to increase
law enforcement efforts against all types of trafficking. The lack of enthusiasm
by some government officials also point to the reality that some have been
found to be complicit in trafficking. Corruption contributes to the problem. Most
traffickers remain free because they can buy their way out by bribing authorities.
This “power” they have over authorities lessen the victims’ trust on law
enforcers for fear of retaliation. Like many societies, victims also tend to be
viewed as the guilty party and blamed for their situation and may even end up
imprisoned instead of the trafficker.
Furthering
the Cause:
The
laudable efforts of Maiti Nepal and other NGOs in rescuing and rehabilitating victims
will be difficult to achieve without government support. That there is an
initiative and determination by Maiti Nepal and other NGOs to combat
trafficking has made collaboration by government with NGOs inevitable albeit
the lack of enthusiasm and support by some.
The need to increase
law enforcement efforts against trafficking is critical to mitigating if not
altogether eradicating the problem. Campaigns to changing the mindset of society
to respect the rights of victims, promote awareness of victims’ legal rights
and providing for their reintegration and rehabilitation are just as essential.
With about10,000
Nepalese girls mostly between the age of nine and 16 trafficked every year and
sold to brothels in India alone, programs to repatriate Nepali victims of
trafficking have to be established. This is where Maiti Nepal works hand-in-hand
with authorities to help rehabilitate the victims and provide them with the
means to survive and be self-sustaining.
Through workshops,
education, legal assistance, basic needs programs, the victims are able to get
back on their feet and gain independence to provide for themselves to secure
their daily needs.
With NGOs like Maiti
Nepal creating awareness and actively advocating against human trafficking, victims
have a chance of making a new and better life for themselves.
Sources:
1)
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_Nepal
2)
Maiti Nepal - http://www.maitinepal.org/
