May 7, 2015 UPDATE, Maiti Nepal, Kathmandu: Everyone is OK but terribly shaken up and having to sleep outside in the rain. Anuradha Koirala reports that the pressing immediate concerns are: difficulties sleeping in cold and damp conditions, children uncomfortable and suffering with quantities of mosquito bites, ongoing tremors and aftershocks from the earthquake exacerbating traumatic stress. Sourcing food for the Maiti Nepal community is becoming more and more difficult. Immediately following the earthquake Maiti Nepal has opened its doors to girls, women, and their children who are at risk for human trafficking in post-earthquake Nepal. Since the earthquake, Maiti Nepal’s Hospice/chronic care center is not safe for human habitation so the patients (children and young women, many of whom are immuno-compromised) are now living in the playground. – Ed.
To survive trafficking is one thing. To be shunned away and ostracized by mainstream society, quite another. For women who find themselves coerced into sex trafficking in Nepal, finding a platform where they can voice their concerns and be rehabilitated is as hard as it can get. Straight after the catastrophic Gorkha Earthquake, Maiti Nepal; a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the victims of sex trafficking, has witnessed the destruction of its village which is dedicated to such women and children.
Women in a transit home opened by Maiti Nepal to provide services to children and girls. Photograph courtesy of Maiti Nepal.
As relief efforts pour in from across the world for those who have been left homeless and without food or shelter, it is plausible to assume that the village which sparks hope for women and children who have been trafficked, could be overlooked. In Nepalese ‘Maiti’ represents “a girl’s real family, where she was born into” and for those who have survived the heinous act of prostitution and sex trafficking, Maiti stands out as a symbol of hope. Furthermore, the organization provides a platform for a woman who could easily be psychologically scarred or shunned by her family members in a religiously conservative society such as Nepal.
Founded in 1993 by Anuradha Goirala, Maiti Nepal strives to ensure that the plight of those who are often ostracized by mainstream society can be rehabilitated both physically and psychologically. In addition, due consideration had also been placed on taking effective countermeasures against the perpetrators of trafficking. As the brainchild of Goirala, who herself had to bear with domestic violence and social exclusion, Maiti Nepal epitomizes the struggle that women and girls have had to endure as the organization confronts the taboo of being hurled into a diabolical nexus through coercion. In a nutshell, ‘Maiti Nepal’ is a symbol of female empowerment after calamity as it openly challenges those who seek to exploit women.
Devastation after the earthquake. Photograph courtesy of Flickr user ReSurge International and used under a Creative Commons license.
The empathetic aspect of Maiti Nepal is what should draw the most attention to anyone who wishes to end the heinous practice of sex trafficking because the innocent victims of trafficking deserve a place in society. The fact that Goirala’s vision includes active psychological consolation for women who become victims is both laudable and appreciable, especially after the earthquake where everyone has endured mental trauma.
Understandably, the priority for NGOs, governments and relief agencies in Nepal is to ensure that relief supplies and shelter is provided to the homeless. However, in the long run initiatives such as Maiti Nepal, which could impact generations by aiming to change the fate of those who become victims to sex trafficking also mandates considerable attention. To donate to such a cause would be a prime example of investing in genuine change, which is the need of the hour alongside relief supplies and rehabilitation efforts for the people of Nepal.
Maiti Nepal in Kathmandu is home to hundreds of women and children and it has been heavily damaged by the Gorkha earthquake. The US-based Friends of Maiti Nepal is currently raising money to support Maiti Nepal. – Ed.
Hamzah Rifaat is a certificate student in the Non Proliferation and Terrorism Studies Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and is currently a graduate assistant for The WIP. He has been a regular contributor to publications such as the Friday Times, South Asian Voices and the Pakistan Tea House.
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