Stop Oppressing Women & Children

I recently returned from a six-week visit to Nepal. I enjoyed the wonderful people and natural beauty of Nepal.

I have to say however that there are some things I don’t understand. Those things deal with the rights of women and children. There is a big problem with young Nepali women being sold into slavery and transported to India and the Middle East. This problem was addressed many times in your newspaper and others.

It would seem that a couple of simple measures could end or at least slow the sale of these innocent girls. If the government put a bounty on those that are involved in this trade and also on parents who knowingly sell their daughters into slavery, I believe there will be a great reduction in this crime. I also feel that those involved in the crime should be severely punished.

Those poor young girls, forced into prostitution, might as well be dead. Their future is gone forever. Those that someday return to Nepal will always have to live in shame. Many will also return to Nepal infected with AIDS. Many more innocent youths, who are the future of Nepal, will die.

It should be mentioned that this plague does considerable harm to tourism in Nepal. Many nations warn tourists of the Human Rights violations in Nepal. The women’s rights issues, the child-slavery issue, and human rights violations by the police in Nepal are all widely publicised throughout the world. These issues probably contribute greatly to the growing insurgency of the underground Maoist. I noticed that many of the insurgents killed are women.

Not only the women but also children are being hurt. Nepal is reaching out to the future but as long as human rights violations continue, the West will never allow you to rise above being any more than a "Developing Nation." Some say that Goddess Kali’s time is here, if this proves to be so, God help the Oppressor!

My best wishes for the future of Nepal.
Jim Shearer
Utah State University
USA