NATIONAL 3 -(Spotlight Weekly)

Alarming Signs

Current figures show that there are some 74 million women missing in South Asia

By AKSHAY SHARMA

Seti Tamang ( name changed), 21, who has just arrived from a brothel in Mumbai, does not know what she will do in future. Tmang , who was in the Maiti Nepal's Trasit Camp at Bhairawa , was one of the 21 girls returned from Indian brothel.

More than 7,000 Nepalese girls aged between 14 - 25 are smuggled out to India annually but only a few of them are lucky to return without catching deadly disease like Heptatitis B and HIV\AIDS.

As 21 Nepalese girls are lying in bed of the hospital, a group of experts from South Asia are debating the ways in combating dramatic rise on trafficking of women and children in South Asia.

The discrimination and violence against women is not new in South Asian region as flesh-trade continues to rise abetting the number of trafficiking. Due to illiteracy and ignorance, large number of women are trafficked and traded for sexual exploitation, bonded labor and various other purposes.

According to a study conducuted by the UNICEF, there are 20 millions girls in brothels in this area alone and 25 percent of them are minors. Officials argue that these are the indications that show the vulnurable situation of women.

Victims of girl trafficking : When will such crime end?

"The trafficking in the form of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation is a serious threat to social harmony and human rights. Since the issue of trafficking is not only a national nor a regional one, it is essential to excite the initiation of bilateral and regional strategic action both at government and non-overnmental level," said Kamala Panta, Minister of State for Women, Children and Social welfare.

These observations were made at the regional workshop of senior Police Officers jointly organized by United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Ministry of Home Affairs to enhance cross border collaboration to stop human trafficking on the 22- 23, October 2000.

"The delivery of justice to many victims is often a dream than reality. The criminal justice system is widely criticized for the failure. Many of our countries do not have migration law to facilitate safe repatriation of victims of crimes. The victims are treated like criminals. Therefore, there should be more and more collaboration between the governments of sending and receiving countries to facilitate a smooth repatriation process," said IGP Pradip Shamsher Rana.

The participants were senior police officials from the five SAARC countries. Officers from the border police, from investigative branches, and those who are working in areas that are prone to high incidences of trafficking from both receiving as well as sending countries. Few key NGO's and resource persons from the five countries also participated in the workshop.

The objective is designed to bring together senior police officers of the region to learn from one another, identifying priorities for regional cooperation and work towards the development of an informal network which can work towards the elimination of trafficking of women and children.

The workshop hopes to serve as a platform through the sharing of experiences and best practices, which will be in the form of country and individual presentations and thematic discussions on different aspects of cross border collaboration.

"The poor economic conditions and the lack of jobs have forced many families from the hills to urban areas. Because they lack proper education women and girls are offered jobs in garment and carpet factories, brick kilns, housemaid, brothel houses etc. In the name of assistance, theses helpless women and children fall prey to pimps and brokers. They fall victims out of fraud and deceit regarding conditions for nature of work, blackmail, abuse of authority or dominant position, confiscation of passports, debt bondage practices and practices amounting to debt bondage," said Pradip Shamsher Rana The Inspector General of Police.

Nepal police had organized international cross border cooperation meeting inJanakpur and Bhairawa in 1999 and senior police officers from India and Nepal had participated at the meeting. This workshop of law enforcing agencies from several countries is the sign of expanding international cooperation and networking.