Poverty is bad and extreme poverty is worse. I just read a very sad and tragic report (Nepal dad sold girl for $25, paid in installments) at CNN.com. Well, seeing the headlines, you may wonder if it is about prostitution. No, it is not. It is perhaps even worse. Many families in Nepal (and almost in every poor country) often give birth to too many children. Since, they consider girls as burden they get eager to get rid of the girls in any way. In the small and big cities of Nepal, middle class and rich families are always looking for domestic servants. Since, supply is greater than demand, the price of these girls is extremely cheap- $2-$3 per month (even less than $1 a week).
The parents (=father) of a poor girl receives just $25-$40 for sending their daughter to work for one year. This is now a booming industry in Nepal. A lot of middle-men are doing this thriving trade. The girl for her part is supposed to do all the household works in the new family. She has to wake up before everyone and go to sleep after everyone sleeps. She will not get any money for her work as her employer gives the money to her father through the middle-man. Often, it is taken for granted that she will suffer physical torture. If she is lucky then she will receive verbal abuse more than physical torture.
School is a place that this girl can never dream of. In the CNN report, Seth Doane has reported about the plight of a girl called Subita. She is a "kamlaris" (female-child bonded laborers). She is nearly 12. The irony is that according to Nepalese law, it is a punishable offence to employ persons less than 14 years old. However, most urban families want female children at the age of 10-12 because they can exploit these girls in the best way at this age. When these miserable girls reach to the age of 17-18 they do not want to continue this kind of bonded slavery as they are adult now.
I would strongly recommend you to read the CNN report. However, one just one thing. After reading it, do not get bad idea about Nepalese people. In almost all the South Asian countries, you can find similar picture. There is a serious lack of political will to solve this problem. So, I do not see any hope for the time being for these poor girls.
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Posted by: Anonymous | February 28, 2007 7:23 AM | Permalink to Comment