Circus to Sex Work for Nepalese Girls in India

by Sanjaya Dhakal
OneWorld South Asia
28 June 2004

PROUT Editor's note: There is only one reason why sex slavery is flourishing around the world today. It is due to dire economic affliction. This abject poverty of people in Nepal, for example, causes parents to sell their own children to traffickers, sometimes knowing and sometimes not knowing what is in store for them. The only solution to this problem is to change the economic system so that people will no longer have to suffer. Capitalism has not worked. Rather it is the manifestation of capitalism that we see reflected in 80 percent of the world population living in absolute poverty. Communism also has not worked, as it turned men into beasts. The crying need is the socio-economic system of PROUT. Its principles will restore dignity to all people. There will be guarantees such as jobs for everyone, a minimum livable wage, and adequate purchasing power. In a PROUT government, citizens will be able to file lawsuits against any government that does not provide them with adequate purchasing power. This right will be enshrined in every constitution. There will no longer be subordinated cooperation, with peons reporting to bosses and retaining their jobs only due to the mercy of those bosses. In PROUT, such capitalist set-ups will be replaced by PROUT cooperatives, which will guarantee all workers to work on an equal footing. All will become managers. Subordinated cooperation will be replaced by coordinated cooperation. All will have a voice and a vote. The caste/class system that is endemic to capitalism will be gone. It means, no parent will ever be forced, due to extreme poverty, to sell his child into slavery. The tragic events described in the article below indicate to us the real urgency of creating Proutist societies - so that no child will be degraded, so that every human being can walk with head held high, with self-confidence, joy and dignity.

KATHMANDU, June 28 (OneWorld) - Twelve girls returned to Nepal Sunday after a harrowing stint with a circus in India, and the nongovernmental organization that rescued them says hundreds of such children are sexually abused and made to perform risky acts in Indian circuses.

The latest rescue operation carried out in India by the Bachpan Bachao Andolan highlights the abuse of Nepalese girls. Activist Kailash Satyarthi traveled to Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, in June to rescue girls from the Great Roman Circus there.

Since Nepal has little to offer in terms of employment, several people from this impoverished kingdom send their children to India in the hope that they will get lucrative jobs. Many of the girls land up in brothels or circuses there, activists say.

The circus owner and some goons reportedly attacked Satyarthi and the parents of trafficked children who had gone with him when they made inquiries about the girls, prompting the state police to take some girls into custody.

"There are 23 minor Nepalese girls working in that circus, out of which half a dozen are feared to be sexually exploited and raped," reveals Gauri Pradhan, the South Asia president of the Global March Against Child Labor and the president of a leading child rights NGO in Nepal, Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Sector.

Only 12 girls returned home Sunday, accompanied by a team of government officials. Most complained of ill treatment and abuse and said their relatives had coerced them into joining the circus. They were promised lavish salaries but paid pittances.

The district administration officer in Nepal's western district of Banke, Hari Pyakurel, who accompanied the girls on their return, said Indian officials had ensured their Nepalese counterparts they would rescue the remaining girls and send them home.

The incident attracted immense media attention in Nepal, prompting the government to raise the issue with Indian authorities.

The Indian embassy maintains that authorities in Uttar Pradesh probed the matter and some girls "told district officials they are working in the circus voluntarily and would like to stay on." An embassy statement adds that only "one has complained of sexual harassment and has filed a case under Section 376 of Indian Penal Code. The person named has been arrested."

The 14-year-old victim from the poverty stricken district of Makwanpur in central Nepal managed to escape along with her mother, who had gone to Gonda with the NGO workers. She said a broker promising a good job had taken her daughter away.

This is not the first time Indian circuses have been accused of exploiting Nepalese girls. In April, NGOs rescued 29 minors from the Great Indian Circus in Kerala. There are reported to be at least 250 Nepalese minors working in circuses across India, 80 percent of who are girls and between the ages of 5 and 14.

Pradhan charges that these children have to engage in dangerous, terrifying acts like balancing swords, walking tightropes and gymnastics, and are often sexually abused by circus owners.

He continues, "Most of these girls end up as sex workers. Many are trafficked under the pretext of working in circuses, which Nepalese parents believe is a lucrative job, but they are forced into prostitution."

Agrees Biswo Ram Khadka, the general secretary of Maiti Nepal, a leading NGO that rescues and rehabilitates Nepalese girls trafficked to Indian brothels. He reveals, "The circuses keep them for short periods of time. Once in their late teens, the girls are usually forced to prostitution. We have rescued many girls from brothels who say they began with circus work."

In many instances, parents voluntarily give their children to traffickers for as less as US $40. Apart from being abused in the circus, they are deprived of school education.

Informs Manju Tiwari of an NGO that rescues such girls, ABC-Nepal (AgroForestry, Basic Health and Cooperatives), "We have found from our experiences that many minor girls are forced to work in the circus in the day and as prostitutes at night."

She adds, "Last July we rescued 38 girls from the Apollo circus in New Delhi. Two others who worked there are still missing."

The International Labor Organization Nepal estimates that more than 12,000 girls are trafficked to India every year. Pradhan says, "Around 1,000 are below 16 years. Many are lured by promises of decent work in carpet factories, circuses and so on."

A report by the Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Center reveals that, "Apart from the sex trade, thousands of Nepalese children are trafficked into India to work in carpet factories in Bhadoi (Uttar Pradesh), circuses, potato farms, road construction in Shimla, forced beggary (in places like Banaras), domestic child labor in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai."

The annual report of the US State Department, released this month, also expresses concern over trafficking. It says, "Nepal is a source country for girls and women trafficked to India for the purposes of forced prostitution, domestic servitude, forced labor and work in circuses. Many victims trafficked to India are lured with promises of decent work or marriage."

The report holds that law enforcement efforts against trafficking are limited due to continuing political instability and the lack of resources in Nepal.

"Maoist insurgency activities have led to the withdrawal of police from most rural areas, and the number of reported investigations of trafficking have decreased. The Human Trafficking Control Act of 1986 criminalizes trafficking in persons, but the absence of a national legislature continues to delay enactment of comprehensive legislation," it maintains.

But a spokesperson for the ministry of women, children and social welfare, Shyam Sundar Sharma, says Nepal's government is working closely with NGOs and donor countries to fight trafficking.

"As far as circuses are concerned, we do not have the exact data on how many Nepali minors are working there. But we are certain this number is substantial," he admits, adding that the ministry intends to rehabilitate rescued girls.

Source: www.oneworld.net