ABC Nepal

ABC Nepal
Abbreviation Agro-forestry Basic Health and Cooperative Nepal
Formation 1987
Type Non-profit organization
Headquarters Kathmandu
Location
President
 Durga Ghimire
Website http://www.abcnepal.org.np

Agroforestry, Basic health and Cooperative Nepal (ABC Nepal) is a non profit non governmental organisation working in Nepal with a focus on human trafficking in Nepal and rights of women. It is one of the very first Non Governmental Organisation established in Nepal in 1987 before the establishment of multiparty democracy in Nepal in 1991 and officially registered then after. ABC Nepal is an organisation led by Ms Durga Ghimire, one of the prominent socialites in Nepal working in the field of women rights.

History

It is the first ever organization, the pioneer[1] to raise the issue of trafficking on a national level by organizing conferences on the trafficking of underage girls and sex slavery trade in the Nepal in 1991.[2] It has been one of the leading[3] organisation working in this field. The combined effort of ABC Nepal along with other organisation made it possible the formulation and implementation of various laws regarding women rights and human trafficking.

One of the major event that made ABC Nepal an eminent figure in organisations in Nepal is the rescue of 35 minor girls from Apollo circus in New Delhi in 1996.[1][4] It has again and after rescued several girls from brothels in India working as a sex slaves and rehabilitated, reintegrated them back in society.

Focus area of work

Context

Girls from Nepal constitute the major proportion of commercial sex workers in the brothels of India from ages, most of them minors and most infected with HIV AIDS.Life for them is hell in such red light zones where they are abuse physically and sexually, bonded by the owner for years, tortured and imprisoned. On the other hands, poor families living in rural parts of Nepal get easily allured by the dreams of cities, good job and better life and easily handover their innocent, young and minor girls to the recruiter and relatives who sell these young lives for trivial sum of money to the brothels. The illiterate and ignorant girls are made to sell their body to re-earn the amount including the interest for which they were bought by the brothel and hence entrapped as bonded labors for years. Escape is virtually impossible under the direct surveillance, threat and terror of owners. The corruption prevalent in police and government of both India and Nepal make both the trafficking easy and escape impossible.The virgins once worshiped as Goddess Kumari return home back with HIV AIDS and the stigma attached with it. This makes them unacceptable to society, making reintegration and repatriation difficult and sometimes impossible.[5]

Besides sexual exploitation, girls have also been trafficked to work in circus, for the sale of kidney, marriage, domestic worker, cheap labourers in various parts of India.[2]

With the changing perspective of migration, raising level of awareness among women and shift of trafficking pattern in Nepal,[6] ABC Nepal has now been focusing on trafficking of girls beyond India, especially in Arab. Lot of Nepali youth are moving to Arabian countries, Malaysia and other countries besides India for newer and better employment opportunities especially as housekeepers and factory workers. Many girls lured by dream of better world and job follow the path led by unauthorized dealers and traffickers and end up being sexually exploited and enslaved.[6]

Programmes and Activities

It provides income generating training to rural women and victims of trafficking[7] and help them alleviate their poverty and improve their living standard.It had formed more than 300 women cooperative groups.[7] It works to prevent trafficking in women and children by generating social awareness specially among rural people and conducting border monitoring and cross border programs.[7][8] It promotes self-reliance, self-confidence and leadership skill in women by economic empowerment, vocational training,[7] non formal education and cooperative and mother group establishment.It focuses on reproductive health providing education to secondary school children's and operating health clinics and safe abortion campaigns. It gave special focus on HIV/AIDS[9] prevention and awareness including health clinics.[7] It enhance leadership in grass root level women and increase the participation of women in local, regional and national decision levels.It also renders legal protection and represents the victims in any legal processes and procedures.[10]

It operates rehabilitation home[11] in Kathmandu, Bhairahawa and Biratnagar to provide shelter to the victims of trafficking and violence against women.

ABC Nepal is raising awareness in grass root for safe migration and monitoring the Tribhuwan International Airport and establishing help desk in major border transit of Bhairahawa. The organisation has been advocating for women, raising awareness against trafficking and women violence,[12] rehabilitating and reintegrating[13] children and victims of violence and trafficking, developing community, establishing networking among women, providing health services, promoting awareness about HIV AIDS, providing non formal education and vocational training to women and scholarships for school children.[1][4][13][14][15]<ref name=":1" /

The current rehabilitation and reintegration programs are producing positive results.[16]

Geographical area coverage

The organization covers eastern, central, and western development regions.[1][6]

Eastern development region

Central development region

Western development region

Publications

The organization has published or contributed to several books, audio cassettes, and other publications.[4]

Red light trafficking, a book by ABC Nepal

Books

Audio cassettes

Video cassettes

Posters

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 http://www.edu.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-kk-program/image/gsics/Barhir_IRE_Report.pdf
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Prevention of Trafficking and the Care and Support of Trafficked Persons" (PDF). Kathmandu, Nepal: The Asia Foundation. 2001. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ↑ http://books.google.com.np/books/about/Understanding_Security_Practices_in_Sout.html?id=reEUckK1KUAC&redir_esc=y
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Government of Nepal Ministry of Education Non-Formal Education Center (2009). "Inventory of Non-Formal Education Providers in Nepal" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ↑ http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/India.htm
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Office of the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Women and Children (2011). "Trafficking in Persons Especially on Women and Children in Nepal" (PDF). Lalitpur, Nepal: National Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 https://150.209.10.119/documents/levitt-center/Fisher_article_2008.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.childtrafficking.com/Docs/oxfam_2004_research_on_trafficking_gaps_analysis_nepal_2.pdf
  9. ↑ http://www.iasociety.org/Abstracts/A200700756.aspx
  10. ↑ http://njanepal.org.np/index.php?option=com_rokdownloads&view=file&task=download&id=52%3Ajudges-workshop-on-combating-trafficking-in-women-and-children&Itemid=159
  11. ↑ "Best Practices on Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Trafficked Women and Girls" (PDF). Kathmandu, Nepal. March 2004. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ↑ Khatri, Nayan B. (2002-11-11). "Nepal: The Problems of Trafficking in Women and Children" (PDF). 7th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum for National Human Rights Institutions. New Delhi, India. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Success Story: Sabina" (PDF). The Asia Foundation. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ↑ Office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Women and Children (2007). "Trafficking in Persons Especially on Women and Children in Nepal" (PDF). Lalitpur, Nepal. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ↑ Adhikari, Shovita (2011). REINTEGRATION OF THE NEPALESE GIRLS TRAFFICKING RETURNEES INTO SOCIETY: An Empirical Study of Reconstruction of the Self Identity: "A Matter of Pride or Shame or Both?" (PDF) (Master in Comparative Social Work). University of Nordland, Norway. Retrieved 1–8–2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. ↑ http://vaw.sagepub.com/content/14/8/905.short