Story

Nepal: Rescued from Trafficking

January 13, 2011 | Pulitzer Center
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The sign of Shakti Samuha hides behind branches of trees in front of their office in Kathmandu. The organization was started by victims of sex trafficking in an attempt to empower who have been rescued from slavery. Image by Habiba Nosheen

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Januka Bhattarai, the chair person of Shakti Samuha (in red) speaks with prospective donors who are interested in assisting the organization’s attempt to empower victims of sex-trafficking. Image by Habiba Nosheen

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Bhawana Tamang on the roof-top of the shelter home where she now lives. Tamang was trafficked to India at the age of 12. She completed the training program at Shakti Samuha as a beautician. Image by Habiba Nosheen

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Gaya Rana, a dance teacher, leads a dance therapy workshop with girls who have recently been rescued from sex trafficking. Image by Habiba Nosheen

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Girls as young as 12 were given dance therapy to help them heal. Often girls who come back have a very difficult time being reintegrated back into the society and they are often shunned by their own families. Image by Habiba Nosheen

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Laxmi Bishwokarma works at a sewing machine at the women’s shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal. Bishwokarma is a survivor of sex trafficking and one of the women in the skills training program at Shakti Samuha. Image by Anup Kaphle

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Before arriving at the shelter, Bishwokarma was sold by her own family. She was taken to India where she was forced to sleep with 80 men a day. Image by Anup Kaphle

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By learning to sew, Bishwokarma hopes to be able to make a living by opening up her own trailer shop in Kathmandu. Image by Habiba Nosheen

The U.S. State Department estimates that 12,000 Nepali women and children are trafficked into sexual exploitation in Indian brothels - many are victims of internal sex trafficking in the region.

Girls as young as 12, from poor and uneducated families, are being targeted by sex traffickers to be sold as sex slaves in India. Habiba Nosheen and Anup Kaphle document some of the Nepali girls who have escaped the dangerous sex trafficking cycle. The journalists visited the Shakti Samuha Center which helps empower young women, who have recently been rescued from sex trafficking, in their rehabilitation process.