Agroforestry, Basic Health, and Cooperative Nepal (ABC Nepal) is a nonprofit, non governmental organisation working in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
that focuses on
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
and works against
human trafficking in Nepal
Human trafficking in Nepal is a growing criminal industry affecting multiple other countries beyond Nepal, primarily across Asia and the Middle East. Nepal is mainly a source country for men, women and children subjected to the forced labor and s ...
. Created in 1987, ABC Nepal was among the first Non Governmental Organisations established in Nepal. It was registered soon after the introduction of Nepalese multiparty democracy in 1991. The president of the organisation is Durga Ghimire.
History
In 1991, ABC Nepal was the first Nepalese organisation to bring the subject of human trafficking to the national level by hosting conferences on trafficking of teenage girls and Nepalese sex slavery. It has been among the leading organisations in this field, and ABC Nepal was the first Nepalese organisation to raise the issue of human trafficking on a national level, and did so by organizing conferences about the trafficking of underage girls and sex slavery in Nepal in 1991. It is one of the leading organisations working in this field, and the combined efforts of ABC Nepal other organisations have led to the creation and implementation of various laws regarding women rights and human trafficking.
ABC Nepal played a part in the rescue of 35 girls from the Apollo circus in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
in 1996. It has also helped to rescue girls working as a
sex slaves
Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a s ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
brothels
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub ...
and to rehabilitate them into society.
ABC Nepal has worked to prevent trafficking in women and children by generating
social awareness
Social consciousness or social awareness, is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society.
Focus area of work
Many commercial sex workers in India are Nepalese women, including many underage girls. A 1995 report published by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
indicated that almost half of the women working in brothels in Mumbai were Nepalese. Girls who lack an education may be tempted to move to the city; in many cases, they are deceived into believing that there will be a lucrative job or marriage prospects, only to find that they have been sold to a brothel, where they are kept for years as bonded labour. According to Human Rights Watch, escape is nearly impossible due to the constant surveillance, and the corruption prevalent among both the police and governments of India and Nepal. The girls' unsavory work makes them unacceptable to society, which greatly hinders the girls' reintegration and repatriation.
Aside from sexual exploitation, girls have been trafficked for other reasons, including to have their kidneys sold, to be forced into marriage, or to work as domestic workers and cheap labourers in various parts of India.
With changing public perspectives about of migration, the rising level of awareness among women, and the shift of trafficking pattern in Nepal, ABC Nepal has focused on eliminating the trafficking of girls beyond India, especially in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. Many girls lured by a dream of a better world and job follow the path led by unauthorized dealers and traffickers and end up being sexually exploited and enslaved.
Programs and activities
ABC Nepal has provided income-generating training to rural women and victims of trafficking to help them reduce their poverty and improve their living standard. It has formed over 300 women cooperative groups. ABC Nepal also has promoted self-reliance, self-confidence and leadership skills in women by economic empowerment,
vocational training
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an in ...
, and
non formal education
Non-formal learning includes various structured learning situations which do not either have the level of curriculum, syllabus, accreditation and certification associated with 'formal learning', but have more structure than that associated wit ...
. The nonprofit focuses on reproductive health, providing education to secondary school children and operating health clinics and safe abortion campaigns. It has placed a special focus on
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
prevention and awareness. The group enhances leadership in women and increases the participation of affected women at local, regional, and national levels. It also provides legal protection and can represent victims in legal processes.
ABC Nepal has operated rehabilitation homes in Kathmandu, Bhairahawa, and
Biratnagar
Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the pr ...
to provide shelter to victims of trafficking and
violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often con ...
.
ABC Nepal has raised awareness for safe migration. For example, the group monitored the
Tribhuvan International Airport
Tribhuvan International Airport (Nepali language, Nepali: त्रिभुवन अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल) (, colloquially referred to as TIA) is an international airport located in Kathmandu, B ...
, establishing a help desk in major border transit of Bhairahawa. The rehabilitation and reintegration programs have yielded positive results.
Geographical area coverage
The organization covers eastern, central and western development regions.
Eastern development region
*
Morang
Morang District ( ne, मोरङ जिल्ला ) is located in Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. It is an Outer Terai district. It borders with Bihar, India to the South, Jhapa to the East, Dhankuta and Panchthar to the North, and Sunsar ...
Chitwan
Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers . In 2011 it had a population of 579 ...
*
Makwanpur
Makwanpur District( ne, मकवानपुर जिल्ला; , a part of Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Hetauda as its district headquarter, as well ...
Ramechhap
Ramechhap Municipality is a municipality in Ramechhap District in Bagmati Province of Nepal. It was established on 2 December 2014 by merging the former village development committees Old-Ramechhap, Okhreni and Sukajor. At the time of the 2011 Ne ...
*
Sarlahi
Sarlahi ( ne, सर्लाही ; Maithili: सर्लाही), a part of Madhesh Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. According to new laws, a combination of more than two or four villages makes a municipality, whic ...
Nawalparasi
Nawalparasi District ( ne, नवलपरासी जिल्ला, ), part of which belongs to Gandaki Province and part to Lumbini Province, was one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal before being divided into Nawalparasi (West of ...
The organization has published or contributed to several books, audio cassettes, and other publications.
Books
* Red Light Traffic ''(English)'' consist of 8 articles written by experts on the status of women, girl trafficking and AIDS, including case studies.
* ऐड्स को आतंक ''(Terror of AIDS)''
* चेलीवेटिको देहव्यापर र ऐड्स ''(Girls Trafficking and AIDS – An introduction)''
* चेलीवेटी को देहव्यापार र यसको विविध परिचय ''(Girls Trafficking and its Various Aspects)''
* ऐड्स को तथ्यपूर्ण जानकारी ''(Fact Information of AIDS)''
* A Situation Analysis Report on “Girls Trafficking in
Sindhupalchowk
Sindhupalchowk District ( ne, सिन्धुपाल्चोक जिल्ला ) is a part of Bagmati Province and one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal, with an area of . The district's headquarters is in Chautara. In 2006, 336 ...
” ''(English)''
* चेली को आवाज ''(Daughters’ Voice)''
* शक्ति ''(power) (Song in Nepali)''
* शक्ति ''(booklet in Tamang language)''
* महिला सशक्तिकरणको लागि सहकारिता ''(Cooperative for Women Empowerment)''
* चेलिवेटिको आफ्नो कथा ''(Story books with Sketches for those illiterate with little education- Daughters’ Own Story)''
* माइति फर्केका चेलिहरु ''(Real story of Rescued Girls who had rescued from Indian Brothels by NGO)''
* Life In Hell ''(English Version of माइति फर्केका चेलिहरु)''
* Sexual Exploitation of Nepalese Girls ''(in English Version – with special reference to girls trafficking)''
* Political Empowerment of Women ''(English)''
* सुखि परिवारिक जिवनका लागि सहकारि ''(Cooperative for Happy Family Life)''
* Women Leadership Training Report ''(English)''
* बेचिएका चेलिहरुको लागि सरकारि तथ गैर् सरकारि संस्थाहरुको प्रयास ''(Initiation of GO & NGO for Trafficked girls with special reference to published news by media)''
* Report on " चेलिवेटि बेचबिखन को सन्दर्भ र मानव अधिकार को प्रश्न" ''(Girls trafficking and the Question of Human Rights)''
* Report on " राष्ट्रिय सामाजिक प्रतिबद्धता" ''(National Social)''
* Booklet regarding human rights ''(English)''
* Booklet regarding Trafficking, HIV/AIDS and Cooperatives ''(English)''
* दिगो शान्ति व्यवस्थापन का लागि महिला नेतित्व विकास तालिम् पुस्तिका ''(Women leadership training manual for sustainable peace development)''
* चेलिवेटि बेचबिखन् तथा महिला हिंसा को वर्तमान अवस्था ''(Current Status of girls trafficking and violence against women)''
Audio cassettes
* चेली को आवाज ''(Daughters’ Voice)''
* शक्ति ''(Power)''
Video cassettes
* चेली को आवाज ''(Daughter’s Voice)''
* Samjhauta (How to compromise AIDS victims in family)
* Abhiyan,
* Shakti (Visual song-Nabechha Hamilai)
Posters
* AIDS
* Heart shape (message about AIDS)
* Girls trafficking
* Safe migration