When Eniya* in Nepal finished the equivalent of GCSEs four years ago and realised she wouldn’t be able to continue with her schooling because of her family’s financial struggles, she started looking around for a way to work toward a better future for herself.
In her search, she found an opportunity that seemed to offer a decent income and the chance to pursue a career abroad. All she had to do was travel via another country that they specified and from there she would be able to take up a job abroad that paid good money and would set her up for the life she hoped to achieve.
Just a teenager, Eniya soon found herself far away from home and dangerously trapped in a terrible situation. She had fallen prey to the lying schemes of people traffickers.
It’s difficult to measure the exact numbers, but estimates suggest that between 5,000 and 7,000 teenage girls from Nepal fall victim to traffickers each year, and there are currently around 300,000 Nepalese girls and women enslaved in brothels.
It’s a devastatingly common story. Young girls, many under the age of 14, are trafficked from Nepal into other countries under the pretext of offering foreign employment. They are then sold into sexual exploitation, the human organ trade, as labourers, or for marriage to foreigners.
The more fortunate ones are rescued – often in police raids.
The impacts and trauma of the experiences that trafficking victims have been subjected to, along with the social stigma that is associated with trafficking, mean that, once rescued, the young women and girls are often first taken to safe houses where they can receive whatever support they need to be reintegrated back into their families.
After Eniya’s rescue, she was placed in a district safe house in Nepal for two weeks. With the help of ward leaders, she was successfully reintegrated into her family. However, even after returning home, Eniya struggled with intense depression, frustration and disappointment. She describes feeling trapped and uncertain about her future.
Now, Eniya is 19 years old. And her life has changed.
