Asha Nepal runs Dance and Motion Therapy classes for the residents of Shakti Kendra and the Halfway House
Although Nepalis love to dance the first faltering steps in the DMT class caused nervousness and giggles! Within the first class girls who had been reticent and withdrawn were talking and laughing with fellow residents.
Informal events are an important part of rehabilitation, giving the girls a sense of belonging and of being part of the wider community.
Many of the girls rescued from being trafficked, as well as those who are sexually abused or raped within or outside the family, are seen as guilty and unclean, and rejected by their families or forced out by the local community. They need immediate refuge and the longer-term promise of safe employment and the ability to be self-sufficient. Asha Nepal works to make this happen.
In partnership with Nepali counter-trafficking organisation Shakti Samuha, AN runs the Shakti Kendra refuge in Kathmandu for women and children rescued from trafficking, women who have been physically and sexually abused in the family, and victims of rape and sexual abuse. Shakti Kendra offers them a place of safety and the support and time to start mending their lives. The rehabilitation process can go fairly rapidly or take months, even years, and in extreme cases girls may be so mentally damaged or physically ill that they are unlikely to return into the community. Our refuge is there for them.
Asha Nepal is currently researching the long-term effect of trafficking on rescued women. The outcome will be published internationally by project partner Terre des Hommes in the autumn of 2011. Apart from the valuable knowledge and insight the research will give us, it will help formulate a needs-based support centre, the Ashraya Women's Centre, to address the women's health, welfare and employment needs.
Download Peter Bashford’s report, A Sense of Direction, the Trafficking of Women and Children in Nepal.