Pavitra Tamang of Ilam-6 is leading one such racket. A year ago, she took her neighbors Mankumari Rai, 18, and Kamala Rai, 25, to New Delhi promising to take them to Kuwait.
A week after they reached New Delhi, one Shobha Tamang took Kamala to another place telling her that her visa had arrived. After hearing a conversation between Pavitra and an agent Mankumari realized that she was about to be sold. She escaped and arrived home on March 17, 2009.
“I overheard Pavitra telling Sabina, an agent, that there are many poor girls in her village and that the two should equally divide the money they get by selling the girls,” Mankumari said. “I escaped and reached home unharmed.”
But Kamala was not as lucky. Her whereabouts is still unknown, according to her family members.
When Mankumari reached home, Shobha was also in Ilam. Police arrested Shobha based on a complaint filed by Mankumari. Shobha´s accomplices Tara Bhujel and Kamal Tamang of Prithvinagar, Jhapa were also arrested. But the ringleader, Pavitra, is still at large.
However, this is not the only trafficking racket operating here. A year ago, Dhanamati Rai of Godak-4 personally paid for a passport of her neighbor Rita Achhame, promising to take the latter to Kuwait. Achame was told that she didn´t need any money to go to Kuwait, and that she shouldn´t tell anyone about the arrangement.
But Achhame grew suspicious and told her family members about the arrangement. The matter eventually reached the Police Office in Aitabare. Dhanamati escaped detention telling police that she had done so at the behest of a lady in Sunmai, Jhapa.
These incidents indicate just one harsh fact - the rising involvement of women in the trafficking of women.
Hom Dhakal, coordinator of Maiti Nepal in Pashupatinagar said almost half of the suspected cases of trafficking involved women agents.
“Women trust women more than men. Therefore, rackets use women agents,” he said.
Women´s rights activists say that despite knowledge of women´s involvement in such rackets, lack of evidence has made it difficult to initiate action.
In the past one year, some 20 families have filed complaints at Maiti Nepal, Pashupatinagar, requesting it to help trace the missing girls.
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