According to Renu Raj Bhandari, chairperson at NAWHRD and founder chairperson of WOREC, the issue of commercial surrogacy is something Nepal should start giving attention to and regulate it.
“India is already a world hub for surrogacy arrangements. And because of long standing ties between India and Nepal, it can be assumed that women in Nepal are and will continue to become increasingly sought as gestational surrogates, too,” she said. “In the preliminary phase of the research we are conducting we have found that some areas in the Tarai belts have already attracted service seekers,” she added.
Bhandari further stated that clearer picture or of the situation would come after the research is complete. “However, it is already the high time for the government to regulate the ongoing activities of surrogacy in Nepalgunj, Biratnagar and Jhapa. We have found these things going on unregulated there,” she added.
Commercial surrogacy, where a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person is no more a new term in the global market. However, in Nepal, any study related to this has not been heard of so far.
Human rights activist and advocate Meera Dhungana stated that the government should not wait for the problem to grow but should be prepared to deal with it before things go out of hand.
“Poverty is the basic reason behind thriving business of commercial surrogacy in India. We know the status of poor women in Nepal. If we expect to act only after the problem grows, many women are going to be exploited badly,” she said.
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