Trafficking is a global phenomenon. However, the magnitude differs from continent to continent. Some of the African countries like Morocco, Kenya, and Ethiopia have trafficking problems. The East Asian countries including China, Vietnam and Philippines have also similar types of problems of trafficking and prostitution but due to geographical proximity and relatively open borders, trafficking of women is more pronounced in the South Asian countries.

In attempting to live up to its role "at the crossroads of the 21st century", South Asia is seeking to respond to a wide variety of expectations and aspirations, and thus lures many unscrupulous individuals, as well as unwitting and inexperienced young women, into the sex Trade. Trafficking thrives within SAARC countries.

India stands out as being on the receiving end of the trade. Illiteracy, dependency, violence, social stigma, superstition, over ambition, cultural stereotypes, gender disparity and economic deprivation, among other factors, place women in powerless, non-negotiable situations which have contributed to the emergence and breeding of this cavernous problem in the entire region.

Although it is extremely difficult to obtain data on trafficking it is estimated that approximately more than 200000 Nepalese girls are working as prostitutes or in businesses relating to sex in different establishments in India. Varied sources indicate that between 5,000 and 7,000 Nepalese girls are sold to India on a yearly basis.

The story of these Nepalese girls in the Indian brothels is pathetic. The brothel owners, amid the four walls of the depravity, subject them to mental and physical persecution. If they refuse to serve the clients, then they are locked up for days, starved, beaten, and burned with cigarettes until they learn how to service up to 25 clients a day. Some girls go through 'training' before being initiated into prostitution, which can include constant exposure to pornographic films, tutorials in how to 'please' customers and repeated rapes.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights called for freedom of thought, profession, organization, religion and creed and by which each and every individual has the right to self-determination and self-respect. But the situation is the contrary in the case of trafficked girls who are confined within the four walls of their places of work.

These may be brothels, theatres and film halls or the private homes in which they are employed. There are various forms and colors of prostitution in South Asia, and violent persons are frequently involved in the "taming" of inexperienced young girls through the use of various forms of torture so that the women or girls will accept their "clients".

Girls in brothels routinely face violence, intimidation, sexual assault, and torture at the hands of brothel-owners, clients, even police. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "With hard work and an unending stream of customers, the girls can pay off their debts to the brothel-owners in six or seven years of continuous labor. Or die of AIDS."

Furtthermore, the irony is this.Even after the decades of Governmental and Non Governmental scrutiny and interference, Trafficking is still a thriving business and the neo-networks are mushrooming. The traditional networks involved in trafficking have become more complex and organized through gangs and syndicates. These operate at three levels: the village or rural level centers of power at the national level, and the regional or international "flesh trade market". The different levels are all inter-linked and function with the collusion, if not the collaboration, of politicians, public figures, police and local authorities.

It is important to note that the nature, scope and pattern of trafficking are changing and that this change is directly related to socio- economic conditions and religious orientations. As an example, some ethnic groups are quite open with regards sexual behavior and have no qualms in sending girls away for money. The family itself is often to be held responsible in such cases.

With the exception of Nepal, all other South Asian countries were under the yolk of colonialism, where British imperialism was at the root of trafficking in the Indian sub-continent, and paved the way for the development of organized networks. At that time the autocratic Rana oligarchy in Nepal was responsible for bringing many rural women to Rana palaces to be kept as wives, servants and cooks and serve as objects of recreation and sexual pleasure. With the toppling of the Rana regime in 1951 many wealthy Ranas settled in India. From there they continued calling on the services of Nepalese girls.

However, the declining economic prosperity of Ranas living in India was not able to absolve these women in their places in exile. Hence the kept women and concubines were also out of these so-called places without economic security and social prestige. These women were being used as sex slaves in those palaces and they started selling sex in outside the palace for economic security and livelihood. Some of them even ran the brothels and started to recruit women from their areas of origins. Some of the reports have focused them as the initiators of the trafficking in women and girls in Nepal.

The Tibetan merchants were also responsible for the trafficking of the Nepal ease girls. The Tibetan merchants used Nepal as a route in transit to India and hired Nepali men and women for the construction work in the India to rip the benefit of cheap labor. Gradually, it took a pace and more young women were recruited from Nepali hill and mountains to serve in the brothel run by these Tibetans.

Later on, the Indo-Chinese war made these Tibetan merchants flew from India and they handed over the brothels to hill-mountains origin women. The Indian sex market got control of these women who were trained by the Tibetan merchants. In the meantime, these women themselves became the proprietors and owners of brothels and started to recruit young girls from the villages of their own origins. Subsequently, it became the initiation for the current trafficking in women and girls in Nepal. (www.asmita.org.np)

Furthermore, with regards traditional and cultural factors, South Asian customs have played an important role in promoting trafficking in various forms and by various means. The Deuki and Badi systems are examples from Nepal where local feudal lords consider that "those who are in power can do no wrong". In Nepal, there is a system, called "deukis," where by rich childless families buy girls from poor rural families and offer them to the temples as though they were their own. These girls are forced into prostitution later on.

The economic factor, while not the most important, is considered to be important in influencing trafficking. Oxfam unequivocally blames the problem of rural poverty for the trade in girls and women from Nepal to brothels in Indian cities. Oxfam says there are an estimated 200,000 women and girls missing in Nepal. However, It has been pointed out by Rozario that poverty alone is not the cause of prostitution. However, when the condition is coupled with the low status women and the prevailing hierarchical caste structures the situation is aggravated.

The patriarchal social systems, where women are looked upon as objects for sexual satisfaction and reproduction, are also to be taken into account. In addition, girl children are discriminated against from the earliest ages, and suffer permanent psychological harassment throughout society.

The state has a great role and responsibility in preventing such sensitive problem of trafficking women and girls. The government, time and again, is blamed for not showing its commitment and efforts to control trafficking of women, still one cannot devaluate the efforts of the various NGO’s mainly the “Maiti Nepal”, regarding the control of trafficking in Nepal.

However, Limited government finances, weak border controls, and poor security infrastructure have made Nepal a convenient logistics and transit point for trafficking activities. The country also possesses a number of relatively soft targets that make it a potentially attractive site for girl-trafficking operations. Whatever me must lift the bottom of the human condition by dedication and sacrifice to improve the quality of life for everybody.

We must start down this road, and we must make our destination clear to everyone. If we make an honest and dedicated effort to solve this problem, it will be solved. Above all we must act now. The matter is urgent. If we really wish to bring in a remarkable change in society, all forms of discrimination and exploitation against girl children must end everywhere.

The need to support trafficking survivors and to stop the trafficking of women and girls from Nepal should be increasingly perceived as important as the development programmes by the government. However, there is a weak link between the practical strategies; so far in Nepal these typically focuses on psychology rather than social development models that addresses suffering and gender relations.

To be quite frank, the exploitation of Nepalese women and girls may never end. But surely, for now, it must be monitored. Its magnitude should be lessened. Let our efforts in this struggle be unceasing.