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Unsupported by husbands Absentee husbands are a significant feature in the lives of the girls and women in the entertainment industry. Although nearly one half of the girls and women are married, very few live with their husbands. 45 Most entertainment workers live with their friends, and fewer with family members. In interviews, girls and women frequently mention abandonment, bigamy, alcoholism and domestic violence as reasons for separating from their husbands. 46 Nepal legislation does not punish the act of abandoning a wife, and as a result, many married women are abandoned by their husbands, 47 frequently when the men take a second wife. 48 Often, abandonment results in women being unwelcome in or evicted from the household by in-laws, often with children in hand. For many women, returning to their own parents is not an option, and they are left with no choice other than to undertake sex work. Supporting children While husbands are absent, children are present. In interviews, many entertainment workers have stated that the primary reason for entering the occupation was to provide for their children, in the absence of a supporting husband. Although most people think of entertainment workers as ‘independent women’, a large proportion are working to support children in their care. Of all ever-married girls and women, approximately two thirds have one or more children. 49 Although most entertainment workers state that the highest priority for the use of their income is for household food and rent, using their income for their children’s education is a low priority. 50 As entertainment workers work late hours, child care is a primary concern. THE CUSTOMERS © Tdh 2009 The customers for the entertainment industry are primarily those with access to disposable income. The owners of the dance bars, dohoris and cabin restaurants earn their revenue from the sale of alcohol and snacks. The prices for a bottle of beer or a plate of ‘fruit salad’ (an ubiquitous dish in cabin 2010 Terre des hommes www.tdh.ch 38
estaurants) are highly inflated. However, the customers generally understand that this expenditure includes the right to watch female entertainers, and talk with and touch the waitresses – what in the Bangkok bar scene is called ‘groping rights’. An evening in a dance bar, with drinks for one man and his ‘hostess’ may cost several thousand rupees, half the monthly income of a working-class labourer. The majority of customers are small businessmen, government service holders, internal migrants, and those who have recently made money in the few lucrative pockets of Nepal’s fragile economy, such as the overseas manpower industry or real estate. 51 Army men and police are frequent visitors to entertainment establishments. Many of the numerous cabin restaurants of the Gongabu Bus Park area are lower-scale than those in other parts of the Kathmandu Valley, and these are frequented by men with somewhat less income, including men who have recently returned from overseas labour. The customers are almost entirely male and usually frequent entertainment venues with their friends. The vast majority are Nepali, and few are from outside the country. A few venues cater to Indian customers, but customers from outside the region are rare. Some of the dohori restaurants cater to families as well as male clientele. Research and interviews indicate that the great majority of customers are in their 30s and 40s and almost all are married. 52 Many are regular customers who frequent a particular establishment. Younger men, including college students, also go to entertainment venues, but due to their limited income, usually only go with their friends on special occasions. While some men visit entertainment venues with the purpose of finding a sexual partner, the majority come to drink and take enjoyment with their friends in sexually-charged environments. In this respect, these ‘for-men-only’ entertainment venues are similar to those in many other parts of the world, including India, Thailand and the Philippines. However, the entertainment venues in Nepal differ from those in most other parts of the world due to the great extent to which men get intoxicated and inflict verbal and physical harassment upon the waitresses. Unlike in other countries, in Nepal the establishment owners and police impose almost no restrictions on extreme drunkenness, irresponsible behaviour, or excessive verbal and physical harassment of female workers. The owners of most (though not all) massage parlours earn their income from the direct sale of sex. As sex in these establishments may cost from NPR 500 to 1,500, the clientele of massage parlours are from approximately the same economic and social strata as those of other entertainment venues: married men with disposable incomes. Poorer men who seek sexual partners avail themselves of sex workers from the street, bhatti pasals or other lower-priced venues. 2010 Terre des hommes www.tdh.ch 39
Page 2 and 3: Publications of Terre des hommes en
Page 4 and 5: CONTENTS ACRONYMS 5 PREFACE BY THE
Page 6 and 7: Terre des hommes Foundation deserve
Page 8 and 9: Isn’t it too late already The Nep
Page 10 and 11: One or several acts Human trafficki
Page 12 and 13: ‘sale’ and normally do not adop
Page 14 and 15: Are boys also victims of traffickin
Page 16 and 17: A girl in a cabin restaurant in Pok
Page 18 and 19: clients - who now access sex worker
Page 20 and 21: How are victims trafficked Girls an
Page 22 and 23: © Giulio Di Sturco/VII Mentor Prog
Page 24 and 25: the Shakti Samuha 2008 study, 73% o
Page 26 and 27: The table below presents the age an
Page 28 and 29: increasingly engage in personal soc
Page 30 and 31: ©Giulio Di Sturco/VII Mentor Progr
Page 32 and 33: The maze of alleys south of Sundhar
Page 34 and 35: usually take place in dohoris, alth
Page 36 and 37: Guest houses Guest houses, or ‘lo
Page 40 and 41: PROCURING SEX IN THE ENTERTAINMENT
Page 42 and 43: Nepal’s entertainment and sex ind
Page 44 and 45: More than two-thirds of restaurant
Page 46 and 47: ‘My own close relatives brought m
Page 48 and 49: The table below presents the psycho
Page 50 and 51: girls’ and women’s bodies invit
Page 52 and 53: The threat of arrest gives the poli
Page 54 and 55: A better salary, but not enough One
Page 56 and 57: either from ‘advances’ given to
Page 58 and 59: In regard to the entertainment indu
Page 60 and 61: © Giulio Di Sturco/VII Mentor Prog
Page 62 and 63: is a fantasy. In Thailand and India
Page 64 and 65: sex worker, few are willing to risk
Page 66 and 67: Will a ‘red light area’ fix the
Page 68 and 69: A Protection and Social Welfare Sys
Page 70 and 71: THE STAKEHOLDERS GOVERNMENT Ministr
Page 72 and 73: to minimize trafficking of women, d
Page 74 and 75: Ministry of Labour and Transport Ma
Page 76 and 77: agencies and international organisa
Page 78 and 79: PROGRESS SINCE 2000 Although the en
Page 80 and 81: 2005 National HIV/AIDS Strategy (20
Page 82 and 83: of the writ petition filed by Pro-p
Page 84 and 85: BEYOND REGULATIONS The primary resp
Page 86 and 87: Work Accomplished by the Office of
Page 88 and 89:
either be repealed or revised for c
Page 90 and 91:
mentions single women: ‘The state
Page 92 and 93:
Regulation) Act 2053 to work in res
Page 94 and 95:
Policy: The practice of placing “
Page 96 and 97:
forms of gender discrimination, pre
Page 98 and 99:
WHAT SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY The sit
Page 100 and 101:
© Giulio Di Sturco/VII Mentor Prog
Page 102 and 103:
· Optional Protocol of the Convent
Page 104 and 105:
LEGISLATION An Act to Amend Some Ne
Page 106 and 107:
RESOURCES Organisations or entities
Page 108 and 109:
Samrakshak Samuha Nepal. Puja Dhima
Page 110 and 111:
26538, Thapathali, Kathmandu. Tel:
Page 112 and 113:
ANTI-TRAFFICKING NETWORKS Alliance
Page 114 and 115:
PERSONS INTERVIEWED ANNEX IV. Aarat
Page 116 and 117:
BIBLIOGRAPHY ANNEX V. ActionAid Nep
Page 118 and 119:
National Centre for AIDS and STD Co
Page 120 and 121:
ENDNOTES ANNEX VI. 1 IRIN Web Speci
Page 122 and 123:
23 Generally, it is found that the
Page 124 and 125:
Women Workers in Woolen Carpet Indu
Page 126 and 127:
68 The percentage of females under
Page 128 and 129:
100 ActionAid 2004 study. 101 Actio
Page 130 and 131:
130 142 Interviews conducted for th
Page 132:
© Giulio Di Sturco/VII Mentor Prog
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