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  SELLING SEX TO SURVIVE By LB Thapa Prostitution is illegal in Nepal, but it is served everywhere and easily available throughout the country. If this is the case, then how can one say prostitution is illegal? It is illegal only for namesakes. Otherwise, the flesh trade is thriving right under the noses of lawmakers. Now many voices are heard who say if the state cannot control the flesh trade, then legalize it.  No official attempt has been made to register the number of commercial sex workers in the country so far. Nevertheless, various reports have confirmed that over 30,000 active sex workers are in the country.  Of them, over 10,000 prostitutes are believed to carry out their profession in the Kathmandu valley alone. A large number of minor girls below the age of 16 are also found in this profession. They sell sex to survive.  Although the law of the land prohibits prostitution, it is flourishing in cities and towns. There could be many reasons for sp...

  PABITRA, THE SOLO TRAVERLER FROM NEPAL Her adventurous life is full of surprises By LB Thapa It is an undeniable fact that, in recent times, the number of female solo travelers has increased around the world. And the numbers are always increasing. However, solo travel is a different phenomenon. In a normal situation, people travel with their family members and friends and sometimes alone. Well, traveling is always fraught with many known and unknown dangers. Thus, very few people dare to travel alone. But in recent times, the concept of solo travel has surged like never before.  Over the last few years, the numbers of both male and female solo travelers have increased tremendously. Male solo travelers are okay, but female solo travelers have also jumped on the bandwagon and surprised the world with their courage and stamina. Today, there are many popular travelers, and many of them are female solo travelers. And they are not a few hundred, but they are in the hundreds and ...

Ram Bahadur Bomjon’s arrest has raised some questions By LB Thapa Over the last couple of years, incidences of rape and murder have soared dramatically in the country. According to a report, 17,790 women and girls were raped in the last decade, and rape cases are on the rise by 20 percent every year. This is certainly not a good piece of news for a small country like Nepal. In the last fiscal year, the Nepal Police registered 144 cases of rape and 687 cases of attempts to rape. Data further shows that only in five months in 2020, a total of 1,221 women were raped in the country. The data further certifies that, on average, seven women are raped daily in Nepal.  Without a doubt, such incidences of rape and murder paint a grim picture of Nepal. And the increasing number of such cases does not give a good message to the international community, which still admires Nepal as the land of Buddha, where the crime rate is far lower compared to other countries.  But when Ram Bahadur...

  MANAU SEWA ASHRAM POKHARA Helping the helpless LB Thapa Ever since Manausewa Ashram came into existence in 2012, the Ashram has been doing great work. Now the Ashram has become the home of several men and women who are not capable of fending themselves. Had the Ashram not brought them to its home, they would have been living on the street--- unnoticed and unattended.   Seeing the true dedication of the people behind running this Ashram, now even our government has started helping them with infrastructure development activities. Lately, my wife and I visited one of the branches of Manausewa Ashram located at Chhorepatan, opposite Devi’s Falls. We spent a quality time with the people living in the Ashram. We offered food for them and a little financial help for the construction of a new Ashram building in Hemja. New building of Manausewa Ashram under construction in Hemja.  We have made it mandatory to celebrate our son’s birthday at Old Age Ashrams. We have b...

Our media is also replete with the news of women beaten up for practicing witchcraft. There are many villages in the country where the light of education has not reached and the people are under the impression of superstition. Image credit: bit.ly/3rWpGio. Paying the price in the name of WITCHES… LB Thapa Nepalese women are still suffering from several discriminatory practices. In fact, the law has guaranteed them equal rights, but such laws are only limited in the book. They are tortured harassed, dragged, raped, and sometimes even beaten to death on various charges one being witchcraft. This is the 21 st century and the world has taken a quantum leap of development. But most unfortunately there are still a lot many people in our country who live with the belief that there live spirits, ghosts, and witches. In fact, modern science does not believe in sorcery. Our media is also replete with the news of women beaten up for practicing witchcraft. There are many villages in the country w...

  By DR. P RAVI SHANKAR Pokhara at the foot of the magnificent Annapurnas must surely rank as one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. My association with this beautiful city has been short but sweet! I first landed in Pokhara on February 8, 2000. Before coming, I surfed on the internet looking for more information about the place. The tourist guidebooks are fond of describing Pokhara as a ‘subtropical paradise’. Pokhara is a major tourist center and is the launching pad for treks to the Annapurna region. My good friend, Sanjay, a keen trekker and photographer had described Pokhara as a ‘paradise on earth’ may be partly inclined by the guidebooks and descriptions of fellow trekkers.   Many changes have occurred in Pokhara over the last eight years. Like changes elsewhere, they can be divided into the good, the bad, and the ugly. A noticeable improvement has been seen in surface transport. In 2000, we had the old Tata buses from India. Monsters belching smoke and carbon (in ...

The grim reality is that every year over 10,000 Nepali girls are trafficked to various Indian brothels. Photo credit:feminisminindia.com, Outlook India By LB Thapa Almost a decade ago, I was commissioned by a reputed Kathmandu-based magazine to write an investigative story. The subject was how Nepalese girls are trafficked to Mumbai brothels. Modus oprendi of the agents, girl’s trafficking networking in India and Nepal, and the life of Nepalese sex workers in Kamathipura. The editorial team of the magazine asked me if I was interested in covering the story. I immediately nodded my head in assertion. I had the confidence to accomplish the task successfully because I had the advantage of knowing India a bit. I was born and raised in India and I have already traveled to several parts of India.   Today when I am writing this additional piece of information, the face of old Kamathipura has completely been transformed. Mumbai police took the matter of Kamathipura sex workers seriously. ...