Kathmandu, 16 Dec: As the trend of Nepali girls traveling to India to marry Indian men based on relationships formed through social media increases, the risk of human trafficking has also been rising. Girls who decide to go to India for marriage without informing their families after forming online relationships are becoming more vulnerable to trafficking.
This reality came to light four days ago when representatives of the Peace Rehabilitation Center Nepalgunj, an organization actively working against human trafficking, stopped and counseled two young women from Dang and Arghakhanchi at the Jamunaha border point in Nepalgunj while they were on their way to Simla, suspecting them to be at risk of trafficking.
According to Smarika Chandara, coordinator of the Nepalgunj branch of the Peace Rehabilitation Center, the two girls had agreed to marry Indian men solely based on relationships developed through social media and had run away to Simla. Among those rescued, one girl from Dang is only 15 years old, while the other from Arghakhanchi is 22 years old.
Coordinator Chandara said that the increasing number of girls traveling toward India to marry Indian citizens without their parents’ knowledge, based only on online conversations, has further heightened the risk of trafficking. “Agreeing to marry an Indian citizen without informing one’s guardians, solely on the basis of social media communication, is in itself an act that invites risk,” she said.
With the initiative of the center, the girl from Dang has been reunited with her family after contacting her guardians, while preparations are underway to hand over the girl from Arghakhanchi to her family as well. Pavitra Kumari Puri, Chief of the Women, Children and Senior Citizens Section of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, said that in some cases Nepali women themselves have been found playing a coordinating role in arranging marriages between Nepali girls and Indian citizens.
“It has been found that Nepali women who are already married to Indian citizens connect with girls they know in Nepal through social media,” Puri said. “When Nepali girls agree to go to India for marriage, the Nepali women who coordinate the process receive financial benefits, which is why this problem is increasing.” She described the tendency of putting daughters of one’s own country at risk for financial gain as alarming.
Kiran Prakash Malla, Police Inspector and In-charge of the Area Police Office Jamunaha, said that women who run away from home to reach India based only on social media communication are at high risk of trafficking, and everyone must be vigilant about this issue.
He added that coordination with organizations active against trafficking has helped in rescuing women and children on risky journeys and reuniting them with their families. According to Inspector Malla, traffickers particularly target women who are economically weak or facing family problems.
Bhumi Raj Bhattarai, National Rescue Coordinator of the Peace Rehabilitation Center, pointed out the need to make border security and awareness programs more effective, as this risk is driven by momentary attraction and temptation seen on social media. He said that the organization has been rescuing Nepali women who were trafficked or left stranded in Indian cities in coordination with government and non-government agencies there.
At the Jamunaha border point in Nepalgunj, around a dozen organizations—including the Peace Rehabilitation Home, Maiti Nepal, and Saathi—have been actively working against human trafficking. The Peace Rehabilitation Center alone rescued 399 people in the last fiscal year.
District Program Coordinator Chandara said that in the last fiscal year, 303 people were directly handed over to their guardians, while 95 were connected with their families through the police. The Peace Rehabilitation Home has established information and counseling centers at five locations—Narainapur, Duduwa, Janaki, Kohalpur, and Jamunaha in Banke district—and has been running programs against human trafficking and smuggling.
