The novel Sold is the story of Lakshmi, a 13 year old girl who
lives in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. Living happily with her
Ama (mother) and baby brother, Lakshmi appreciates her rural life
and finds happiness in the simplicity of her environment. This
happiness is complicated by her drunken stepfather, and exacerbated
by the at times hard life she leads as an agriculture worker. At
the whims of the weather and her step fathers gambling addiction,
Lakshmi struggles to remain hopeful.
Slide 3
After one particularly hard rainy season, Lakshmis stepfather
tells her that she is going to be sent off to work, but she soon
finds out that he lied and that she was actually sold into the sex
trade. After being smuggled across the border to India, Lakshmi
then finds out that she has to pay back her debt before she can
leave Happiness House, the brothel where she was sent. Alone and
coerced, Lakshmi is forced to give herself up in order to help her
family and be free once again.
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A landlocked nation, Nepal claims a distinctive natural and
cultural climate with its ancient heritage and the Himalayas as an
awe- inspiring backdrop. While it is rich in cultural and scenic
splendor, Nepal remains one of the world's poorest countries. It is
struggling to overcome a turbulent political and economic legacy
and manage a peaceful transition to stability.
Slide 7
Nepal is home to a population of 31 million people, with more
than 24 percent of the population living in poverty. The Nepali
Government struggles to provide adequate healthcare and education
to its people, especially those in remote regions. Resources are
limited, and the systems used to distribute those resources often
struggle to keep up with demand.
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Health posts and schools in rural areas are often non-
functioning or severely under- functioning. This is partially due
to the sheer difficulty of reaching remote communities and
supplying them with educated doctors and teachers. In Nepal, 48 of
every 1000 live births are malnourished. In many cases this leads
to their death. Maternal mortality rates are high due to weak
health systems, with limited access to emergency care, skilled
attendance and the overall poor status of women, especially in
remote areas.
Slide 11
Formal education is a privilege not widely shared by the
population. Today, 24 percent of children do not complete formal
primary education. In rural areas like Laksmis, literacy rates are
reported at 9 percent for women and 37 percent for men. The
extended civil conflict has had a major impact on health, education
and employment, with school closures and strikes.
Slide 12
The major religion of Nepal is Hinduism. Within Hindu culture,
worshippers are divided by a strict caste system which separates
different social strata. The caste one is born into cannot change;
the only way to improve ones standing in life is to lead a life of
good work, or karma, so as to be reborn into a higher caste in a
next life.
Slide 13
Like in many other cultures around the world, women in Nepal
society are often seen as inferior to men. Stuck within the
confines of their domestic sphere, there are strict social
practices and customs that limit a womans sexuality, independence,
autonomy, and value.
Slide 14
Members of the Hindu community in some parts of Nepal still
practice Chhaupadi, a custom that forces women to live in the
stable while menstruating and just after giving birth. They are
forbidden to cook and eat with their families. This system comes
from the superstition of impurity during the menstruation period.
In this superstitious logic, if a menstruating woman touches a tree
it will never again bear fruit; if she consumes milk the cow will
not give any more milk; if she reads a book about the goddess of
education, she will become angry; if she touches a man, he will be
ill.
Slide 15
A combination of Nepals social, cultural, and political
realities make it one of the largest areas for human trafficking in
the world. Although reliable data on the scope of the issue is
difficult to gather, Unicef reports that as many as 7,000 women and
girls are trafficked out of Nepal to India every year, and around
200,000 are now working in Indian brothels.
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Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harbouring or receipt of individuals for the purpose of
exploitation. It is a violation of their rights, their well-being
and denies them the opportunity to reach their full potential.
While recent research has yielded information on the nature of
child trafficking specifically, little is known about its
magnitude. The International Labor Organizations 2002 estimation of
1.2 million children being trafficked each year remains the
reference.
Slide 18
Lakshmi and her story were written to shed light on these
atrocities.