Monika (20) is born in a family of six that relied on agriculture for survival. However, their community lacked arable land where they experienced financial hardships and food insecurity. Her parents knew they should act fast and not rely solely on agriculture so they sought various labor work to ensure she completes 12th grade. Monika is a good daughter, so she diligently studied in hopes of ultimately giving back to her parents’ hard work.
She needed extra funds to enroll in a diploma program so she started selling newspapers from her bicycle. She earned NPR 7,000 monthly and paid her college tuition in full. It may have seemed like she could only go up from there, but her hardworking mother’s body grew weak and made her seriously ill. Monika made looking after her mother her top priority instead of doing her part-time job. She took out debts to pay for her mother’s treatment, and now without a part-time job to make extra cash—she fell deeper into debt.
An older friend in her village learned about her situation and encouraged her to work at a shop in Dhangadhi. At that point, Monika is distraught and desperate so she agrees without thinking. When she arrived, the job seemed legitimate because she felt appreciated by her male employer. She felt like she was doing something good again in the same way she did good selling newspapers on her bicycle. But her employer’s wife is inexplicably annoyed by her. Perhaps jealousy, pure dislike, a relationship falling apart or whatnot—either way, the wife made active efforts to make Monika uncomfortable at work. The couple frequently argued about the wife’s treatment towards Monika, and Monika felt terrible about her being the cause of these squabbles. In the end, she decided it was best to quit.
When she returned home, she took a basic sewing and tailoring course offered by their local government. It was a good start, but since it only covered the basics, she found it difficult to find work. With all these struggles she had gone through, she found it best to share her struggles on facebook. As her friend list grew, she connected with people, and one of those was the man whom she had an online romance with. At that time, Monika is desperate for any form of solace and she found it with this man. When asked to elope, she immediately said yes.
We found her at the border, and it was revealed that the man she was supposed to marry was already a husband to someone else. Moreover, he did not have any sort of romantic attachment to her and was instead just lured into something more sinister. The man was further investigated and we took her to our Women’s Safe Haven and Vocational Center. There, she talked about all her burdens and found real solace in a safe space. Currently, she is undergoing extensive skills training to finally land a job she always wanted to have to support her family. Currently, she is happily learning and would like to thank everyone who made this opportunity possible for her.
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