Sharmila* (17) was forced into early marriage due to poverty. She comes from a family of eight that merely relies on their father’s salary for migrant labor work in India. After being married for a year, she was unable to conceive and was later discarded by her husband’s family. Her only use to them was to bear children, and once unfulfilled, she was already deemed useless. Sharmila had no choice but to move forward with her life, so she sought job opportunities in Pokhara.
On September 27, she arrived at work in a bakery in Pokhara. It was all going well until October 11, when she visited her sister in one of the districts. During the visit, she encountered a 35-year-old woman who falsely promised her a well-paying job in India. Moreover, she told her that she knows of men who can be good husbands and providers for her. Since she thought it was the perfect opportunity to turn her life around, she said yes.
Later, she was taken to a district near the Indian border, accompanied by a woman and a man. To avoid raising suspicion, Sharmila was asked to put a vermillion on her forehead—a traditional Indian symbol of marriage. Thankfully, our staff was skilled enough to see through gimmicks like this. They were asked to step aside and were questioned. We found out about the too-good-to-be-true promises of the woman, and it immediately raised alarm bells among our staff.
It turns out, the man she was about to marry was already married. The real Intention was to sell her at a brothel. Angry, Sharmila and her father filed a police report against the woman and the man. While they remained in custody, we decided it would be best to send Sharmila to our Women’s Safe Haven. Rest assured, legal proceedings are underway to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The thought of almost being sold caused Sharmila a significant amount of mental trauma. She mentioned that if her mother, father, and siblings found out, it would create difficulties for her family due to the discriminatory outlook of their community against women. So she decided to stay in our Safe Home for a while to receive mental counseling and vocational training.
Every time she thinks about what happened to her, she breaks down. She has a long way to go to heal, but we are confident that our care will slowly get her there.
*Name changed for privacy
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Be a Part of the Solution
Help support the annual operating costs of the Women’s Safe Haven and Vocational Center, assisting women and girls in healing from trauma and rebuilding their lives.
Your donation can change lives.