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http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=87743 Exploited cabin girls spread HIV
BY SANGEETA RIJAL
POKHARA, Oct 4 - Harikala's (all names changed) is a harrowing tale. But more harrowing is that the 26-year-old woman, who limps with partial paralysis, is spreading HIV rapidly in this western town to support herself and her drug addiction.
When her mother died and her father brought in a step mother, she left home in Dharan and came to Pokhara, the tourist paradise. She became a waitress at a Lakeside restaurant when she was just 15.
Soon the restauranteur forced her to pander to the customers sexually. "I resisted, but he withheld my salary," she explained her ordeal.
When she was 18, she came to know she was HIV-infected. "But I was not prepared to quit the flesh trade and die of hunger. Moreover, my needs had increased as I had also started injecting drugs," Harikala said adding, "The drug consumption increased due to frustration."
She always tries to persuade clients to use condoms, but cannot force them to do so lest she expose her HIV status. "People pay more to have unprotected sex, and I can't tell them that I am HIV positive because that would be kicking my stomach in," she said.
Harikala is just one example of how uneducated, unemployed vulnerable girls are being exploited in Pokhara, and how lack of proper attention on the part of those concerned is contributing to the makings of a serious HIV-AIDS problem in this scenic town of lakes and mountains.
Pokhara's increasing number of dance and cabin restaurants has given economic opportunity to many women who lack proper skills and qualifications. But as in Kathmandu, the exploitation is rampant, and not only do some unlucky ones get HIV-infected but also transfer the deadly virus unhindered to many.
Devi was 15 when she had to abandon school and work in a restaurant as her alcoholic father never supported her education nor helped with the household expenses. Her mother had to pay for his drinking besides supporting the education of three daughters. "So I left school and joined work, thinking that I could help my mother," she said.
Devi has not been asked to sleep with customers. But she has to woo them to drink more. She is paid Rs. 1,800 for which she works for 12 to 13 hours, without any appointment letter or weekly day off. "I have to come to work even when I am sick, but they don't pay for medicine nor provide me any themselves," she said.
Sarita, a dance girl, said that she goes out with people just to survive. She too has to satisfy people without using condoms. "I am not yet positive but I can't say until when," she said.
According to Bishnu Bhandari, chairperson of Children Women Empowerment Society (CWES), women are compelled to work under exploitation as a majority of them have no alternative employment opportunity. "The most dreadful thing is that such women are at high risk of HIV infection," she said.
A study carried out by Siddartha Club in 2003 shows that there are 350 dance and cabin restaurants in Pokhara, where about 1,500 women work. "But this number may have increased in recent days, and we are preparing for an intensive study for scientific data," said Dilip Doshi, program coordinator of Rights Based Program for HIV and AIDS. "It's urgent that we deal with abuse and exploitation so that this can lessen the risk of HIV," he added.
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