“Females are always dominated and disregarded by males, just because they are female”: the continuation of patriarchal norms for young trafficked women in Nepal

Abstract

This article provides insights into the cultural aspects of sexual violence against young women trafficked into the sex industry in Nepal. Participant observation, participatory clay body mapping workshops and group interviews using photography were used to explore the reproductive body of six formerly trafficked women aged 14-22 years. Intimate partner violence against women, domestic violence and violence against women were important issues raised during the research process. Societal and familial patriarchal norms are the root causes of violence against women in Nepal and can be traced back to the Hindu legal code, the Muluki Ain of 1854, which was enforced for over 100 hundred years. Our findings indicate that tackling violence against women is complex for Nepali trafficked women because of its multiple forms and sources.

Keywords:

• Hinduism
• Nepal
• patriarchy
• sex trafficking
• women’s reproductive health

Acknowledgements

We thank Asha Nepal and CAP Nepal for their support in enabling us to undertake this study in Nepal. We also thank Nirmala Prajapati, Saru Shilpakar and Kamal Kafle for their cultural knowledge and advice and expertise in adolescent sexual and reproductive health expertise.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 There were earlier less formal iterations of the Legal Code.

2 1960–1990

3 A doko is a ‘V’ shaped handwoven bamboo basket used by women in villages to carry grasses and other things, and by porters to carry goods in Nepal, Bhutan and India's northern states.

4 Dai means older brother. It can mean a brother by blood or a male friend who is older.

5 Her friend.

6 Höfer (2004) provides an account of Nepal’s complex caste system.

Additional information

Funding

Tricia Ong was funded by an Australian Government Research Training Program Award for doctoral research at Deakin University and an Australian Government Endeavour Research Fellowship for field work in Nepal. These funding bodies played no role in the design the study or in data collection, analysis and interpretation.