Direct Talk

Today's guest is Sunita Danuwar.

Sunita Danuwar
Founder of Shakti Samuha and Sunita Foundation

She is the creator of organizations

that protects women who have been victims
of human trafficking in Nepal.

Sunita was once a victim herself

who was forcibly brought to India.

She doesn't want others
to go through the same suffering.

Her organizations work to
educate the public about the abuse.

They have also been involved in activities

such as supporting the reintegration
of victims back into society.

In recognition of such activities,

Shakti Samuha was awarded
the Ramon Magsaysay Prize,

or Asia's Nobel Prize, in 2013.

She personally received a letter of honor
from the US Department of state,

recognizing her combat
against human trafficking.

She spoke to us about her commitment
to restoring the dignity

and social reintegration of women
who have been victims.

To Stand on Your Own Feet

The word "victim"

has always been coupled with sadness.

But when you're freed from that sadness,

it means you have turned
your grief into strength.

So, instead of saying victims,
we must call them survivors.

I have been fighting for people
to use this word instead.

The Himalayas has mountain ranges
of 7,000-meter peaks.

The country that stretches
at the foot of the high terrains is Nepal.

Nepal

Many tourists are attracted
by the spectacular views,

and the culture that has been cultivated
over a long history.

However, there exists reality
that can't be seen just from the outside.

There are no major industries
other than agriculture

in the mountainous areas away from the city.

And recruiters who pose as kind individuals
often visit the area

to convince girls about good jobs
like housekeepers in other countries.

In reality, the jobs turn out
to be prostitution.

Shakti Samuha

5,000 to 10,000 girls are reported to be
victimized by these recruiters annually.

Shakti Samuha

Sunita founded Shakti Samuha in 1996.

It's an organization
that helps such victimized women.

Shakti Samuha

The organization provides shelter for them

for a certain amount of time
to heal their emotional wounds.

Shakti Samuha

Rescued girls are frowned upon.

They'll be looked at with curiosity
and talked about behind their backs

if they're immediately
returned to their villages.

This makes them prone to mental illness.

Shelters have been created
to prevent this from happening.

They're asked what they like to do.

Do they like dancing?

Do they like singing?

It's a sanctuary to find happiness,

which is very important.

If we try to force them to do something,

they won't open up their hearts

especially if such activities
don't interest them.

Sunita was born in 1977
in the mountains of northwestern Nepal.

Her father worked as a carpenter and farmer.

And the family often moved residences.

I always wanted to study

and I asked my father
to allow me to go to school.

He said that we move around a lot

and it would be difficult to
continue studying at one school.

But he said

if I was interested,
he would teach me how to read.

So, my father taught me every day after work.

That's why I was able to read and write
in Nepalese from when I was still a child.

When Sunita was 14 years old,

she was picking gravel at a riverbank.

Men pretending to be kind individuals
offered her sweets.

When she ate them, she fainted.

When I woke up, I panicked.

I was in a room that I didn't recognize.

So, I asked the lady there,

"Where am I?"

And she said I was in Bombay.

As soon as I heard that, I blacked out.

That's because I had heard my parents say

there are people who take young girls
to Bombay and make them do illegitimate work.

When I heard I was in Bombay,

I thought, oh, this is the end of my life

I am going to die here

and everything went dark.

At first, they treated me badly.

If I didn't listen to them
they would burn me with a lighted cigarette,

or not give me any food

or they will tell me that they would
dismember my head and body.

I would just tell them to kill me

I told them I would never do the work
they told me to do.

But, despite how much I resisted,
I ended up doing what they asked.

Six months later,

the local police in Bombay conducted a raid
on the prostitution district.

Sunita was rescued
along with nearly 500 other women,

many of whom had been brought from Nepal.

She returned to her native country.

But then a new kind of suffering began.

There was a large temple
near the facility where I was staying.

But when I went to the temple premises,

men appeared and made fun of us saying,

"Hey these are women who were sold to Bombay.

If you touch them, you'll catch HIV."

We all cried and wondered why

everyone mocked us when it wasn't our fault
that we were trafficked.

During that time, Sunita remembers
talking to her counselor.

Dr. Renu Adhikari's words changed her life.

I was in a state of depression

when Dr. Renu asked me
why I was crying all the time.

She said it wasn't my fault that I was sold.

She said I can do anything
if I worked hard at it

She encouraged me like that.

Dr. Renu also taught us a course
called "Basic Health,"

where we learned not only about HIV
and other sexually transmitted diseases,

but also about children's rights,

women's rights,

human rights,

human trafficking

We studied these things for 10 days.

And we realized that
it wasn't our fault we were sold.

It's the fault of this society,
this environment.

So why should we blame ourselves?
Why do we have to hide?

We have to fight for our rights
in a society that did this to us.

We need to stand up
for the rights of the girls

who have gone through what we experienced.

Sunita took a leap of faith

and started studying from the very beginning.

She even attended college.

In 1996, she also formed "Shakti Samuha"

with 15 other women
who were also rescued from India.

"Shakti" means "power"
and "samuha" means "group."

Shakti Samuha

They have been protecting
and counseling women

who had been victims of human trafficking

visiting village to village, educating people
not to be deceived by attractive offers.

Shakti Samuha

They also perform in plays
based on their own experiences

to educate people not to become
victims of human trafficking.

People who have never been
to school and can't read

could also understand if it was a play.

That's why we put on these performances.

We educate people in this way
with what we experienced.

Most of my roles were as
human trafficking brokers and brothel owners.

I was very good at those roles.

It was very effective.

Many of the people who saw the play cried.

In 2019, Sunita launched a new initiative.

She created the "Sunita Foundation"
apart from "Shakti Samuha."

I have been educating and protecting people
in Shakti Samuha for over 20 years.

However, we didn't always get good results.

From now on, changes are needed
for things to be more effective.

Awareness doesn't always
lead to being independent.

We must also improve job perspectives.

Only then can we see
the effects of our activities.

Even if we go to a village
and conduct these awareness events,

people may be thinking in their minds

whether they will have enough money
to buy vegetables tonight.

We need to adjust to this reality.

Survivors must get out of poverty.

That's what we are now focusing on.

For example, we help survivors
plan to raise goats and pigs.

We also help survivors produce
organic vegetables.

Organic products are popular
as it's considered good for your health.

So even if it's a little more expensive,
people will buy them.

And we will help to make sure that
organic vegetables

can be harvested throughout the year.

This is a beauty salon in Nepal.

The beautician is a survivor
of human trafficking

who is being protected by
the Sunita Foundation.

She is getting training here

to acquire skills and
to live a self-sufficient life.

The most important thing
is to stand on your own feet.

It's important to be independent
about everything.

If you can be self-sustaining, you won't
have to deal with jealousy from others.

You also don't have to flatter anyone
to keep your job,

and you won't be faced
with human trafficking.

So, I think it's very important to be able
to do things without depending on others.

The Indra Jatra festival is held in Nepal
every year around September.

A goddess on a float,
parades through the city.

The name of the goddess is Kumari.

Kumari

Kumari is said to bring good luck with her
immense power and she is believed by many.

The faith has been continuing for many ages.

In Nepal, there is a belief
that women are symbols of power.

To honor the power of women,

there's the Kumari.

Men cannot become a Kumari.

Women, no matter how
they are treated in our society,

are also the creators of this world.

This world would not exist without women.

That's why I believe the goddess Kumari
has been worshipped.

However, Nepal has become
a male-dominated society.

Various jobs require a certain number
of employees to be women.

But how can women have equal rights

when quotas have to be set
for different genders?

It just asks for special treatment
for women.

Instead, women should compete on
an equal footing with men.

Women and men should compete
on a 50/50 basis,

with those with the best abilities
getting the top jobs.

We need to create a society
where everyone can compete equally,

whether they are educated or not

whether they are survivors
or victims of abuse.

It's meaningless to have a quota
for women just for pity's sake.

Sunita left us these words.

Life is a struggle.

From birth to death,
we are fighting something,

even if we aren't consciously
aware of that happening.

I experienced a struggle at Shakti Samuha

now a struggle at Sunita Foundation.

They are different,
but regardless they are struggles.

So, "Life is a struggle."