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Quick facts  Born on 14 April 1949 in Okhaldhunga  Went to St. Joseph Convent, Kalimpong, India Graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, India  Mother of Manish Koirala Established Maiti Nepal in 1993 Won the title of ‘CNN Hero’ in 2010 I spent most of my childhood in Kalimpong. After finishing high school, I went to Kolkata, where I got my bachelor's degree in history. Soon after graduation, I came to Nepal and started a teaching career.  I taught English for 25 years before I established Maiti Nepal. I founded the organization in 1993 because I wanted to do something about the problem of women and girls. There were a lot of people and organizations that talked about the problem, but very few were actually willing to help the victims of trafficking.  I was 43-year-old and I didn’t have a lot of money. All I had was Rs 30,000. It was all of my savings and the money I got after selling my jewelry. Maiti Nepal started from a flat with three rooms and a kitchen. I took in trafficking survivors as well as those in need of rescue. The number of survivors kept on increasing as days went by. I had to dedicate my whole time looking after them, so I didn’t have any time to work outside and make money. Funding and donations came much later.  I used to take loans from people I knew to feed sheltered women and children. I don’t even know how I managed to do all that. I did all the work, from cooking to cleaning to washing clothes and dishes. Besides, I also had a son to look after.  We all lived under the same roof. Whatever the challenges, we faced them together. Maiti Nepal continued this way for nearly five years. There was no funding or partner organizations. I was running the organization by myself, until one day an individual from UNICEF told me that they were willing to fund Maiti Nepal. For this, I had to write a proposal. I didn’t know the first thing about writing a proposal. I hadn’t even registered the organization to begin with. It was all so new to me. Thankfully, I knew some people who could help me.  After we started getting donations and funding from outside, I was able to hire some people to help me with the work. I still look over everything that goes on in Maiti Nepal, except accounts and finances.  Once the funds started flowing, we were also able to add another shelter. Meanwhile, the number of survivors also increased massively, particularly after the Mumbai rescue in 1996. While the rescued survivors were sent to other organizations too, it was Maiti Nepal that took in the largest number of them. Running a shelter doesn’t just mean providing food and a place to stay to the survivors. It also means creating an environment where the rescued individuals could feel welcome and safe. Many trafficking survivors go through unimaginable pain and trauma, and as a result, some of them pick up bad habits like smoking and drinking.  I was a teacher for 25 years and if you ask any student of mine, they will tell you how strict I was. I was the same with trafficking survivors when it came to making them quit their bad habits. Although I treated them with love and respect, I didn’t tolerate their bad habits. It took a lot of patience, but they did quit eventually.  I have always wanted to work for women and children, so I feel extremely lucky that I was able to live my dream. When I got nominated for the CNN Hero award for my work through Maiti Nepal, I didn’t even know that I was on the list of nominees. Winning the award was both a joyful and humbling occasion for me. On one hand, Maiti Nepal was getting global recognition, and on the other, I felt the burden of responsibility on my shoulder had been increased. I feel the same sense of added responsibility with every award and recognition. They add the pressure of doing more and doing better everyday. Maybe it’s a good thing? I don’t know.  All I can say is, from the moment I established Maiti Nepal 30 years ago, I have worked with a singular goal of making Nepal free from women and girl trafficking. I am 73 now and I am still striving towards that goal. The fight is not over when it comes to women’s rights. It is a shame that we still haven’t been able to protect our women and children. So I have to keep on fighting. About her  Bishwo Ram Khadka (Colleague)  I have worked with her for a long time now, and I have never seen anyone as disciplined and sincere as her. She is a rare individual. Her goal has always been to free Nepal from human trafficking and she has never stopped working on it. Her work is truly remarkable.  Meera Ratna (Friend)  I have known Anu since our school days. She always had a keen interest in social work and I have seen her be a part of many social works. She was always looking to help people. I am proud of work and everything she has achieved.  Dr Samjhana Pokhrel (Student)  I was a child when I first met Dijju in 2002. One thing I really love about her is that she has always been supportive of what I wanted to study. Not just me but all the other children in Maiti Nepal. Even when there are so many children, she managed to remember all of our interests. I don’t know how she did it, but I am grateful for everything she has done for us. 

Zero trafficking of Nepali people

Three ways to realize the vision: 

1) Enforce the constitutional provision of free and compulsory education.
2) Create jobs in our own country.
3) Do more to ensure gender equality. 

Since I established Maiti Nepal in 1993, my vision for Nepal has been the same: to shut this organization down. By that I mean I want to eliminate human trafficking from the country.

Many cite poverty as the reason for trafficking, but I don’t buy that. For me, Nepalis are not poor. True, we are not rich either, but many of us are hardworking people who just want a decent and dignified life. 

The explanation that poverty is causing human trafficking is facile. Rather, lack of education and jobs, and gender inequality are responsible for human trafficking in all its forms.

So we, as a nation, must strive to educate all citizens, create jobs and ensure gender equality to stop human trafficking, which is a big stain on humanity.  

Nepal should aim for 100 percent literacy, which could be done by guaranteeing free and compulsory education. 

The new constitution provides for free education up to higher secondary level in government schools. But I don’t see that happening anywhere. Our organization has admitted many children in government schools in different parts of Nepal and at the end of the year, we invariably get a raft of receipts from these schools. Where is free education then?

The government must strictly implement the free education provision and ensure every child goes to school. Many people would not send their kids, especially daughters, to school even if the education were free. Those parents and guardians must be fined. Holding them accountable is the only way to ensure that all girl children are educated.  

To ensure every child goes to school, local governments could hire and deploy monitoring officers. This will create jobs, no matter how small.

For long, girls and women in Nepal have been victims of trafficking, and unemployment contributes to this. If we could create enough jobs in Nepal, trafficking cases would be drastically reduced. 

With no jobs at home, many young women have no option but to go to foreign countries for employment. In the process, there is a high chance of them being cheated and trafficked. Even men are becoming victims of labor trafficking—all due to lack of jobs in the country.  

Another urgent issue is gender disparity. In Nepal, there are more women than men, but then there are fewer women in decision-making levels. How many federal ministries are handled by females right now? Six. And lack of female representation is not limited to government agencies and political parties. It runs across the board. We can’t expect an equitable and inclusive society so long as those in the leadership are not committed to ending gender disparity.   

It will take time to build a country where education is free for all, job opportunities are plenty, and women have equal rights and representation. But that is not to say we should ignore immediate steps we could take to fight human trafficking. In fact, we should be doubling our efforts. The government for one should actively monitor and cut off national and international trafficking routes.     

Our open-border arrangement with India is vital for trade and economy, but it also helps traffickers. Anyone can cross the border without any documentation. As a result, girls and women are easily smuggled across the border. They either land in Delhi or get transferred to other parts of the world like Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon to work in slave-like conditions.

Maiti Nepal works closely with Indian authorities and social organizations to stop trafficking. Over the years, we have managed to curtail traffickers using the Delhi route, but they have not stopped. Of late, they have been found using routes in eastern India and even Sri Lanka to transport Nepali women. Our organization recently rescued 135 trafficked victims from Manipur in eastern India.

It is a huge problem and we must find solutions from within the country. We must discover the places where girls and women are susceptible to trafficking and cut off trafficking routes within Nepal.  

Earlier, traffickers used to target girls and women in Sindhupalchok and surrounding districts. Now they seem to be more active in and around Sindhuli. Locations and routes have changed, but trafficking itself continues. 

There is also the problem of internal trafficking, whereby young girls and women are forced into labor and prostitution. It is the state’s duty to stop that. 

Those into human trafficking lack humanity, morality and compassion. A few years back, I was attending an event on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Sweden. Some ministers and police officers were also in attendance. During this event, a man declared that he was from Nepal and he trafficked women for sex. He made this announcement rather proudly without any hint of contrition. We caught him then and there. Such is the mentality of traffickers—no empathy at all. We can change this only through education. 

There is no problem with our trafficking- and prostitution-related laws. It is the implementation part that is weak. If we are committed to make Nepal a trafficking-free country, there is no reason we cannot achieve it.

Quick Questions:

1. What gives you the greatest happiness?

My work. Preventing Rescuing children and women from becoming trafficking victims.

2. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

All the children and women rescued by my organization are my inspiration.

3. A quote you live by.

‘Discipline is the key’.