Devendra Bhattarai

As the world observes International Women’s Day, hundreds of Nepali women are trapped in various African nations, working against their will as bar dancers. 

There are around 300 Nepali women in Kenya and Tanzania employed in various dance bars . A majority of these women are victims of the agents who, on the pretext of providing job opportunities, brought them to these countries and left them in custody of the bar owners.

Kajol Sharma, a 21-year-old from Budhabare of Jhapa district, landed in Nairobi, the Capital city of Kenya, a week ago. Her agent took her directly to a dance bar at Park Lane on the day of her arrival.

That evening, she said she was asked to entertain the bar crowd with her dance. Her passport and other travel documents were taken away by her employer, so that she would not try to run away.

Although the bar owners claim that they only showcase the traditional Indian dance form of Mujra in their establishments, but as the evening gives way to the night, the women dancers are forced to put up a sensual dance shows with Bollywood numbers playing in the background.  And there is no shortage of male crowd, cheering and grinning with lecherous gleams in their eyes, clutching wads of money to toss them on stage to assert their approval of pleasure.

“The tip money is usually collected by the waiter and handed over to the bar owner. We only get 10 to 15 percent,” said a 25-year-old Nepali woman, who did not wish to be named.  She said that they work throughout the week from 9 pm till 4 am without a day off.

A building at Nairobi’s Park Lane alone has three dance bars ; each has at least 10 Nepali women as dancers. Another such establishment at Park Lane is famous for shower dance, wherein the performers dance underneath a spray of water, drenching their bodies. “The bar owner also orders these women to get on top of the table and perform for individual client for money,” said a Nepali man, who works at a restaurant in Nairobi.

Although most of these dance bars are owned by Indian nationals, a Nepali man also operates the business in Kenya. Rajan Thapa runs three dance bars at Mambosa and Nairobi.

He has employed 19 Nepali women as dancers. He argues that the women working for him had arrived on their own will and he pays them decently. “I spend up to Rs 300,000 to bring these women to Nairobi from Kathmandu,” Thapa said, explaining how bribes and other inducements play a big role to fly the woman to Kenya without any hassles. “I have to pay the people here in Kenya as well. Having made such investment, how could I leave these women free and run my business? I have to keep their passports with me,” he added.         

As Kenya and Tanzania offer on-arrival visas for three months, the so-called employment agents are said to be brining Nepali women in these countries and forced to work as bar dancers, said a representative of the Kenya chapter of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).

It is learnt that these women are usually put to work until wee hours of the morning and then kept in isolation throughout the day, he said.  NRNA Kenya President Ram Chandra Basyal said: “We cannot do anything unless a complaint is lodged by the victims. If we receive a complaint or appeal for help then we are ready to rescue them. We cannot just go and intervene such dance bars and try to rescue the women there.”According to Bhimsem Chettri, the chairman of Tanzania chapter of NRNA, the trafficking is even higher there. He claimed the girls are made to dance in inebriated condition and asked to perform various activities against their will in the name of entertainment.  He said more than 100 Nepali women are working in such bars in Dar es Salaam alone.

Published on: 8 March 2014 | The Kathmandu Post