Exploitation of the Women in Cabin-Restaurant (A case study of Kathmandu Metropolitan City)
Submitted to: Social Inclusion Research Fund SNV Nepal Bakhundole, Lalitpur
Submitted By: Parbati Karki SIRF/HGRF/2011 May 2013
Acknowledgement I have taken efforts in this research project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of organization and many individuals. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them. I am highly indebted to Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF)/ SNV Netherlands Development Organization for full financial support and organized many facilities like research seminar, reading circles, research workshop and various classes to understand social exclusion and inclusion for quality research report and provide professional mentor for proper guidance, constant supervision, constructive criticism and necessary information to make this research report academic and also to support in completion of this project successfully. I would like to express my gratitude towards my mentor Ms Ekku Maya Pun for her kind cooperations, valuable comments, suggestions and encouragement which help me in completion of this project.
My thanks and appreciations also go to my co-researcher, colleague in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities. I am very much thankful to Cabin owners and workers for giving me such attention and time with their valuable information.
My due respect goes to Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuvan University and SAGUN team whose contribution in stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me to coordinate my project especially in writing this report. Finally, many thanks go to the head of the project SIRF / SNV Nepal who has invested its full effort in guiding the HGRFs team in achieving their goal and producing academic researcher. I have to appreciate the guidance given by other supervisor as well as the panels especially in my project presentation that has improved my presentation skills.
Executive Summary Exploitation of women is the synonymous to violence against women which is a crime against humanity. This research exploitation of the women in the cabin restaurant deals with the issue of social exclusion and gender discrimination. The cabin workers and their socioeconomic dimension were previously studied by other researchers. Their study exclusively focused on the ethnic composition, demographic composition, marital status, family status, educational status and sex trade as well as violence of their rights. This result emerged from the study gave insight into their socio-economic problems and causes of exploitation. However various forms of exploitation such as physical, verbal, psychological, economical/financial by owner and client and their feelings toward their job, their own voice for life of dignity, and their feelings to prevent the exploitation is totally left out in the previous study. So, the current study aims to validate the socio-economic background of the girls and women. The study thus solicits confidential information from 200 cabins (keeper) women and girls of 100 restaurants. The researcher asked questions from checklist to the girls and women working in the cabin restaurants. For quantitative information 30 questions were asked by questionnaire to compare and draw the reality of informants on the following three issues: 1) What are the enforcing factors or socio-economic backgrounds compelled the women to work in the cabin restaurants. 2) What kinds of exploitations have they faced? 3) How do the women feel and perceive them in such place? First two questions were designed to validate the cabin restaurants girls and women’s socioeconomic background working in the cabin restaurant and ways of exploitation the last question was aimed to extract their views and feeling in such place how the society as well as how they want to solve the problems to make their job respectable. All the checklist questions were open-ended which allowed them sufficient space to explore their own voice. All the questions are covered by questionnaire for quantitative analysis which includes thirty questions. This questionnaire is basically used to validate or compare the socio-economic problems after one decade.
This study has given some different facts than others researcher about the cabin workers and excavate the real condition of them and what they want to make their job respectable. The workers are not happy with their job but still they are working at cabin restaurant because of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of experience, urban attraction etc. They blame to the society and the social system of patriarchal structure which gave birth to the gender discrimination on parental property right, education, health, occupation. They are not happy with the society’s attitude towards them. If they tell their job reality nobody can respect them due to their job but wonderful fact is that, most of men who come into the cabin, the society cannot say and never say anything to them. They expressed their view with anger and asked the question to society’s discriminatory eyes. They don’t expect anything from the government but hope to stop disturbances and humiliations from the state security like police and Army. Poor economic condition, illiteracy and ignorance are the major factors influence them to be in the cabin for plightful job. When the cabin girls talk about their socio-economic condition and their views towards the society and society’s view towards them on their opinion, they also hate society who insult them without knowing reality and the owner who establish the platform where so-called prestigious men spend money for the sexual pleasure. Most of the cabin girls and women who work in the cabin restaurant have given the same view about their occupation and life of dignity. They is no any better opportunity for them to leave the cabin. So, at first due to the poverty and ignorance they entered into the cabin for job, and then they are selling themselves for survival, which is the painful reality of the workers. Finally, while this study has thrown lights on specific areas i.e. ways of exploitation inside the cabin restaurants and their views and feelings towards themselves and society. The previous study that focused on the socio-economic condition of the girls and women and their health problems lies on this background, this study compares the socio-economic background of the workers after solving the problem of internal conflict. So, the researcher wants to explore the reality of the negative impact of modernization or colorful light night attraction as an easy money earning sources.
Contents CHAPTER-I Page No. 1. Introduction
1-8
1.1 Background of the study
1
1.2 Statement of the Problem
4
1.3 Focus Of the Research
4
1.4 Research Questions
5
1.5 Research Objectives
5
1.6. Limitations of the study
5
1.7. Risk and Challenges of this research
6
1.8. Ethical Consideration
6
1.9 Key words and its definition
6 CHAPTER-II
2. Literature Review
9-12
CHAPTER-III 3. Research Methodology
13-15
3.1 Research Design
13
3.2 Research Area
13
3.3 Sample Selection
13
3.4 Observation of the Cabin Environment
14
3.5 Interview technique
14
3.6 In-depth Interview and Case Study
14
3.7 Data Analysis
15
3.8 Constraints of the Research
15
CHAPTER-IV 4. Socio Economic Characteristics of the Respondents
16-23
4.1 Situation analysis of the cabin workers on the basis of forms of exploitation 24-25
CHAPTER-V 5. Observed Situation of the Cabin Restaurants and Workers
26- 33
5.1 The physical structure of the Cabin Restaurant what I observed?
27
5.2 Nature of the Cabin Client
28
5.3 Feelings of the Cabin Workers towards their client’s attitude
29
5.3.1 Case Study- I
29
5.4 Sexual Indulgence inside the Cabin Restaurants
30
5.4.1 Case Study- II
30
5.5 Worker’s view towards their Job
31
5.6 Worker’s view towards leading a life of dignity
31
5.6.1 Case Study –III
31
5.7
Cabin Workers and Job Satisfaction
32
5.7.1 Case Study- IV
32
5.7.2 Case Study- V
33
5.7.3 Case Study- VI
34
CHAPTER-VI Major Findings
35-36
Conclusion
36-38
Bibliography
39-42
LIST OF THE TABLES Table Number
Headings of the Table
Page No.
1
Origin of the workers
16
2
Caste and ethnicity of the Cabin workers
17
3
Age group of the girls and women working in the Cabin restaurant
17
4
Marital Status
18
5
Financial Support to their family
18
6
Monthly Salary without Tips
19
7
Monthly Income besides Salary
19
8
Enforcing factors to the workers work in Cabin restaurant
20
9
Problems inside the Cabin restaurant
20
10
Sorts of problems faced by the workers inside the Cabin restaurant
21
11
Owner’s requirements from the worker
21
12
Expectations of the client in the Cabin restaurant
22
13
Sexual indulgences faced by the worker inside the Cabin restaurant
22
14
What sorts’ of indulgence inside the cabin restaurants
23
15
Habit adopted by the worker after Cabin entry
23
16
Situation analysis of the cabin workers on the basis of forms Of exploitation
24
CHAPTER-I 1. Introduction 1.1. Background of the study More than half of Nepalese population is covered by a woman which is 51.44 % (National Population Census, 2068) but the position of the women is still worse today as it was the ancient history. From the beginning of human civilization, women are taken as the object of entertainment and they were symbolized as slaves and now as a cabin seductress. Nepal had adopted liberalization policy during 1986 through Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). After 1990, political change in Nepal brought Multi Party Democracy. Various liberal policy was formulated to give new goodwill of democracy to Nepalese people. Then trade and commerce, industrialization, foreign direct investment, private sector investment and privatization of public enterprises were welcomed and encouraged by Nepal government to build competency and to reap the benefit from global market. As a result in the name of capitalization and modernization the garment and carpet industries flourished. They provided job opportunities to the unskilled people who migrated from villages due to various reasons. But the involvement of child labor in carpet weaving was major problem faced by carpet industries due to which Nepalese hand knotted woolen carpet were boycotted in the western market ( Lama,2006). Afterward those garment and carpet industries began to shut down due to the decrease in the export of garment products (Economic Survey 2005/06). Again the factory workers faced the problems of survival. They were unwilling to return to their home so looked for the alternative job. It is said most of the male workers went to India and other gulf countries but girls and women workers became jobless in this city. They looked for various job and some of them got job in the cabin restaurant which had just begun to establish. Those restaurants were also looking the workers who they can use according to their wish to raise their business by luring the client. Thus twenty percent of girls and women working in the cabin restaurants were supplied from garment factories (Action Aid Nepal, 2004). Cabin restaurants imply shady drinking cave. They hold numerous plywood cabin, dark and dimly lit, very colorful painting in the wall, allowing privacy to cabin occupants. Usually, a table and two benches or chair or cotton seat (Chakati) make the complete sitting arrangement of the cabin. The restaurant is decorated with different kinds of posters (mostly
actor/actress pictures), multicolored shining paper leafs on ceiling, glasses with transparent curtain in the front side where sofa is kept, artificial flowers and bright flashing lit on the entrance gate ( See appendix- 1 Photographs. These restaurants are such drinking place where girls and women are hired to work as waitress. The girls and women are hired to boost sale by offering carnal pleasures to the customers. They indulge the whim and fancy of the extravagant customer either by choice or by compulsion. These girls and women are from different parts of the country who have run away from their home to escape internal political conflict, hunger, family breakup, and domestic violence. Away from their home, they live at mercy of their employers where they are left with little or no choice to make. Once they land in Katmandu they get imprisoned an inescapable social and economic insecurity that force them to live at the restaurant owner’s bidding. Exploitation is the illegal or improper act or process of using a person or the resources for monetary or personal benefit, profit or gain”. (Texas Department of Human Resources). Here exploitation refers to financial, emotional and physical exploitation by owner and customers. Financial and emotional exploitation denote the abuse by the restaurant owners where as emotional and physical exploitation referring to the sexual harassment by customers, which is unwelcome sexual conduct. It creates a hostile environment and affects one’s ability to do work. It includes sexually unwanted touching, fondling or brushing up against a person ( Physical) sexual insult, hide own identity, time spent with men (Psychological), obscene language, unwelcome comments, explicit sexual jokes or gesture ( Verbal) and humiliation, domination (social) from the owner and client . According to a survey conducted in 2004 by SAATHI, 15 % of women who work in cabin restaurants are between the ages of 12 to 14 and 40 % are between the ages of 15 to 22. This data points to the alarming reality that large numbers of young girls are being recruited to work in these establishments and as a result may be vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse. Some girls are compelled to do fashion for their job. Some job providers offices such as travel agencies, Hotels and private companies have compelled them to do fashion just to feed otherwise they lose their job. They have to look smart as a result prostitution is increasing (Liechty 2005). Exploitation of women is a form of violence against women. According to World Health Organization (WHO) the nature of violent acts against women may be;
Physical
Sexual
Psychological
Cabin restaurant has become now a center of exploitation of the exploiters and exploited the ones who throw money around and ones who desperately need to grab it. Underprivileged and underage girls are the worst exploited. ‘With a net migration rate of 20 Percent” as reported by CBS 2001, women come to the city in search of security, jobs and a better life style. The exploitation of women in Nepal has occurred in different appearances. Exploitation not only harms the women physically but also leaves deep psychological impact on them. The exploitation of the women by forcing them in one way or another into the sex industry is troubling issue of today’s Nepal. Women are compelled to be involved in such restaurants by different factors such as internal conflict, domestic violence, wide spread poverty, marginalization, vulnerability, deep rooted discrimination, displacement of the women, political apathy and limited social interaction. In Kathmandu valley alone, there are about 4,000 Cabin Restaurants and 3,000 Dance Restaurants, which have given employment to 100,000 girls directly (working whole days) or indirectly (part time). According to research by New Era, the regular customers of a Cabin Restaurant are
mostly businessmen, professionals, drivers, soldiers, restaurant proprietors, etc. Nowadays, workers returning from Gulf countries are the main patrons of such restaurants (Rupa Kharel, 2006). According to Nepal Youth Survey Team there are currently over 25,000 dance and cabin restaurants across Nepal. This figure may be higher due to the fact that the majority of dance and cabin restaurants are not officially registered with the government. Unregistered restaurants tend not to be operating in accordance with the Labor Act. Several reports assert that although girls and women are officially hired as waitresses in these restaurants, but are also forced into the sex trade. Employment in cabin restaurants often invites exploitation and abuse from customers, as well as male colleagues and security services. The work is not limited to serving customers food and beverages; under their employers’ orders, waitresses are also expected to engage in sexual activities with customers inside the dimly lit cabins (YPP Nepal Youth Survey Team May, 2010).
According to the Nepal Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association (NREA), 900 cabin restaurants are registered in Kathmandu and officials estimate that several hundred more are actually in operation and unregistered where more than ten thousand waitresses are employed. But there is lack of accurate data of registration due to its status as illegal activities into these sectors where government has not given a authority to do such sorts of prostitution business. 1.2. Statement of the problem Workers are mostly harassed physically, emotionally, verbally and financially in the cabin restaurant by owners and customers. At first, the owners lure them with the promise of granting attractive salary, tips and other benefit with very delicious verities of food. Then, they are compelled to accept harassment due to their poor economic status as they get extra tips from the customers. The increment poverty, political insurgency and unmanaged urbanization have led the women and girls into the dark hole of exploitation. In order to prevent the women exploitation in such sectors, the roots of poverty, unemployment and gender discrimination should be removed by tapping the available human and natural resources. Thus, this research is aimed at throwing lights on various reasons, means and ways of exploitation of these girls and women. Likewise, it seeks to know how these girls and women are forced to work in the cabin restaurants as the seductress and what they have to say in regard to the society’s behaviors and opinion toward them as well as what they expect from the government side or state for their dignity of life. 1.3. Focus of the Research This research is focused on those exploited girls and women who are working in the cabin restaurants in Kathmandu Valley. The focal point of this research is to verify the women’s previous economic and domestic condition with the present and explore their own voice for their self-esteem that would address and lead to possible solution of this appalling problem in the context of changed socio-political scenario. 1.4. Research Questions This research is an attempt to analyze the reasons behind the women involvement in the cabin restaurants with the extreme concern on their vulnerability to be exploited. The present study deals with the following questions.
What socio-economic background women are working in the cabin restaurant?
What are the enforcing factors to make the women involved in such cabin restaurant?
What kinds of exploitation they faced inside the Cabin restaurants?
How do the women feel and perceive themselves in such place?
How do they think the society perceives them?
How do they want to solve their problem (exploitation)?
What should be done to establish their profession as legal /respectable?
1.5. Research Objectives
To find out the socio-economic background of the working women / girls.
To excavate the different ways of the exploitation inside the cabin restaurants.
To know the girls and women’s feelings about their profession, and their expectation from the society and the government for their dignity.
1.6 Limitations of the study The study of the cabin restaurant women is limited in the Kathmandu district only due to time and budget constraint. There are various aspects and components of cabin restaurant but this study focuses on only the exploitation of the workers inside the work place. There are various possible area of the research related with cabin workers such as what sorts of person has been promoting and protecting these types of business? What sorts of people would like to come in the cabin restaurant to be entertained by the women? Why do the clients have such feelings towards the restaurant workers who basically respect their mother and sister in their home? This study is related with only the women who work in the cabin restaurant and clients who come in the cabin restaurant, and it totally ignores about third sex i.e. lesbian and gay. All these factors cannot be covered by this research which can be taken as its limitation.
1.7 Risk and Challenges of this research In this research, taking the information from those respondents who were engaged in the illegal activities like prostitution due to the various causes was much more challenging job and the chances of getting fake information was very high. To minimize such error, the researcher used various techniques and involved in those restaurants making good rapport with owners and workers by regular visit, a male co researcher spent some time in cabin
restaurant being a guest to validate the information collected from the cabin girls, women and owners. It was really difficult to spend time in the cabin environment staying over there till late night well as the risky duty for the researcher. The researcher could not go to the cabin restaurant alone she went with her co-researcher to minimize such risk and challenges and squeeze the reality of the sexual harassment and exploitation.
1.8 Ethical Consideration Due to the sensitive nature of this study, as it is about exploitation of women in disrespectful/ illegal profession, the researcher must pay attention to the consent and the privacy of the interviewees. The researcher before the interview explained clearly the purpose of the research and what the women are required to do. Only after getting their consent they were interviewed and what they have said were told to them to make sure what they meant. The researcher was careful not to pressurize them in any way.
1.9 Key words and its definition Cabin Restaurants: These are the shady drinking cave. They hold numerous plywood cabin, dark and dimly lit, very colorful painting in the wall, allowing privacy to cabin occupants. Usually, a table and two benches or chair or cotton seat (Chakati) make the complete sitting arrangement of the cabin. Girls and Women: These girls and women ages 15 to 30 are principally hire as waitress. All the cabin workers who work in the cabin restaurant is known as cabin girls and women in this study. Owner: The person who has established the Cabin restaurant and has been providing job opportunity to the girls and Women in such restaurant. Client: The person who enters into the Cabin restaurant to entertain in Cabin environment.
Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual conduct which creates hostile environment and affects one’s ability to do work. It includes unwanted touching, fondling, brushing up against a person. It also includes sexual insults, explicit sexual jokes, obscene language etc. Exploitation: Exploitation is the illegal or improper act or process of using a person or the resources for monetary or personal benefit, profit or gain”. (Texas Department of Human Resources). Here exploitation refers to financial, emotional and physical exploitation by owner and customers. Sexual Exploitation: Any practice of conduct that may include sexual contact and exploitation can be considered as being for the purposes of sexual pleasure for sexual abuse of any person. Lack of education: No access of schooling. Unemployment:
No opportunity of work to generate income in other field.
Domestic problem: The girls and women leave their home due to family breakup, internal conflict, domestic violence and family Problems. Poverty: Unable to fulfill their basic needs: food, shelter, cloth, education and health. Physical Exploitation: Physical problem / exploitation indicate unnecessary body touch, brushing, sexual activities and abuse. Psychological Exploitation: Humiliation, fear of family breakup, professional hate, lack of self esteem and dignity.
Verbal Exploitation: Absent language, rough and unusual speaking, lack of respect to each other when calling, use bad word by client, owner and friends to call them. As well any unusual words are used on them. Social Exploitation: They hide their job due to the fear of society, harassment by social components like police, landlord, relative and social prestige. Others:
Defined by respondent.
CHAPTER-II 2. Literature Review Women in Nepal have been discriminated based on gender from the centuries: the discrimination is due to the culturally based gender endorsed difference, which has led to their subordinate status in the society, often resulting in violence or exploitation of them. Sexual harassment in the workplace is unwelcome sexual conduct, which creates a hostile work environment and affects your ability to do your job (Forum for Women, Law and Development, 2002). Some establishments such as dance restaurants, cabin restaurants, massage parlor etc provide jobs to young girls as waitresses and masseuses in Kathmandu seem to have developed a sophisticated mechanism of concealing the reality that these girls are also involved in providing sexual services. Most of the girls who entered the prostitution on their own free will stated economic hardships and family breakdown as the reasons for entering the sex trade and most of them entered using friends (63 %) to find a job ( Suwal B.R, Amatya T.L and CAC-Nepal 2002). Most of the cabin restaurants have three to six waitresses and they are paid very low wages so the great majority of them resort to sex to earn extra income (CREHPA, 2002). Sexual harassment against women is discrimination where women suffer from physical, mental, verbal, psychological harassment in the work place. The commercialization of food and sex in Kathmandu is increasing with the increment of new restaurants. A search for
comparative data soon made it clear that a close symbiotic relationship commensality and endogamy in this local Nepali variants through the process of cultural renegotiation that have accompanied the shift in Kathmandu‘s middle class culture from a moral economy of class. Kathmandu’s new “Restaurants with Dance” are most recent development in the process whereby food and sex , commensality and endogamy , are brought in live with a new logic of social value based in new patterns of market –oriented social relation (Liechty 2005). A Large number of girls and women are classified as Internally Displaced Person because of the domestic violence with Maoist. The issue of the exploitation of waitress who are from the poor families living in the poverty-stricken village has been investigated by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The NHRC has already taken the problem with the law enforcement authorities. Although police have taken action by raiding some cabin restaurant this has only resulted in further victimization of the waitress, say the activist. These girls were arrested and had to bear the verbal abuse of the police. The situation for waitress in the cabin restaurant is highly vulnerable. The employers who promote such sexual exploitation at the hands of clients never get arrested (IRIN Asia, 2005). Jit Nepal conducted an action research on “Women exploitation in Dance and Cabin restaurant in the context of internal conflict of Nepal (A case of Kathmandu City). According to the research, “50 percent of girls working in the dance and cabin restaurant have come to Kathmandu city after being unable to tolerate the Maoist threat and intimidations. Apart from Maoist problem, 26 percent of these girls are found engaged in the dance and cabin restaurant due to domestic violence.”
In Nepal modern socio-economic process (wage labor,
industrialization, class formation etc) have shaped a new culture of commercialization of sex. The local economy became increasingly infused with cash and most of the Nepalese become more physically mobile (Moving out of the morally constraining orbits of kin and community) commercial venues such as restaurants and lodging arose to meet the needs of mobile population, forming transient, anonymous zones in the city and the supply and demand for indeed the possibility of large scale prostitutions emerged (Liechty 2005). Liechty has used the word “Fashion Prostitute” to fulfill the unlimited demand of the people. Most of the girls are exchanging the sex with consumer goods. A study done by “ Save the Children” US on ‘ the impact of armed conflict pushing girls and women into sexual abuse and sex trade’ state that conflict is unachievable pushing conflict affected girls and women into sex trades 40 percent sample of the vulnerable girls and
women indicated knowledge of such victim. The victim were identified to be from all ethnic background and not specific to any caste. This view is underscored by 71 percent female sex worker who stated the number of girls and women joining the sex trade had increased due to ongoing conflict, with conflict related threats, displacement and the girls lack of education and technical skills as major cause leading to push into the sex trade”. Besides poverty and unemployment, since 1996, Nepal has been racked by an armed conflict between Maoist insurgents and the government. Over 12,000 people have died, and tens of thousands have been displaced, heading towards Katmandu. “The girls coming from the rural districts are not educated and have no job skills; the cabin restaurant is the only place that will employ them, so they go there.” According to the field Survey and the training program conducted by “Rahat for better world” for the women working in the cabin restaurant and the dance bar. Some of the restaurant owners denied and did not allow meeting the girls saying there is no need to take such training as they have already been given the necessary training by the restaurant union. When some owners allow them to take training, after the training, the participants had expressed their problem. Majority of them are ignorant about the different right. They think that in their profession the young age and pleasing looks are very much important where the education, skills and other qualities are ignored. They had also emphasized that there is not any specific channels for hiring and firing. This study shows that most of the trainings and awareness programs are indispensable to make their life safe and secure to solve the appealing problems. Besides financial and other exploitation, these women are also facing other dangers like health and narcotic problems as reported by “Most of the girls and women from cabin restaurant are forced to smoke and drink to please their customer. Thus slowly became addicted to the drink and the booze and later they move towards the prostitution which has made them the high risk of HIV/ AIDS. (R. Ghimire, M. Gautam , 2009). When a customer walks into a dimly lit hall partitioned into tiny cubicles and calls for a waitress, the worst form of sexual exploitation is on the cards. The cabin restaurants are often raided by police, who take away customers and waitresses in various degrees of undress. It is the cabin restaurants that teenagers wanting their first sexual experiences turn to. It is also the place where inexperienced teens and minor girls go looking for jobs.
According to Yogendra Chaulagain, secretary of Nepal Restaurant Entrepreneurs’ Association (NREA), there are around 30,000 women working in the capital’s restaurants. Most of them are from the rural areas and have no education or skills. Domestic violence, desertion by husband, feckless boyfriends who leave them pregnant, the insurgency and grinding poverty force them into economic and sexual exploitation (www.unhcr.org). Shyam Sundar Shrestha, past joint secretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, admits dance and cabin restaurants are a serious concern. “The government is taking it seriously,” he says. “We have formed a task force comprising members from the Chief District Officer’s office and NGOs to do a survey and come up with recommendations. Unfortunately, we don’t have the means right now to rehabilitate the dance bar girls but we are working with NGOs like Maiti Nepal, which have rehabilitation centers (www.nileguide.com). Bar has separate and private cabins where a waitress has to "entertain" the clients to encourage them to spend lavishly on alcohol and food. The waitresses, aged between 15 and 25, are mostly migrant workers from the villages in nearby poor districts such as Lalitpur, Dhading, Nuwakot, Sindupalchowk, Kavre and Dolakha. People are trafficked for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation and it is estimated that 87 % of the trafficking is for sexual exploitation (UNODC 2006). Human Trafficking for sexual purposes is intimately linked to organized crime and is considered the second source of illicit profits for organized crime (European Commission 2009) ‘Condition of Slavery among Women Working in Restaurants and Massage Parlors of Kathmandu Valley’ which was studied by the Shakti Samuha shows that 85 percent of the 300 women who participated in the study have not have their salaries raised or being promoted. It is stated in the study report that the women working in cabin restaurants and massage parlors draw a monthly salary in the range of Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 .( The Rising Nepal, 21 sep 2010). Though, these cabin restaurants have become an alternative means to promote jobs in this very critical time it has looted and exploited young girls and women. Nepali women are feeling various kinds of discrimination related with gender. Existing socioeconomic conditions, cultural and religious factors as well as legal inequalities are some of the major causes of abuse and exploitation against women. Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and lack of skill are the major determinants which compelled them into sex work for basic needs. There are various exploitative businesses such as Massage parlors, dance bars, cabin
restaurants in the city where cabin restaurants become one of the platforms of prostitution and exploitation to the young girls and women who have been suffering from the basic necessities. Due to increasing unplanned urbanization and domestic violence women are forced to leave their home and seek jobs in the cities. Then ultimately they reach cabin restaurants and became seductress.
CHAPTER-III 3. Research Methodology This research focuses on how the girls and women are exploited inside the cabin restaurants and how they suffered from the society’s attitude and what are their expectations from the government. 3.1 Research Design This study has taken exploratory and descriptive research design because it is a fact-finding approach searching for adequate information. Exploratory research design will help to explain their views on their own voice and descriptive research design will help the researcher to identify the problem and the current condition and practice. The researcher tries to describe the condition faced by these girls and women in the cabin restaurants which are assumed to throw the light on their life and the perception of the society towards them according to them. The data is collected with both survey method and interview method. Basically, quantitative data describe their situation to validate their socio- economic condition where as qualitative research tries to stress the socially constructed nature of reality and explore the existent situation and their feelings in their own voice. 3.2 Research Area Now around 600 cabin restaurants are estimated in Kathmandu valley (Nepal Restaurant Association). This research focused only the cabin restaurant located in Kathmandu like Balaju, Bagbazar, Baneshwor, Chabhil, Gangobu, Gaushala, Ratopul, Teku, etc. 3.3 Sample selection Universe of the research is the girls and women working in the cabin restaurant. The snowball sampling method has been followed to select the cabin restaurant for observation and research survey. In the survey, the information is administered with the questionnaire
data collection technique where as the qualitative information has been collected through semi structured interview technique with the help of check list and the open ended questions to excavate the reality of the worker. 3.4 Observation of the Cabin environment Observation involves systematically watching people and events to find out about behavior and interaction in natural environments (Mays and pop, 1995). In this research, observation has been carried out in some selected sites of cabin restaurant. Observation technique is used by the researcher specifically for three purposes: First, to know the real condition of the girls and women working in the cabin restaurant. And use findings generated through observation in verifying the assumptions of researcher regarding the exploitative circumstances of the cabin girls and women for second research objective and third to built rapport with the girls for case study. Researcher herself and a male co -researcher observed 20 restaurants to know about them in detail spending four hours in a restaurant generally 2.00 PM – 6.00 PM. And visited 100 cabin restaurant including observed restaurant located in Balaju, Bagbazar, Baneshwor, Chabhil, Gangobu, Gaushala, Ratopul, , Teku and Tripureshwor.
3.5 Interview technique A productive open ended interview technique is free listing, where the informants are asked to list all the problems, free listing is a useful tool in the beginning for the rapport building and to get actual condition of the cabin restaurants and worker. Free listing exercise was conducted with 25 workers of the cabin restaurants of different localities of Kathmandu valley, free listing based on checklist which included, their socio-economic background, their problem in the work place, health related problems, their need, factors that compelled them to work in the cabin restaurants, clients and their behavior, as well as owner and their expectation from cabin girls was administered. 3.6 In depth Interview and Case study: In depth interview is usually the best means for getting narratives and descriptions of complex events, actions and behavior along with the attitude and knowledge related with them. The respondents for in-depth interviews were selected purposively. From the 25 respondents, 10 respondents have been taken for the case study among 20 observed cabin
restaurants and asked about their history from the time of their entry to and the present condition. 3.7 Data Analysis The data has been explored, presented and analyzed to fulfill research objectives. To validate the information regarding the socio- economic condition of the worker, the quantitative techniques has been analyzed with the help of SPSS program. To know sorts of exploitation inside the cabin restaurant and worker’s feeling toward the society, their life of dignity and their views to make their job respectable, the qualitative research has been analyzed with the in-depth study. 3.8 Constraints of the research The major constraint faced by the researcher was the problem of making the respondents open up and answer the questions. It was very difficult to reveal the reality and the ways of exploitation inside the cabin restaurant as it was sensitive issue. At first meeting, no girls and women were ready to tell me their problems and job experiences. The researcher had some self doubt asking why they would tell her their problems and help when they do not know the researcher very well. And what would they get after telling their problems to other? It was very hard to start and develop the relation with them. But as the research required the information from them, researcher visited them regularly (though it was time consuming and costly) sat and talked with them, thus built good rapport. The study of the cabin restaurant women is limited in the Katmandu district only due to time, resources and specific study constraint. The study will include on the one hand the problem faced by the girls and women on the other present their condition in their own voice. This will be based on exploratory and descriptive research design of analysis. Data for the study are collected with the tools such as observation, survey, semi- structured interview and case study. CHAPTER-IV
4. Socio-Economic Characteristics of the respondents Nepali women are suffering from various kinds of discrimination related to gender. Existing socio-economic conditions, cultural and religious factors as well as legal inequalities are
some of the major hidden causes of abuse and exploitation of women. Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of skill and domestic problem are the major determinants which compel them into sexwork for basic needs. There are various exploitative establishments such as Massage parlors, dance bars; cabin restaurants etc. in the city. Cabin restaurants became one of the platforms for prostitution and exploitation of the young girls and women who have been suffering from the basic necessities. Due to increasing unplanned urbanization and domestic violence women are forced to leave their home and seek jobs in the cities. Then their poor condition forced them toward cabin restaurant and prostitution. This section discusses about the overall socio- economic situation of the cabin girls which includes ethnicity, age group, place of origin, marital status, educational status, economic condition/ background, their earnings, family dependency, sorts of exploitation as well as habits they adopted after working in the cabin restaurant. Table 1 ORIGIN OF THE WORKER
Origin of the worker
Frequency
Percent
1 KATHAMNDU
15
7.0
2 OUT OF VALLY
185
93
Total
200
100.0
The majority (93 %) of the workers in cabin restaurant working as the cabin worker are from out of Kathmandu valley. They are mostly from neighboring district of Kathmandu like Nuwakot, Dhading, Kavrepalnchok, Chitawan, Makwanpur and so on. Only 7 % are from surrounding area of Kathmandu such as Baudha Jorpati, Pharping, Godhawori, Shankhu, Balaju and Budhanilkantha. It indicates that the girls / women who have general knowledge about the city and lure of city job and wanting to escape from the rural hard life they came in Kathmandu and reached the cabin for work rather than for sexual pleasure first. But the situation and cabin environment made them to be a sex worker to survive.
Table 2 CASTE/ ETHNICITY OF CABIN WORKERS
Caste / Ethnicity
Frequency
Percent
1 BRAMAN
16
8.0
2 CHHETRI
65
32.5
3 JANAJATI
104
52.0
4 MADHESI
1
.5
5 DALIT
14
7.0
Total
200
100.0
The table 2 exhibits ethnical composition of the cabin workers where the predominant of Tamang, Kchhetri, Magar, Rai, and Limbu girls and women found in the cabin restaurants. From the total, 52 % workers are found from Janajati ethnic group which is mainly lead by Tamang and Magar then 32 % workers of the kchhetri ethnic group which is also higher than Bramin and Dalit are 8 %, 7% respectively. There is only one Madesi women found working in the cabin restaurant. Table 3 AGE GROUP OF THE WOMEN AND GIRLS WORKING IN THE CABIN RESTAURENTS
Age Group
Frequency
Percent
15 to 19 Years Old
84
42.0
20 to 24 Years Old
84
42.0
25 to 29 Years Old
29
14.5
30 years above
3
1.5
Total
200
100.0
Out of total 200 respondents, ageds between 15 to 19 years are 42 % and 20 to 24 years are also the same 42 %. Similarly aged between 25 to 29 years and above 30 years are comparatively low in percentage i.e. 14.5% and 1.5 % respectively. It indicates that the women/girls above the age of 25 years are less demanded than the workers below 25 years and teen agers. It shows there is an inverse relationship between the age and demand of the workers. Higher the ages lower the demanded of workers and vice- versa. It means old age workers are not the choice of the cabin customers as he clients who frequent Cabin restaurant prefer younger age girls and women.
Table 4
MARITUAL STATUS
Marital Status
Frequency
Percent
MARRIED
55
27.5
UNMARRIED
132
66.0
DIVORCEE
8
4.0
WIDOW
5
2.5
200
100.0
Total
As demonstrated in the above table 66 % of the women of total 200 cabin girls are found unmarried. Among them, 27 % are married, where as divorcee and widow percentages are 4 % and 2.5 % respectively. Most of the unmarried girls have their boyfriend and they openly said, they have physical relation with them. But they were sure that their boyfriend would not marry them due to their job. Likewise, in the case of married women most of their husbands are drunkard, have also physical relation with other girls/ women so that they are also ready to do such work. Table 5 FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO FAMILY Financial
Support
to
Family
Frequency
Percent
Yes
159
78.5
No
38
19.0
No Response
4
2.00
Total
200
100.0
Among 200 respondents 78.5% cabin workers provide financial support to their family whereas 19 % of them need not. They work for themselves. However 2% of the respondents did not give any response regarding this question. From this data it can be drown that the cabin keepers are basically from weak economic background to escape from poverty.
Table 6 MONTHLY SALARY WITHOUT TIPS
Monthly Salary without Tips
Frequency
Percent
Rs 1000 to 3000
115
57.5
Rs 3100 to 6000
85
42.5
0
0
200
100.0
Rs 6100 and above
Total
Table 7 MONTHLY INCOME BESIDS SALARY
Monthly Income without Salary
Frequency
Percent
Rs 1000 to 5000
106
53.0
Rs 5100 to 10000
86
43.0
Rs 10100 to 15000
6
3.0
MORE THAN 15000
1
.5
Total
200
100.0
The table 6 and 7 present the monthly income of the cabin workers in terms of salary and tips. The table 6 mirrors 57.5 % respondent’s monthly salary as determined by the owner is 1000 to 3000 and remaining 42.5 % have Rs 3100 to Rs 6000 salary only in range. This proves that the given salary is not sufficient to survive in the expensive city Kathmandu. As a result they are compelled to make money from cabin clients by making them happy. Drinking and eating apart, the reward in forms of tips given for services provided in the close confines of cabins is higher than salary. This tempts the cabin keepers to work as seductress and oblige to every whim of the clients to get reward. This statement can be proven from the help of table 7, where 53% workers get tips equal or more than their salaries as well as 43 % get more tips than salary i.e. 5100 to 10000. And some workers get more rewards or tips than their salary up to Rs 15000 and above. So they are encouraged to accept sexual abuse. However, the one fact they disclosed was by earning high salary the attraction of earning easy money has
increased in the urban society. Once they step into the cabin restaurant, they knowingly and unknowingly enter into the flesh trade.
Table 8 INFORCING FACTORS OF WORKERS TO WORK IN THE CABIN RESTAURENT INFORCING FACTORS ( N=200)
Frequency
Percent
Lack of education
78
39.4
Unemployment
103
52.0
Domestic Problem
118
59.6
Poverty
101
51.0
This table indicates most of the workers entered the cabin restaurant due to various causes. Among them the major causes are domestic problem, unemployment, poverty, and lack of education. Among them, percentage of those who reported domestic problem as enforcing factor is highest (59.6%) than lack of education (39%). But unemployment and poverty are also the enforcing factors which report more than 50 percent.
Table 9 PROBLEMS INSIDE THE CABIN RESTAURENT Problems inside Cabin restaurant ( N=200)
Frequency
Percent
YES
180
95
NO
20
5
The women who work in the cabin restaurant answered “Yes” to the quarry whether problems inside the cabin restaurant exist or not. The percentage of “Yes” respondent is 95 % whereas 5% workers did not feel any problem in the cabin restaurant according to them. The major problems faced inside the cabin restaurant were physical, psychological and verbal. Whereas remaining 5 percent workers denied addressing the question related about the cabin environment and sorts of exploitation inside the cabin restaurant.
Table 10 SORTS OF PROBLEM WORKERS FACED INSIDE THE CABIN RESTAURENT
Sorts of Problem (N=200)
Frequency
Percent
Physical
129
93
Psychological
43
63
Verbal
74
71
Social
41
36
All of above
23
12
In the above table, among 95 percent worker,
93
% of girls and women agreed that they face
the physical harassment inside the cabin restaurant. This usually includes touching, asking to expose their private parts by the clients. Whereas 71%, 63%, 36%, cabin workers faced verbal, psychological and social problems respectively. According to the respondents, they have to live in constant fear of the restaurant owner and the police. Police also harass them often in the charge of sex worker whereas the owner can charge them as per his will. He can throw from the job, blackmail and in some cases do physical harm. The respondents also said they constantly faced the verbal abuse from the client, police and the owner. Table 11 OWNER’S REQUIREMENTS FROM THE WORKER
Requirements of owner
Frequency
Percent
Well behaved
65
32.5
Make them happy anyway
176
87.0
Make more Bills
158
79.0
All of above
45
22.5
As demonstrated in the above table the owner always pressured the worker to make client happy anyhow to make huge amount bills. If worker did not accept any misbehavior of the clients that worker was not taken as a good cabin keeper. Make more bills anyhow making the client happy was the common motto of all the cabin restaurants.
Table 12 EXPECTATIONS OF THE CLIENT IN THE CABIN RESTAURANT Client’s Expectation
Frequency
Require hygienic food
Percent 1.5
3 Prefer girl as entertainment
95.5 191
Demand girl for any sexual intention
91.0 183
All of above
10.7 21
In multiple answers, 91 % client visits cabin restaurant for sexual intention rather than for hygienic food where as 95.5% client for entertainment with Cabin girls. They need cabin workers for oral sex, to touch their body and make them involved in sexual activities. Only negligible percentage i.e.1.5 % requires hygienic/ good food supply that unknowingly entered the cabin restaurant. It is mostly new guest. On this ground, workers said that, client regularly visit cabin restaurant means they like cabin environment so that they pay high price for food and alcohol than other normal restaurant. Table 13 SEXUAL INDULGENCES FACED BY WORKER INSIDE THE CABIN RESTAURANT
Sexual Indulgence
Frequency
Percent
Yes
192
96
No
8
4
The workers accept that there is high chance of sexual activities inside the cabin restaurant. 96 % girls/ women agree to the question, “Is there any sexual indulgence inside the cabin restaurant?” They categorize the sexual activities into various forms like sexual intercourse, superficial body touch, foul mouth (oral sex) etc. At first, they blame other cabin restaurant worker about the sexual activities then it can be concluded they all are in the same categories. Most of the cabin restaurants have a separate bedroom which proves that there are separate places for such illegal activities in the cabin restaurant.
Table 14 SORTS OF INDULGENCES INSIDE THE CABIN RESTAURANT
Indulgences N=200
Frequency
Percent
Superficial body touch inside cabin
196
98
Sensitive body touch inside cabin
156
78
Physical Relationship
49
24.5
All
68
34
The table 14 indicates that in multiple respondents 98% and 78 % workers agreed that with superficial body touch and sensitive body touch by the client inside the cabin restaurant. 24.5 percent worker accepted that they were involved in sexual activities inside the cabin restaurant. But most of the workers and client prefer to go outside the cabin due to the fear of police. And 34% workers accepted all of the above.
Table 15 HABIT ADOPTED BY WORKER AFTER CABIN ENTRY
Habit
Frequency
Percent
Drinking
156
78
Smoking
190
95
Vulgar Dress up/ Makeup
65
32.5
All of above
56
28
This table shows that, most cabin girls/ women have a habit of smoking and drinking. 95% and 78 % cabin workers are smoker and drunkard out of 200 respondents in multiple responses. The workers have to live with the client and must share food and beverage with them as a result they develop a habit of drinking and smoking. The cabin workers must wear vulgar dress to expose their body and lure the client in the cabin restaurant.
4.1 Situation analysis of the cabin workers on the basis of forms of exploitation In percent Physical
Psychological
Verbal
Social
exploitation
exploitation
exploitation
exploitation
15 to 19 Years Old
88
59
72
31
20 to 24 Years Old
80
60
63
36
25 to 29 Years Old
69
58
62
34
30 years above
50
50
100
100
PRIMARY
74
63
63
38
SECONDARY
86
65
65
30
HIGHER
90
55
80
40
93
46
73
31
Barman
88
81
81
44
Chhetri
85
61
69
34
Janajati
80
56
66
33
Dalit
79
57
50
36
1000-3000
80
62
79
30
3100-6000
83
50
63
40
Age
EDUCATIONAL STATUS
SECONDARY No Education
CASTE /ETHNICITY
SALARY NPR
TIPS NPR 1000-5000
81
61
63
34
5100-10000
82
57
71
34
10100-15000
83
32
100
50
More than 15000
100
15
100
0
Married
71
66
75
40
Unmarried
88
57
64
29
Divorced
50
85
89
92
Widow
80
60
100
60
MARITAL STATUS
This table represents the various types of exploitation inside the cabin restaurant such as physical, psychological, verbal and social in relation with various factors. The younger the girls the more physically exploited they are. The table shows girls between the ages 15- 19 (88%) suffered the physical exploitation most. This can be inferred as client’s main intension of visiting such cabin restaurants is for easy sex. Whether the workers are educated or not, married or unmarried or of any ethnics groups, all are exploited inside the cabin restaurants. To earn more they have to spend more time on such activities. There is a positive relationship between the variables exploitation and earnings. More physical exploitation represents more earnings and vice -versa.
These all factors show that any type of girls whether married, unmarried, Braman, Chhetri, Janajati, educated, non- educated, with high income / tips or low income/ tips, who work in the cabin restaurant are physically exploited by the client which is more than 70%. Likewise, the percentage of psychologically and verbally exploited are also more than 50 %. The data shows that, when the income level increases they feel less psychological harassment but they have to face more verbal and physical exploitation with increasing salary and tips. So, it concludes that all workers in the cabin are facing the problem of exploitation.
It was surprising to find divorcee (50%) as the least physically exploited instead of widows (80%). It is surprising because in our Hindu society and culture, it is the widows who are shunned. But the data shows that the divorcees are more exploited psychologically, verbally and socially than other workers whereas widow also has 100 % verbal exploitation inside the cabin restaurant.
CHAPTER-V 5. Observed Situation of Cabin Restaurants and Workers The researcher visited twenty cabin restaurants located in Balaju, Gaushala, Battisputali, Naya Buspark, Gongabu, Ratopul, Kalopul, Old -Baneshwor, Sinamangal etc to observe and study the behavior of the waitresses and the environment in the cabin restaurant. Mainly how they dealt with the client and what sorts of clients visit the cabin restaurants were observed. The girls who were mature found to be very frank, they openly talked about the cabin environment and worker’s conditions using very rough language while younger workers denied talking to us openly. If a client infrequently visited the cabin restaurant, the cabin workers teased the client using nicknames like Soltee, Daju, Sathi, Hiro, Pyara etc. The observation focused on the followings: -
How cabin workers behave with clients inside the cabin?
-
How the clients behave with the cabin girls?
-
How the owners behave with clients and workers?
-
Do Cabin restaurants have similar layout?
-
What sorts of person mostly visit cabin restaurant? (Age, Caste, ethnicity and economic class )
Worker displayed following behavior inside the cabin after the client entered; -
Go into the cabin by singing hit songs.
-
Talk to client in teasing language (K Chha ? Kaha haraunu vo? Maya mareko ho ki k ho? Ki antai maya basyo…..)
-
Sit near the client.
-
Make eye contact.
-
Touch client’s goods like helmet, watch, cap, sunglass, key rings, etc.
-
Touches client’s hands and body innocently.
-
Offer the client to take food and alcohol as to their taste.
Client displayed following behavior inside the Cabin with girls and women: -
Client demands the girls of his choice.
-
Talks to workers with informal words ( k chha Maiya, Dear, Darling, Baini )
-
Spends more time with the girl touching her.
-
Orders hard drinks and food for both.
-
Touches her body
Owner demonstrated following attitude with clients and workers: -
For regular client, owner welcomes the client and sends his preferable girls inside the cabin of his choice.
-
If the new client enters into the cabin, the owner always sends the very professional beautiful, sexy cabin girl to lure the client in cabin again and again and make regular customer.
-
At first visit, the owner gives some discount to the client on their bills.
-
Owner asks the workers to make the client revisit the restaurant.
-
Owner rewards and gives the commission if the worker becomes successful to make the client visit again and again and pay the heavy bills.
-
Owner always encourages to other new workers to learn from professional cabin girls /women to make client regular doing such activities to earn more.
-
The payment to the worker is different on the basis of their relationship with client and ability to make the more bills.
5.1 The physical structure of the Cabin restaurant I observed Cabin restaurants are that places which have glasses with transparent curtain, artificial flowers and bright flashing lit on the entrance gate. In the front side, chairs or sofa are kept where full make up cabin workers are waiting the client in their places and monitoring the situation out of cabin. Shady small dark room partition by plywood (Vinister) lit by dark and dimly colorful light, very bright painting in the wall, simple carpeting on the floor, a table and two benches or chair or mostly tea table and cotton seat (Chakati) make the complete sitting arrangement of the cabin to allow privacy to cabin occupants. Usually, the restaurant is decorated with different kinds of vulgar posters and photographs of women, symbolic picture
of sexual activities which provided erotical atmosphere. Also on ceiling there were multicolored shining paper hanging. The cabin workers are expected to give company and serve the male customers by resigning themselves to enhance consumption of food and beverages. Their job is to boost the sale by maximizing the consumption of expensive food items and alcohol. The workers apply various techniques to make their client happy and attract them on their places. -
Letting themselves to the clients to mishandle their body sitting near the client.
-
Exchanging their dignity with food and drinks and money in terms of tips.
-
Asking the client about their home, family and job.
-
Telling their real or artificial painful story to the client and try to capture more tips.
-
Talking and behaving with the client at first meeting too as a close friend.
-
Talking clients with sexual jokes and with rough language to make them happy.
-
Calling them with new name given by hem as symbol of love to repeat their visit.
-
Trying to make happy the client and owner both.
-
Trying to be first positional cabin girl in terms of selling food (get 10- 15 Percent commission of total bill), personal contact with the client and get more tips.
-
Calling/ contacting their client by phone after knowing them (after frequent visit).
5.2 Nature of Cabin Client Mostly mature male customer would prefer to visit the cabin restaurants. They confidently talked to the owner about the girls they wanted with them during the cabin hour. Most of the client entered cabin with helmet which made it difficult to identify them. These types of the persons behaved very familiar and owners also respected the client providing the cabin room and cabin girl. But some clients entered the cabin restaurant with friends without vehicle, they were also mature and looked like general man neither high profile nor very low. Whatever types the male who entered, the girl went with the client into a cabin cave. If some new persons who did not know about the cabin environment, they denied the girls to be with them into cabin but this number was very negligible. These types of the clients would not come again. It is very hard to find out the profession of the client but they were looked from different caste and ethnic group.
From the observation only it can be assumed workers were exploiting male customer, cultivating in them bad habits, helping to promote social problem through family breakup, luring the client for personal interest i.e. sexual and financial benefit. But when we engaged them in interview and case study, we
got
the
story
from
their
perspective also. These helped the researcher to get the real situation of
Case study I Nineteen year old teen cabin worker Smriti categories
these girls and cabin environment.
her client who enter into the cabin restaurant.
The
the
Businessman and office workers are good client for her
superficial laughter, joy of these
than police, army personnel and drivers. She says,”I can
girls which hide the pain and torture
get good tips from them. Those clients pay me agreed
researcher
realized
amount after sex and they take me outside the cabin in
of them.
the weekend to peaceful places as Dhulikhel, Chovar,
Cabin
Nagarkot and so on. But I hate the police and driver who
Workers towards their client’s
treat me very rudely. When they enter into the cabin, I
5.3
Feelings
of
the
attitude
they hold my hand, embrace and brush my body, squeeze
The question asking about their feeling attitude
have to go to take order and sit close to them. At first,
towards was
their very
client’s
breast and try to touch sensitive part of my body addressing me with bad language. If I deny, they directly complain and threaten the restaurant owner and me too.
thoughtful
Then the restaurant owner also scolds and forces me. I
question for them. Many of them
have to make my guest happy and the cabin restaurant
agreed that the person who enters
either by talking with them politely, laughing with them,
the cabin restaurant has only one intension which is to have pleasure,
sitting closely, sleeping with them or letting them touch my body freely otherwise why they come into the cabin, they can get more hygienic and delicious food in other
fun with the girls and women. The
ordinary restaurants. If I cannot do this I have to leave
worker themselves also agreed that
the cabin but I don’t have alternatives. I cannot return to
cabin restaurant itself is symbolized
my village because I have a habit of earning and
as the place where all these things
spending a lot of money, eating varieties of restaurant food without paying.”
take place but still they are quite worried about the behaviors of the clients. From school going boys to the retired man, all have same concept towards the cabin employee. When they enter the cabin restaurant they need beautiful girl but when the clients are outside the cabin they become very gentle and prestigious men of this society but the
workers are viewed as seductress, characterless, and vulgar. On this ground, workers have questions to this society for such sorts of discrimination. Why don’t people want to know about their reality? And blindly Case study II
blame them only who are suffering for survival. Twenty five years old young
5.4 Sexual Indulgence inside the Cabin Restaurants
beautiful girl Radha (named changed for confidentiality) with
Around 98 percent of 200 respondents responded that they are
full makeup lives at Basbari and
forced to entertain their client sexually. Many of them agree that
works at Baneshwar so that
they are expected to give company and serve the customer by
people would not recognize her.
resigning themselves, their life of dignity and self esteem to
“JE GARE PANI JINDAGI MA
enhance the consumption of food and beverages. Their job is to
BACHNU TA PARYO,” (To survive one needs to do what so
boost the sale by maximizing consumption which is possible
ever in life). By saying this she
only after making the clients happy. The Cabin clients may
rationalizes
become happy only after they could use the cabin girls as per
situation. She says, “But once
their wish and interest. Therefore, most of the girls allow clients
you fall into this job it is really
to grope their body and seduce them into buying food and
her
job
and
hard to get out of this hell due to various reasons. She continues
drinks and provoke sympathies by telling hard-cluck stories and
“Different types of men come
painful life history. Some workers agree that some clients offer
here to spend money, use us and
for sexual intercourse inside the cabin restaurant and this
leave and those people call us
situation occurs when both the client and the worker are drunk
characterless
but due to the fear of being caught red-handed by police mostly oral sex is performed inside the cabin restaurant. For the sexual
once
they
are
outside. I become confused and would like to ask them actually what character is and what is
intercourse they go to guest house outside the cabin restaurant.
being characterless? The men
One worker interestingly told that when a friend was engaged
who deceive and cheat their wives
with client others kept a watchful eye for the police through the
and girlfriends and waste money
counter front glass where the glasses are covered with
and time as well as exploit the helpless and dejected girls like
transparent curtain. 5.5 Worker’s view towards their Job
me who have no other option for survival have good character then..!”
Most of the respondents are from out of Kathmandu valley. Some of them live with family while most live alone or with friends in rented accommodations. According to them they never tell the people about their job. Most of the workers tell lie about their job even to their family because if they tell the reality they will be boycotted by
family and the society. It is necessary to hide their identity for their self-esteem and pride in this society. In their views, the Kathmandu is different for different people. For some ,it is a place of entertainment and hell for them. The workers also want to leave this job if they have opportunity for alternative work but it is impossible for them in the absence of
Case study III
education, experience, money and political power. The only
Suntali
other choice for them is to return to their places of origin and
years old girl) defines herself
engage in agricultural activities which are also not their
as a cabin girl, meaning sex
choice.
worker who does sex to live and
Tamang
entertain
(Sixteen
other
for
survival. “I have financial
5.6 Worker’s view towards leading a life of dignity
problem and I am alone for the past three years since the
All the respondents agree that if they get alternative job they
death of my mother. When my
will leave this hell forever. All have a common voice that
mother was alive I lived with
they need help from the government and support to make
her in Gangabu and we did
their job respectable or to provide opportunities of prestigious
Thermos Tea bushiness in the
socially respectable job. They also desire to marry and have
new bus park. After her
family but after working in the cabin restaurant male do not want to marry them only enjoy them, they said. They feel hurt with these sorts of behavior of this society which never tries to understand their problem although blame them. If they get
death, I looked for a job but nobody gave me work I did not have a place to live in. During such situation I began to do street sex with some
opportunity for the skills development training, other
Khalasi for Rs 200. One day,
respectable job or have idea about the alternative way of
Ganes dai (Dharan Driver)
employment they are ready to do but they could not see any
purposed me to work at
way. Among the 200 respondents of the survey, some of them
Cabin restaurant. Then this
told the working environment of the cabin restaurants should
life began…….
be improved, the shady drinking cave should be changed into pure entertaining
business place like other ordinary
restaurants, and then only the working environment may improve otherwise this types of exploitation will go on. Whereas some workers have view that they need freedom to work in the cabin. Most of them requested to the researcher to help them to establish their labor union. Then working in the cabin restaurant would not become a problem for them in their opinion.
5.7 Cabin Workers and Job Satisfaction Around 80 percent respondents are not satisfied with their job. They agree that cabin restaurants are not the good place to work and they suggest others not to come to the cabin for job. Because once she enters, she becomes seductress. It is the platform which helps to change the innocent girl into flesh trade. In their view this place is very egocentric because whenever the girls are young, people enjoy them and exploit them, after the age gone nobody will turn on them (Galama ras chhaunjel matra ho cabin ko jiban ani ta kasle herchha ra). However, the situation compels them to work in a cabin restaurant and they find the job for their friends too because of their weak financial condition, absolute poverty and urban life attraction. Now-a-day’s most of the workers are not satisfied with their earnings too. They said the cabin business is going down; most of the cabin restaurants shut down due to various reasons such as economic depression, government law regarding night entertainment business, low transaction of real estate business etc. So, most of the cabin girls (their friends) are also leaving the cabin and engaging in other work where they can get more money but the painful story continues as they work in the Bhatti Pasal and Highway Pasal as a call girl or prostitute and sell themselves for survival. Friends who leave the cabin are also engaging on the sex trade again. They have drawn the conclusion that for them only sex trade is available for the alternative job. Workers said that now new form of prostitution is appearing in the cabin girls. Case study IV “My husband had a second marriage and left me. After Dasain of 2060 B.S.for the first time, I came to Kathmandu with my sister in- law and lived in her rented house. My sister in low was widow; her husband was killed by army during the period of internal war with Maobadi. She worked in cabin restaurant to feed her two children. I asked her to search a job for me too. I also went with her to work in Bagbazar, and then I entered into cabin restaurant as a worker. I worked at six different cabin restaurants during 7 years. From 2067 B.S., I have opened my own restaurant and got married with a man who also works in the dance restaurant. Now I have only three sisters (bainis) as cabin workers, I Pay Rs 3000 to each. They also have to make their client happy to get money because it is very hard to get money from the man to whom we resign our body (Jati Sakdo Dhutne ta ho ni, tini haru pani hamro mayale hora! Moj Garna aayeko ta honi). But I never force them to go out with client; you can ask them…… ”
Case Study V “I worked in the garment factory where my husband was already employed. My husband was a drunkard. He suffered severe illness and left job. At that time I was pregnant. After I had my baby I also could not continue my work. After the death of my husband, my life filled with problems. There was no any alternative source of income and I went to village. But all the relatives and neighbors backbite about my character and blamed my infant daughter using cruel words about his death One day I escaped from home taking my baby and returned to Kathmandu. I looked for work but it was hard to find. Then, I began to work in the dance restaurant as a waitress. There was high demand of dancer, they got sufficient tips but the drunkard guests irritated the waitresses. Then we all four waitresses left dance restaurant and jointed the cabin restaurant. Still I am here………”
After interviewing the cabin workers, researcher found that entering into cabin restaurant as waitress means Case Study VI
going
Pramila, 18 years old girl says, “ I have not told my parents, if I told
hell for the
, I am sure they will not give permission to do work in such place, even kick me out from the house. You know! We never tell landlord too. If we… We won’t get room for rent. But we have to live here. If I ask you, I am sure you also will not give me place in your house. Then so what…..”
to
life full of sufferings. Once either by friends by
the or the
ignorance they step into the cabin restaurant different hands ties them. Cabin owner has all the authority to exploit them because cabin restaurant now symbolize as the place for the sex workers. Therefore, the harassment by the police is very torturing towards them. The police raid most of the time cabin restaurants and these girls and women are arrested and abused both physically and verbally. This type of harassments, label them as the illegal worker and they are bound in cabin owner’s as well as police’s hand, which constantly harass them physically, verbally as well as psychologically and socially.Most of the workers hide their job from their family, relatives and neighbors. They do not like to tell about their work because their family and relative do not permit them to work in the cabin restaurant even they have weak financial condition. So they tell lie to them by telling different places of job such as beauty parlor, shopping centre, cosmetic shop, private offices etc. Likewise if the neighbors and other people know about their job they will misbehave with them and there will be no chance to get even a room/ house to rent. This view of worker was verified by some people living near the cabin restaurant were asked about the cabin workers. Most of the people thought that the cabin restaurant is the place where low standard girls and women work as a waitress and the people who have money, power frequent the cabin restaurant to spend their time and money on food, wine and women.
CHAPTER-VI Major Findings Based on the analysis of the study, the following findings have been drawn by the researcher.
The cabin women/girls have entered the cabin restaurant not for pleasure but for survival to keep them and their family alive in this world. Therefore they appeal to understand them as a worker rather than sex trader.
As general rule regarding money “money makes everything go around”. Cabin girls are also no exception to this. They are attracted to cabin restaurant due to easy earning and entertain with varieties of food.
Observed data indicates the girls are exploiting their client but in reality they are compelled to do so by their profession, owner, client and their own demand/need.
A detailed study of the girls and women working in the cabin restaurants shows that these girls/women have lost their rights and dignity in order to support their family and themselves. They are continuously exploited by the components of the society. Their existence in the society is less accepted where as the males are supposed to be superior. There is still a great problem of gender discrimination.
The problem of women exploitation is serious. The first and crucial action would be to create social awareness at a national level. The women in the cabin restaurants are less taken as jobholders but more as sex traders.
Conservative beliefs and ignorance have rooted for domination of women which challenges the empowerment of women. These have compelled the women to fall into victims of sexual exploitation.
The workers are exploited by owner themselves financially and emotionally for commercialization of food and sex. It creates unhealthy working environment which is itself illegal. There is lack of government supervision and monitoring with strict law and order on these sector.
Most of the common people also know about the cabin environment but the government is not able to control this situation properly.
The workers also do not know about their right over their body. They cannot raise their voice against the kind of exploitation due to the ignorance, unemployment problems, poverty and personal problems.
Conclusion Exploitation of the girls and women working in the cabin restaurants symbolizes the socioeconomic and socio- political problems of modern Nepalese society. Being a developing country, Nepal has low economic growth which cannot provide sufficient job opportunities to the people. Wide spread poverty exists and various forms of discrimination, inequality, and exclusion are widely prevalent all over the country. Due to lack of proper utilization of available human, physical and financial resources every sector of the economy is not properly developed. On top of that Nepal is going through a transitional phase so further increasing the instability of economic growth and development. Therefore it can be said that this types of exploitation is also the result of our economic backwardness and social problems. Both Socio-political and socio- economic problems are social factors that negatively affect significant numbers of individuals in a similar way. These problems also involve social disorganizations, which refers to inadequacies or failure in the social system of interrelated status and roles as such that the collective purpose and individual objectives of its members are not fully realized. When we say that a particular group or community or society is disorganized we mean that the structures and roles are not organized effectively. From the study, researcher found exploitation of the women existed in the past, is continuing at present, and will continue in the future. The difference in the past, present and the future are the means and the ways of exploitation. Before women were exploited as an entertainer (Nartaki), then they were exploited at the garment worker and now in the cabin restaurant. The picture that has emerged from the study gives the insight into the lives of girls and women employed in the cabin restaurant. These girls and women left their home to escape the turmoil of the conflict, hunger, family break-up and domestic woes and ultimately found shelters in the cabin restaurants. Their friends helped to find the job to many respondents into the cabin restaurants due to attraction of the good life which is one of the results of the modernization. They entered as waitress and eventually turned into sex worker when they did not find alternatives even after searching. Their vulnerability builds the perfect stage for the restaurant owners and their cohorts to instigate exploitation. Furthermore the women who suffer at the hands of men are treated as second-class citizen. In our society, where patriarchy is deep-rooted, the women cannot improve her status. The men
dominate women both inside and outside the house. The men supremacy has dominated women in such a way that these women employed in cabin restaurant eventually do not have rights of their body. Their rights like almost everything are being taken by the whole system. Women are just a sex object for men. The majority of girls/women come from out of valley and they have very low monthly income. So, most of them agree to do other work for survival. By analyzing their view and answer, it is clear that they are known as a sex trader who cannot escape from the reality. It means, what they are now is already determined by the first day when they entered cabin restaurants as a cabin worker. The workers work under fear and force to do things against their will. They do not have any feeling of government and governance in the country. If there are alternatives opportunities, they want to escape from this hell but who can responsible for them they don’t know. So they realize that they have no choice but to work in the cabin. Some of the workers who are aware they need help to establish their labor union but they do not know what should they do?. In their opinion, if they have union they can raise their voice about their rights like salary, tips, harassment, self- determination, freedom of choice and rights to take decision over their own body. The girls and women working in the cabin restaurants hesitate to speak about their professions due to the fear of being known as sex traders. Even from their family member they are hiding their work and working place due to fear of losing support of family for their job. Laws are inadequate to protect the victims of any harassment in the cabin restaurant. Although it is a serious problem, the effort from the government sector is found negligible to make any positive change. Even the workers are harassed and misbehaved by the police themselves. The attitude of others/ society members is very negative towards these girls and women. There is a lack of gender sensitivity among all the parts dealing with these girls and women. The task may be difficult but indispensible to adequately empower the women through sufficient knowledge, information and enhancing the capabilities to live in their own nation as a citizen. If they are empowered, they can handle other alternative job or may make their job respectable which is important to bring changes in the society.
After acknowledging the problems, it can be said that only the shutdown of these cabin restaurants is not a permanent solution where thousands of girls and women have been getting job opportunity to survive and become a source of income. As an alternative, the restaurant should change its layout with various quality services which can promote their business. As well it should be managed under strict laws, supervision and monitoring where women will not be exploited and they are treated as a worker rather than a sex trader. All in all, the concerned authorities of the government and cabin- restaurant entrepreneurs should be more sensible and take bold decision to bring radical over-haul in the lives of female workers and the concept and attitude of ordinary people towards them and their professions. Indeed, their empowerment is must.
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