I am watching in horror. The abortion rights protests are erupting as the “American-Talibans” are trying to control women and their bodies . . . they demand that even in instances of rape and incest, a woman should carry the pregnancy to full term(!). The far-right conservative Republican from Michigan, Robert Regan’s take – he told his daughters that “if rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.”
. . . The torrential rain and high winds hit Colombo as I took to the road. The island was flustered. Very few were outside. I was on my way to visit a project run by Sarvodaya, a national NGO (established in 1958). We got involved with them (in the recent past) on youth development efforts. Mr. A.T. Ariyaratne, the founder and a legendary personality had welcomed me in his office. In our meeting, he expressed his desire for a closer collaboration with UNICEF.
Bianca from Sarvodaya was my contact. Through work, we became friends. The civil conflict had escalated at the time (2006-2007) but we also focused on regular programming in addition to emergency responses.
Bianca was waiting and took me inside the one-story building. In one large room, about twenty girls from age 13/14 to 16/17 were working on sewing machines. The girls had agreed to see me. They were concentrating on the work while they spoke––not very chatty, though.
They belonged to the MaSevana project run by the Sarvodaya Suwasetha Society. MaSevena provided protection and care to teenage girls who were victims of sexual abuse–– rape and incest and became pregnant. It provided medical and psychosocial services, education and vocational training to rebuild their self-esteem and confidence––gave shelter and care to their babies.
The youngest girl at MaSevana was just 12.
The victims were too young to protect themselves or understand the consequences of rape. By the time they realized, they were already very pregnant––too young to seek help. MaSevena came to their aid––rescued them. The perpetrators remained scot-free. The girls ended up with babies who were constant reminders of their torment.
“Here are the girls. They’re working on a consignment from Victoria’s Secret from America,” Bianca said.
“This is very prestigious work, girls!” I somehow found my voice. Each one of these girls were victims of incest––raped by their own fathers or close relatives. Their mothers were away in the middle east working as maids, unable to protect their daughters as breach of trust occurred within the family-boundaries. The mothers regularly sent money to their (poor) families, unaware of the ordeals of their girls.
I met two teenage sisters––repeatedly raped by their father, and gave birth to his children. My heart was bleeding, crying silently . . .
We talked with the girls about their aspirations, their dreams. Each one of them wanted to be independent, emotionally and financially––after the scars were healed. They wanted their children of incest to succeed in life. It wasn’t their fault.
The girls relaxed as we talked. The whirring of the sewing-machines slowed down.
“Do you want to say anything to me before I leave?” I said finally. There were whispers and giggles.
“Every time you buy undergarments from Victoria’s Secret, think of us. Don’t forget to try the bras,” one of them was the spokesperson. (Bianca translated for me). The others smiled and nodded.
We said goodbye. Bianca walked me to the crèche. There were about 8 or 9 babies (2–3-year-old), playing––one tiny fellow was on a tri-cycle.
“These are the children of incest,” Bianca mentioned. “No one wants to adopt them. It’s a taboo in Sri Lanka.”
Children who want to be born, or not to be born, suffer globally . . . in disaster, war, within their families.
More than 250,000 children are placed into the foster care system in America every year.
Every 2 minutes a child is removed from their home and placed in foster care. In 2019, 651,505 children were victims of abuse or neglect. A child is abused or neglected every 48 seconds in America, 1,785 each day. More than half of all child maltreatment cases in 2019 involved children who were six years old or younger, with 14.9 percent of cases involving infants under one. Of these children, 251,359 entered foster care (“The State of America’s Children 2021- Child Welfare,” Mar 28, 2021).
America is the only country that has not yet ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Afghanistan ratified it in 1994 . . .
Every time I pass a Victoria’s Secret store, I think of the MaSevana girls. In my heart I know they found their way.
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| Photo Courtesy, Sarvodaya |
The youngest girl at MaSevana was just 12.
The victims were too young to protect themselves or understand the consequences of rape. By the time they realized, they were already very pregnant––too young to seek help. MaSevena came to their aid––rescued them. The perpetrators remained scot-free. The girls ended up with babies who were constant reminders of their torment.
“Here are the girls. They’re working on a consignment from Victoria’s Secret from America,” Bianca said.
“This is very prestigious work, girls!” I somehow found my voice. Each one of these girls were victims of incest––raped by their own fathers or close relatives. Their mothers were away in the middle east working as maids, unable to protect their daughters as breach of trust occurred within the family-boundaries. The mothers regularly sent money to their (poor) families, unaware of the ordeals of their girls.
I met two teenage sisters––repeatedly raped by their father, and gave birth to his children. My heart was bleeding, crying silently . . .
We talked with the girls about their aspirations, their dreams. Each one of them wanted to be independent, emotionally and financially––after the scars were healed. They wanted their children of incest to succeed in life. It wasn’t their fault.
The girls relaxed as we talked. The whirring of the sewing-machines slowed down.
“Do you want to say anything to me before I leave?” I said finally. There were whispers and giggles.
“Every time you buy undergarments from Victoria’s Secret, think of us. Don’t forget to try the bras,” one of them was the spokesperson. (Bianca translated for me). The others smiled and nodded.
We said goodbye. Bianca walked me to the crèche. There were about 8 or 9 babies (2–3-year-old), playing––one tiny fellow was on a tri-cycle.
“These are the children of incest,” Bianca mentioned. “No one wants to adopt them. It’s a taboo in Sri Lanka.”
Children who want to be born, or not to be born, suffer globally . . . in disaster, war, within their families.
More than 250,000 children are placed into the foster care system in America every year.
 |
| Photo Courtesy, Sarvodaya |
America is the only country that has not yet ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Afghanistan ratified it in 1994 . . .
Every time I pass a Victoria’s Secret store, I think of the MaSevana girls. In my heart I know they found their way.
Thank you for sharing. The abuse these girls face is kept under the radar. The mothers go abroad and send in foreign remittances that is a major source of income for the country. Yet these women are not treated well by their employers nor by the Sri lanka government.! Thankfully for sarvodaya , Unicef and INGOs some support was provided. The pandemic and dire economic situation has only exacerbated women and childrens issues.
ReplyDeleteI called Bianca after almost a decade–to find out more regarding the current situation of sexual abuse of girls by their family members.Told her about my column.
ReplyDeleteNot much has changed in SL. She took over the project and left some years later-the emotional toll was too much. To keep the "family honor" the families still don't want to report domestic sexual abuse incidents to the authorities. Sometimes, the mothers take the side of the abusers to protect their family name. This is the world we live in, Rohini! I had shared my field mission report with Child Protection, Health and Education sections.I am sure UNICEF-Colombo looked into it––I left shortly afterwards. Thanks for reading.