Journeying through the Body and Beyond

By Kumari Lama

Hectic MPhil classes ended with its grace. However it left behind the challenge of writing a dissertation. Even though we had submitted some term papers during our regular classes, research writing turned out to be a tough task for new hands. I was surrounded by awfulness. To overcome the looming confusion, I reflected upon my interest area; there appeared the issue of woman’s body, exploitation, and resistance as a promising area to work on. The idea was still hazy; I had to search for a body that has a specific history of exploitation and resistance. 

While thinking about the body project, an image started constantly haunting me. I found in an woman a person, whose body bore the marks of extreme exploitation. Nonetheless she prevailed, beating the dire situation. Today she stands as a symbol of courage and resistance for the world. She is Charimaya Tamang: a trafficking survivor. I decided to research about the issue of women’s bodies and resistance. I found out Charimaya’s phone number and asked if there was any text written about her. The answer was ‘no’. It was not a problem for me. However, she informed me about a documentary on her, which brought faint hopes.  

I shared my interest area to some professors and got positive remarks. Nonetheless, they asked about the written text on her, which I did not have. My head grew heavy, as I could see no way out. Finally, Dr. Komal Phuyal came with his magical idea and said: “Why don’t you develop your own text?” He kept going: “Have an interview with Charimaya and write it down.”   

I got enthralled by his advice and dialed Charimya for an appointment straightaway. I was pleased by her instant approval. I reached her office the following day at Chuchepati, where she was waiting for me, ready to unfold the journey of her life. She opened up her heart and revealed the unusually bumpy rides of her life. I was so shocked to learn about the horrible twenty-two months she had spent in Mumbai’s red light area. Our talk prolonged and lasted for almost five hours, which I recorded in an audio recorder. I thanked her and sneaked away with immense pain in my heart, as the sufferings of Charimaya penetrated my heart.  

I started writing down Charimaya’s life experiences listening to the recorded interview. I wanted to wrap it up as quickly as possible, but no way. It took me much longer. Every time I listened to the interview to write something, her story pinched me so hard, and this slowed my writing down. I was so disturbed to get exposed with atrocious brothel activities and the continuous exploitation of women’s bodies. It was even more painful to know that Mumbai’s red light areas were full of Nepali women; most of them ended up there through trafficking. Charimaya was drugged, kidnapped, and trafficked; she spent the most horrible twenty-two months of her life in kothi number 104. Initially she refused to accept the job, which resulted on brutal gang rape by four men. The incident went deep into my marrow. I had to collect courage to listen to the record every morning. The writing turned slow and painful. Eventually, I completed writing ten thousand words and wrapped up a part of her life. I sent it to my teacher Dr. Phuyal, who edited and polished my raw write-up. I named it, “Charimaya: The Making of a Selfless Self”. 

Charimaya also provided me a documentary, Mission of Charimaya, which would be another supporting text for my research. With two primary texts in my hand, I started writing my thesis proposal. 

I wanted to research about the drastically-transformed body of Charimaya: her journey from vulnerable, helpless, and exploited body to a powerful resisting body, which has become a symbol of resistance. I decided to deal the issue with gender perspectives, focusing on gender and its relation with power. I completed the proposal with title: “Rewriting Body: Charimaya as Emblem of Resistance in Human Trafficking in Nepal” and submitted to the Department of English. The Department approved of my proposal with some suggestions appointing Dr. Komal Phuyal as my research advisor. 

Eventhough I was overwhelmed to research on the area I chose, the work assigned by Dr. Phuyal spun my head. He wanted me to write a paper about “Body and Trouble of Conceptualization”. I had to base my writing on several theories related to body and its relation with power politics. I searched for Judith Butler and Michel Foucault, since they focus on the construction of gender, bodies, and their relation with the system and regulatory power. They turned to be quite tough for me; therefore I went through the other academic articles that interpreted Butler and Foucault’s concepts. After reading interpretations of various scholars, their theories became a bit understandable for me. I got a bit clear about Butler’s concept of the construction of gender and normative bodies within normative heterosexual social structure. Gradually I became familiar with Foucault’s system and its relation with power that controls bodies too. 

The previous uneasiness about theories soothed along with time. Many writers dealing with body issues drew my attention. They raised the issue of bodies: bodies of women, homosexuals, disabled persons, and captive bodies. Butler’s position on normative social values and Foucault’s power relation apply equally to all the bodies. Normative heterosexual value creates binaries, male and female, and accepts them as standard bodies, whereas they deny the existence of homosexuals. The same value takes women’s bodies as subordinate; it diminishes, objectifies, and fetishizes their bodies. Our society excludes, misrepresents and completely outcasts disabled bodies. Hortense J. Spillers reveals the plight of a captive body that is reduced to mere flesh. Bodies stand as space and medium to carry socio- cultural values; every single body has social script inscribed on it, and that becomes gender identity. 

We understand gender as a construct: a socio-cultural construct. This concept carries convincing arguments as we hold cultural script on our body, which decides our gender. However, Butler came up with a bit different idea that in normative heterosexuality gender is constructed through abjection. I could see the exclusion of homosexual bodies within the normative heterosexual framework. It has also helped me understand the gender bias inside the patriarchal social structure. The minorities are always subjected to exclusion; moreover, they are also prone to misrecognition and misrepresentation. Patriarchal normativity fetishizes women’s body; it reduces their bodies to mere flesh and commodifies them as objects to satisfy carnal desires of men. 

Butler’s analysis of normative heterosexuality and its inherent nature changed my perception about the gender. The gendering of bodies and their specified roles stands as a norm for patriarchal heterosexual social values. 

After gathering the ideas about the making of gender, bodies, and their relation with structural power, I wrote a paper: “Body and the Trouble of Conceptualization”. 

I was happy to complete my assignment; however, the response of Dr. Phuyal made me think seriously about my writing and rework on it. His each comment left some space for me to delve, think, and improve my writing until it was finally accepted.

While reflecting on the whole process I have gone so far, I realize some changes in me: I have become familiar with different facets of gendered bodies, politics of normativity, and the play of institutional power. Moreover, I have molded my previous plain writing to  a research. I believe, my understanding of construction of gender and body within the normative patriarchal social framework helps me to analyze the issue of Charimaya’s body. She becomes a part of Mumbai’s flesh business because one strand of patriarchy subordinates and recognizes women not more than flesh. Her body gets fetishized, commodified, and relegated to mere object to fulfill the physical thirst of men. The whole situation she had gone through has uncovered the issues, which directly connect with patriarchal social psychology. She becomes the victim of the existing social structure. However, my research aims at analyzing her transformed body. She rewrites her body through resistance and regains her lost identity. 

I had never realized the stark nakedness of gender hierarchy and its atrocious power structure until I bumped with a plethora of researches related to intricacy of patriarchal values, commodification, and exploitation of women’s bodies. Since my thesis proposal titled, “Rewriting Body: Charimaya Tamang as Emblem of Resistance in Human Trafficking in Nepal” was approved by the English Department, I started delving into the issue, alongside a study of patriarchal values, gender construction, and its relation to violation of women’s bodies. When I started reading Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble and Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality, they provided me with abundance of knowledge about gender construction and systematic subordination of women. Thereon, Virginia Woolf struck me so hard. She questions:

Why did men drink wine and women water?

Why was one sex so prosperous and the other so poor? (30)

An immediate answer burst in my head: patriarchal values. However, I had to analyze my instance emotion with depth and patience. I started recalling Butler and Foucault. 

I travelled along with Butler’s normative heterosexual concept, which revealed the process of cultural construction of gender in a patriarchal society that validates only one pair of gender binaries: male and female. It creates a hierarchy that prioritizes men, whereas it misrepresents and rejects the importance of women and other sexualities. Brutality of patriarchal value gets intelligible when it categorizes the bodies as liveable, or otherwise on the basis of their genders. Women become victims of regulatory power imposed by patriarchy that beleaguers them inside “the system” as Foucault internalizes. The patriarchal society controls women’s bodies with full authority of its norms that impose gender bias. 

Walking along with Butler and Foucault, I came closer to the study patriarchal heterosexuality that systematically inferiorizes women and violates their bodies.  

When my curiosity grew further, I moved forward to know more about imbalanced gender relation. I started digging beneath the surface that unearthed numerous grim realities of subjugation and mediocre position of women. I figured out: women’s suppression starts from home, where they work from dawn to late evening without any economic gain and respect. Their arduous labor turns worthless in front of men, who work outside and come with some penny in their hands. They boast of economic independence and freedom, whereas women shrink with hip-breaking piles of domestic chores and empty hands inside four walls and loads of restrictions. Consequently, they remain economically dependent on men despite their tremendous contribution to the prosperity of the family.  

Women’s subordination roots in patriarchal cultural attitude that considers them personal possessions of men, and objects for procreations and sexual pleasure. Rampant cases of women’s miseries float around us. 

While focusing on their inferiority and suffering, a particular character and her dominated self became more visible to me. I noticed her situation as she is a neighbor to me. Her husband abandoned her after having a child and disappeared for more than a decade. She worked as a maid in many houses and toiled in construction sites to raise her child. During all her struggle, her husband was nowhere to be seen. But then, he appeared from out of the blue last year and claimed her his wife. He intimidated her and forcefully occupied a space in her rented room. She tried her best to chase him away but in vain. Finally, she had to surrender  to the situation and accept him in her life again casting her dignity aside. She is just a representative character in our society: lot more of women bear the same pain of inferiority and violence against their self-respect, emotion, and body. It sheds light on the real character of our society. A useless man holds such power to claim a woman as his possession even after decades of separation and disappearance from her life. The stunning thing lies in our socio-cultural values that authorize men to use, abuse, and oppress women’s heart and bodies. 

My study till now has unfolded a part of patriarchal cultural hegemony, which shows certain glimpses of women’s plight. Now, I move ahead to witness the nakedness of evolving capitalism and its control over women’s bodies. 

Many critics claim that the socio-economic evolution brought  about by industrialization has massively changed the traditional gender relation between men and women. They believe, women got economic and personal freedom when they started working in industries. Katyaani’s argument in relation to industrialization and violation of women’s bodies shook me to my marrow. She claims that initially, evolving industrialization provided some freedom to women bringing them outside the boundary of houses. However, it gradually transformed women to commodities and  started selling their beauty and bodies in the market (188). Her radical view influenced me so much that I stepped forward and went through various researches about the interrelation between capitalism and its impact on the deteriorating situation of women. And then, remarkably unfamiliar circumstances and myriads of unimaginable pains of women caused by global capitalistic markets were disclosed to me.

Global capitalism diminishes women’s value and treats them as commodities and mere flesh. I realized the vested interest and dominating attitude of capitalism after going through several related research papers. I looked around to analyze and learn about the socio-cultural economic development of the world and the position of women. It only left me engrossed with indignation. 

Indeed, the society we are living in today appears more toxic to women. The latest capitalistic productions like cosmetic products, fashion, and cinema present women as objects. The advertisement of fashion and beauty products set patriarchal beauty standard with the collaboration of capitalistic market that only imprisons women within standard beauty structure. Shiela Jeffreys knocked my brain and heart as she provides ample examples of women’s fetishization through fashion, pornography and cosmetic surgeries. Amidst capitalistic consumerism, women stand no more than erotic objects for the satisfaction of men-led market. Women’s worth has torn asunder along with her dangling naked boobs in fashion shows and her visualized sexual acts in pornography. The scary fact of capitalism gets lucid with its latest products: online prostitution. It exploits women’s bodies in extremity through Internet connectivity selling them as sex dolls to millions of online customers. Moreover, capitalistic development has posed as a complete threat to women as it validates and disseminates patriarchal values through its latest products and hegemonic beauty standard. 

The deeper I penetrated to study the intricacy of gender, body, and capitalism, the more unexpected realities popped on the surface. Kathleen Barry arrested my attention when she portrayed the dramatic change in prostitution along with the industrialization of sex in 1970 (122). Her work highlights the normalization of sex that resulted into lucrative flesh trade. Women’s bodies remain at the center of extending sex market. It needs women for the fulfillment of market’s demand that automatically increases sex trafficking of women. I was almost shocked to know about the brutality of flesh market and sex trafficking of women, which has flourished as an extended part of capitalism. I felt chilling sensations running down my spine when I came to know about the mail order bride, which was popular till 1980s. Many Filipinos, Chinese and Thai women were sold to American and European men as objects through advertisement and agencies. What could be more inhuman than selling of women as bride through advertisement? This question constantly haunted me. More surprises were waiting to blow me hard. I came closer to the darkest facades of sex trafficking of women, who are supplied for international sex cubicles. My heart wrenched with pain when I read Susanne Asman’s analysis of the history of trafficking of Nepali women to Mumbai’s red light zones. Many young women who were working in the Ranas’ Palaces were taken to India when the regime fell down in the 1950s. Later, when they could not hold the expenses of all the servants, most of the women ended up in red light areas of Bombay (32). Trafficking still continues, as India has become one of the largest sex markets in South Asia; it traffics thousands of women every year through internal and cross-border trafficking.  

Sex trafficking of women encompasses violation of women’s bodies. I was journeying along with the pain and suffering of women when the callousness of capitalism and sex trafficking showed its face. Many trafficking processes and the tricks of old hands in the business became visible. The traffickers easily lure women with poor socio-economic status and sell them to brothels. They do not hesitate to rape, threaten, and take control over them, if they refuse to go with them after knowing the truth. Sex trafficking begins with exploitation of women and ends with uncountable violence when they reach the flesh market. Once they enter sex dens, they transform to commodities, or just flesh to satisfy the carnal desire of their customers. 

When I came across Jyoti Sangera’s narration about an eight-year old trafficked girl who gets readied for sex work through insertion of moistened piths to widen her vaginas (111) I literally trembled. It depicts the darkest face of capitalism and proliferating flesh industry in front of me. 

I started my paper with some precariousness about patriarchal gender values, its relation with capitalistic principle and subjugation of women. My uncertainty was obvious, as I had not seen different faces of heterosexual patriarchy. I just had a faint idea of women’s subordination in my mind; nonetheless, the major parts of social hierarchy were missing from my understanding. When I started turning stones, the dominating patriarchal cultural path became clearer. I was really shocked to find out the strategic entanglement of patriarchy with capitalism that only exploits women in different manners. It displays women in fashion shows, cinema, pornography, beauty products, and cyber spaces as sexual objects. I walked ahead and found that patriarchy turns lethal to women’s bodies and the situation turns even worse when it gets together with booming capitalism. I came to the peroration that it could take any forms to thwart women’s freedom: guiding them towards fashion shows, brothels, strip club, or online prostitution that only imprisons them permanently inside patriarchal ideological structure. 

Charimaya Tamang is one of those victims trafficked and sold in Bombay’s brothel. 

Sex trafficking of women begins with coercion and leads them towards unpredictable sufferings of enforced prostitution. When I rummaged the reality of sex dens, unimaginably horrific plights of Charimaya Tamang left me dumbfounded. She was gang raped and tamed by her Gharwali master when she denied him sexual service. I shuddered to confront the brutality and inhuman measures brothels exercise to control stubborn young girls like Charimaya. It took a few months for her to regain her physical recovery; however, the inner pain never got healed. She felt that her dignity was broken into pieces and crushed by Gharwali’s feet. She was completely overpowered by precarious circumstances that only filled her with immense pain of depletion. I got absolutely baffled by the ruthlessness of capitalistic sex industry.

Charimaya’s case unfolded the bitter facts of patriarchal values and corporate capitalism: both massively exploit women’s bodies. Patriarchy dominates women through heterosexual gender hierarchy, whereas capitalism exploits them via commoditization of their bodies. Capitalistic sex trade diminished Charimaya’s human worth to sexual object. She was price-tagged like merchandise in a supermarket shelf; the first customer had paid IRs 160 for her. Alas! A woman of enormous potentiality and fecundity was turned to a “little brown f… machine,” in Kathleen Barry’s term (149). 

I gradually internalized the callousness of capitalism that easily obliterates women’s identity and turns them to commodities. 

Charimaya was already imprisoned within brothel’s boundary, where she was compelled to bear and endure the tremendous sufferings inflicted by flesh commerce. Trafficking of pregnant woman was the most stupefying incident she disclosed: it became intolerably painful when even such women were forced into prostitution. She also revealed the shocking fact that sex market buys girls of nine to eleven years of age as well and makes them ready for the job through medication and special diet for the rapid growth of their bodies. There remains no limitation of violation on women’s bodies in sex cubicles: intimidation, beating, rape, risky abortions, and diseases are the common activities there. 

Even though Charimaya’s self-esteem was butchered, she rekindled her hope of gaining it back one day. Amidst numerous hardship and cul-de-sac state, her determination gave her strength to acts of boldness. She became a resister. 

Charimaya’s activeness testifies her resisting potentiality as well as willingness for change. She started speaking for the precaution and health issue of women working in kothi number 104. She was the one to advocate the use of condoms to avoid hazardous abortions and transferable diseases. I was astounded to see the consciousness and courage of the vulnerable woman who was shattered by her own distresses. She was badly wounded by the poisonous patriarchal gaze; her agony was even doubled by the mistreatment of capitalistic flesh industry. However, she rose from her own devastated self like phoenix and exhibited her splendor. She overcame her submissiveness and elucidated her agency through her actions. Lot more work was yet to be done as she could not do much under the surveillance of clever Gharwali. Unexpectedly Charimaya got freedom from hellish life on February 5, 1996 when Maharastra Government’s rescue operation of underage girls took her out of Bombay’s red light area. However, it took almost six months for them to return to their own country, as Nepal Government showed indifferent attitude towards the victims. Each impediment and unfavorable situation implanted indignation in Charimaya. She turned more determined to work for the trafficking victims. 

Patriarchal society stereotypes sexual issues and turns intolerable when it connects to women. It spews rage and exhibits complete coldness towards women, who get dragged into the issue. Nepal Government had already exposed its coldness towards trafficking survivors, while the airport staffs lashed them hard with negative remarks and icy glances. Corporate capitalism commodified and devalued them, whereas their own people treated them as outcasts; they got intense pain of double victimization. Even though there stood a heap of challenges and uncertainty, Charimaya remained firm and strong on her purpose. Her agency got more intelligible in Nabajyoti Kendra when she started raising her voice for their rights. I was overwhelmed by her boldness and consciousness: she started giving interviews to media and spoke against sex trafficking of women, while other victim survivors were shrinking with hesitation. She dragged the attention of society, revealing the sufferings and extreme violence against women’s bodies in Bombay’s brothel to medias. Her defenselessness just disappeared and real agency got more lucid through her activities. She had already widened her knowledge and reasoning capacity through the various training programs she involved in. Despite innumerable obstacles, she turned to be a fearless fighter who continuously spoke against women’s trafficking. By then, she was already in the process of rewriting her eliminated identity. 

Bourgeoning sex industry swallowed Charimaya’s real identity and transformed her to Anu. It eroticized her as a sexual object and tossed her into the flesh market to be consumed by sex-mongers. However, the atrocious flesh den failed to tear asunder her real self. She revitalized herself after coming back to Nepal, and this led her for serious move. Nobody had ever imagined that a trafficking victim would dare to file a case against her traffickers. Nonetheless, Charimaya did that and became the first victim to file a petition for justice. Chautara District Court’s verdict not only sent eight traffickers behind the bars but also equally energized her to move ahead valiantly on her path. Each step she treaded surprised the people as they had only seen her vulnerability; and now she exposed her inner strength and powerful resisting self. In fact, Charimaya was challenging Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s argument, “the subaltern cannot speak” (104). She was speaking, acting and raising her voice not only for herself but for other victims too. Her strategic move and determination of changing the social attitude towards trafficking victims illustrated her agency. 

She took a great leap, taking initiation for the formation of a group that aimed at working against human trafficking and helping victims to settle in their normal life. She got success to convince her friends and formed a group named Shakti Samuha with the joint effort of fifteen victim survivors. They wanted to transform their tears into power and bring changes in the society. Every step became helpful for Charimaya to rewrite her obliterated identity. Her consistent resistance and valiant voice compelled the indifferent society to listen to her. She became more popular among people when her group visited many villages to make people aware of trafficking. Gradually, naïve Charimaya turned to be a bold activist, who could strongly raise her voice against women’s trafficking. Her noble action and hard work established her as an emblem of resistance. Before long, she shed Anu away from her life and rewrote herself as Charimaya Tamang. 

When I came across Charimaya’s trafficking and entrapment into Bombay’s brothel, it gave me nausea. I got completely shattered by the abundance of violence on women’s bodies in sex dens. Charimaya had to confront gang rape that gave her never healing emotional injuries. However, she dared to resist and dream: she dreamt of her freedom and change. Her valiant move, continuous resistance, and goal oriented action made her dream come true. Capitalistic manacles and patriarchal austerity turned ineffective in front of her. All the precarious and painful past had been replaced by aspiring present; and now she has become inspiring Charimaya, a harbinger of change. 

Now, at the peroration, my heart has rejoiced to witness Charimaya’s transformed self. She has already shed away all the stigmas attached to her life and soared to prominence. She has rewritten her body and gained her erased identity back through her actions. It turned tremendously painful for me to delve into and elucidate the atrocities of women’s trafficking and sex industry; nonetheless, the success of Charimaya’s life has already started soothing my indignation. 

[Kumari Lama has completed her M.Phil in English Literature from Tribhuvan University, Nepal and Master Degree from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, United Kingdom. Lama is a published essayist. Her book Ujyalo Andhakar is received quite well by readers and critics. Her sharp articles on feminism, gender, literature, ethnic identity and marginalized issues have earned her a high repute among contemporary intellectuals and writers.]