Small in stature but huge in spirit, Anuradha Koirala has been saluted as a hero for her anti-sex slave crusade
Although small in stature, the Nepali woman has a big voice and a message to be heard, crusading for the past 18 years to stop human trafficking and free more than 2400 girls from the sex trade, which earned her the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year Award.
Ms Koirala is currently in the City of Melville, participating in a number of events in the area aimed at getting her message across to as many people as possible.
She works tirelessly to free and then provide help for sex-trafficked women and children with her group, Maiti Nepal, consisting of volunteers who themselves have been rescued from Indian brothels by Ms Koirala.
Ms Koirala and her helpers travel up and down the 1700km border between Nepal and India, setting up intervention outposts to prevent girls from being trafficked.
The outpost volunteers, who use their own experiences to identify the traffickers, watch for pimps crossing the border with girls who are ignorant of their pending fate.
Ms Koirala said her aim in life was simple.
“I want to protect the women and children from the clutches of traffickers who bring shame to humanity,” she said.
“Human beings are not made to be sold; once they are sold they are beaten up, sexually abused and raped many times.
“The traffickers try everything possible to stop us, but we do not stop working.”
Ms Koirala said she hoped her time in the City of Melville would help spread awareness of the important issue.
“We hope that we will be able to first create awareness of the work of Maiti Nepal and second to raise long-term financial support as well as set up a support group of Maiti Nepal,” she said.
“Everyone should be more aware and responsible to stop this inhumane crime around the world.
“It is a big responsibility on me that I should work more to protect and rescue these unfortunate girls and I hope that many in the government and business communities will come forward and help us to work more to this.”
Anuradha Koirala will give a talk on her work at Murdoch University’s Brian Hill Lecture Theatre from 4.30pm today.