Earlier this month we went to a dance bar to meet and show love to the women there. I don't know what I expected but I was surprised. Dance bars themselves are establishments where women dance for money, wearing less than what you would typically see in this culture. Sometimes dance bars are places where women do more than just dance, and even if they are not, they often are places that lead to women doing more.
When we walked in, there were so many women and almost no customers. In the time we were there more customers did come in. We spent time talking (or attempting to talk over the loud music) to the women and some of them were so young. They had to be 18 years old, but many of them were just that or a few years older. The dance itself wasn't anything you wouldn't see on American television and while it was mostly the women, sometimes the men would dance too, but always framing a woman.
The male customers that night were enthusiastic and would hand the women money while they danced themselves. Each woman would take a shift dancing and then return to the main area wearing some sort of covering, usually a sweatshirt or a wrap. They were all excited to see our friend who had brought us and happy to meet us as well. When we weren't able to talk with them, we prayed (with eyes open and silently) for the women, for the establishment, and even for the men there.
We wanted the woman to know they have other options and to feel their value and we wanted the men to not be tempted by lust for these women and to find fulfillment somewhere else. I specifically prayed that the men working at the establishment would take care of these woman well, whatever that might look like in that setting. I wanted the woman to be respected and taken care of. Shortly after I finished praying the bartender sent us over juices on the house. I'd like to say this was part of an answered prayer; that this was him saying thank you for treating these women with respect, thank you for seeing them, and we're glad you came.
From what we've been told of Nepal, there is a lot of poverty and jobs like those at the dance bar are not so much a choice for many of those that work there as a final opportunity for supporting themselves and their families. This is an area that depends on tourism and right now, because of the earthquake, tourism is down.
Nepal is struggling financially right now, not just from the earthquake, but also from the trade embargo from India; India is preventing supplies, including gas, from coming in and so the people of Nepal find themselves in a unique situation. Pokhara is a town that depends on tourism and while there are some trekkers and other tourist here, there are far fewer than what there usually is. From many of the people here we have gotten a sense of desperation.
So if you find yourself struggling, what do you do? Do you struggle to convince enough tourists to buy your oranges to try to get by? Do you just keep asking and asking for a job and keep hoping that someone will bless you with one? Do you move into an industry that you don't want to be part of but that will feed your family? I can't tell you why those men and women end up at those dance bars, but I want you to be careful of judging them because their lives look very different than yours and mine. I want you to know that the women we met there were kind and eager for people who wanted to get to know them. They, like all of us, seemed to just want to be loved.
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