The unacceptable face of trade.

This article provides information on the efforts of Oxfam in addressing the problems of illegal trafficking of women in Asia. Oxfam in Nepal views the trafficking in women as an organized crime, which violates the fundamental rights of women. To this effect, Oxfam has developed a program that works at the community, district, regional, and national levels, to create connections to ensure that real experience informs lobbying for international change. At the grassroots level, Oxfam works with a network of 17 organizations and women's human rights groups in the Sindhupalchock district of Nepal. The program encourages affected communities and families to organize themselves for action, and mobilizes local councilors on village development committees in punishing local traffickers. At the district level, Oxfam works to achieve the political commitment to enforce the law against traffickers. Oxfam has succeeded in collaborating with different organizations. It is shown that there is a great potential, both within Oxfam and externally, for cross-program linking and learning on trafficking in women. Since trafficking is a problem in many regions of the world, better strategies are needed to deal with the global market in trafficking and to involve the international community in finding a solution.