Kathmandu, December 10:

Seven years have elapsed since the government emancipated bonded labours or Kamaiyas. However, more than 30,000 young girls from western Nepal, between the age of seven and 20, continue to work as Kamlaris (bonded domestic helps) and are becoming victims of mental and physical exploitation.

Anita Chaudhary, now 18, of Dang was sent as a Kamlari to the home of a landlord in Deukhuri at the age of 12. Anita said her landlord, a local school principal and a father of four kids, sexually abused her and impregnated her thrice. He had her first two babies aborted. But when he couldn’t abort her third baby, Anita was forced to leave his home. Her parents refused to accept her with the illegitimate baby and the landlord denied fathering her child. “I don’t know who to tell and how to seek justice,” a tearful Anita shared her woes.

Urmila Chaudhary also has similar stories to share. She stayed as a Kamlari at a home of a Rana family for 12 years. “I was physically tortured by the family. I was raped time and again,” Chaudhary said. “I was in their grasp and I could never raise voice against them. I cannot explain the days that I have gone through. I can only pray that my sisters may never have to go through such experiences,” Chaudhary, president of Forum for Kamlari’s Freedom, Dang, said.

The Kamlari tradition is in practice in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. The young girls are sold to the landlords on the day of Maghi. The parents of the girls are paid a meager amount of Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 a year.

“We have recorded some 30,000 young girls who have been sold as Kamlaris in different parts of the country,” said Fakala Tharu, assistant manager of Friends for Needy Children.

As of now, 41 Kamlaris have been reported

missing.

CA member Shanta Chaudhary, who herself was a Kamlari till she was 18, said that she would raise voice to end the Kamlari tradition.