Nepal’s slave girls

Can the young girls forced to work in middle class homes across the country break the bonds of slavery?

101 East Last Modified: 28 Sep 2013 14:34

Slavery is banned in Nepal. But hidden behind the walls of city homes, some still keep young girls as slaves called kamlaris.The girls are from the Tharu community, an indigenous group that was stripped of its land and forced into bonded labour after Nepal’s first social order was introduced 160 years ago. Tharus farm the land of their landlord and, in return, give back half of what they produce. Often, they trade away their daughters as well. Connect With 101 East In June 2013, kamlaris from all over the country protested in a bid to bring an end to slavery once and for all. They want to be free from servitude and have their basic rights guaranteed. The demonstrations were triggered by the mysterious death of Srijana, a 12-year-old kamlari girl who burnt to death in her owner’s house. The police alleged it was suicide but the kamlaris were not convinced. The police retaliated against the demonstrators with violence. Political organisations and rights groups were conspicuously absent from their demonstrations.

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ALRC and IMADR highlight concerns for minority rights in Pakistan, Indonesia and Nepal

A Joint Oral Statement to the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) and the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status

Thank you Madam President,

The ALRC and IMADR warmly welcome the Independent Expert’s first report, including the focus on the double discrimination faced by minority women.

NEPAL: Video On Climate Change, The REDD Partnership Program, And Nepal Federation Of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN)

Nepal’s government is all set to formulate its policy on REDD+. Considered as the best scheme for climate change mitigation, the REDD+ has however been a subject of countless discourses and debates in Nepal, especially whether or not the rights of indigenous peoples will be ensured in REDD+ strategies remains a big concern.

Indigenous peoples are calling on the government to incorporate indigenous peoples’ demands and concerns seriously while drafting national REDD+ strategies and that the policies should be devised on the basis of provision of ILO Convention 169, of which Nepal is a state party and UNDRIP