While participating in the protest, Coordinator of Kamalari Development Platform Fhakala Tharu said they were in distress because though the government has declared them free, it hasn´t guaranteed safe future for them. [break]
“The government declared us free a decade ago but the act of suppression and discrimination continues,” said Tharu.
Echoing their woes, Chairperson of the Platform Urmila Chaudhary said, “We still feel like living in the shackles of the past and the government has been turning a blind eye to our perils.”
According to Chaudhary, there are around 70 locals participating in the protest and most of them are from Dang, Banke, Bardia, Kanchanpur and Kailali districts.
“This is our last resort. If the government fails to address our demand now then we will stage fast-unto-death,” said Chaudhary.
Besides suppression and poverty stricken life, many Kamalari women have been subjected to physical torture and rape, informed Tharu.
“Many of our sisters have been raped by their masters but no actions have been taken against the culprits. The government has even refused to investigate the disappearance of 27 Kamalaris,” said Tharu.
Meanwhile, a struggling committee formed to address the woes of Kamalaris has also made public a seven-point demand made to the government.
According to the committee, they have stressed on complete liberation of Kamalaris and making further amendments to highlight rehabilitation of Kamalaris. They have also demanded that freed Kamalaris be provided with identity cards and skill development trainings.
´Memories of hardships still haunt me´
MADAN CHAUDHARY
KATHMANDU, May 29: She was only seven years old when she was forcibly taken to her master´s house as a Kamalari (indentured girl child labor).
At an age when she should have been attending a school, she was forced to do domestic labor. It was not that she resigned to her fate easily.
She fled her house a couple of times when Nar Bahadur Sah in Dang district came over to take her away her as the domestic slave in his house. But she eventually surrendered to Sah´s persistence as her family owed Rs 1500 debt to him. Sah took her away promising a meager salary of Rs 2500 annually to her family.
Alish Chaudhary, 17, a former Kamalari is now and well-informed about the plights of Kamalaris.
Recently, she has arrived in the capital and is taking part in the sit-in organized by Freed Kamalari Development Forum´s (Nepal), which started from Tuesday. “I am taking part in the dharna hoping that the government will listen to our plight,” says Alisha.
Even today after several years, she is still haunted by the memories of the hardships she faced in Sah´s house as a domestic labor, she says, adding, “In the tender age of seven, I was forced to perform all kind of domestic works. I did cooking, dish washing and cloth washing among others.”
She once broke her leg after falling from the two-story building of Sah while hanging the laundry to dry, she recounted, and showed a scar on her broken leg. “I was even thrashed by Sah´s wife Sita.”
However, her story did not end there. After her leg injury, Sah hired her mother as domestic help saying he had spent a hefty sum in her treatment. Her mother´s leg was also fractured, leaving the family with a debt of Rs 1,80,000 that was spent on for the treatment.
After a year, she returned to her home but empty-handed. “I heaved a huge sigh of relief on being free from the grip of Sahs,” she says, adding, "But it was short-lived as her family´s economic condition worsened further. They have been living in abject poverty since."
Despite the financial deprivation, she joined a school and passed School Leaving Certificate lately. “I want to study further and support my family. But the chance is slim,” she said. She is thinking about discontinuing her studies and get employment somewhere just to support her family.
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