National
Former Kamlaris in Bardiya receive ID cards
Former Kamlaris (indentured girl labourers) have started receiving ID cards four years after the government announcement to abolish the practice of bonded labour.Kamal Panthi
Former Kamlaris (indentured girl labourers) have started receiving ID cards four years after the government announcement to abolish the practice of bonded labour.
Minister for Land Reforms and Management Gopal Dahit distributed the ID cards to the former Kamlaris of Bardiya district on Friday.
Kamlaris of five districts in the western Tarai had been demanding an official document from the government, stating that they were victims of bonded labour in the past.
“We have started distributing ID cards to 13,000 Kamlaris after issuing the directive,” said Minister Dahit.
In the first phase, 29 Kamlaris who were announced ‘freed’ on June 27, 2013 received ID cards in the district.
A total of 9, 475 Kamlaris have so far been rescued from various parts of Dang, Banke, Bardiya and Kanchanpur districts. Manisha Tharu, a former Kamlari of Katarniya in Barbardiya-8, was delighted. “Now, I’ll be identified as a freed Kamlari. I’ll apply for a job in freed Kamlari quota after completing my studies,” she said. Nepal has ratified a number of international conventions against forced labour, debt bondage and slavery.
FROM ARCHIVE:
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New skills make ex-Kamlaris self-reliant