NATIONAL7Spotlight Weekly)]

Usual Formality

Despite repeated official commitments, the problems of Nepal’s large number of child workers are yet to be addressed properly

By A CORRESPONDENT

As Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was highlighting the plight and problems of children in Nepal on August 20, Choti Chaudhari (not her real name) was busy with her daily chores. The 10-year-old girl, who works at a five-member household at New Baneshwor, had no time to listen to the pious pledges being made by Nepalese politicians and officials on National Children’s Day.

Chaudhari, a resident of Banke district in mid-western Nepal, begins her hectic schedule at 5 in the morning. She does the cooking, washing and cleaning and takes care of the two children. It is also her job to do everything else her masters ask her to do. It’s well past 10pm by the time her day is over.

"I have to work like a machine, doing everything from placing towels in the bathroom to cleaning the house," says Chaudhari. The occupational hazards are severe. "They beat me if I fail to keep the routine or do something wrong," she adds.

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Chaudhari begins her work by collecting two packets of milk from the local booth of the Dairy Development Corporation. Then she prepares tea for her masters and gets ready to cook the first meal of the day.

Thousands of children across Nepal are familiar with Chaudhari’s rigorous schedule. That’s because they are forced to follow it themselves. "A large number of children, who have migrated from rural areas, are working as domestic child labor," says Gauri Pradhan, a child rights activist and president of Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Center.

According to a recent study, more than five million children are directly or indirectly engaged in different forms of child labor in Nepal. The largest number of working children is found in the agricultural sector, followed by the service, industry, plantations, construction and other informal sectors.

Each year, more than 500,000 children migrate from rural areas to urban centers. According to estimates, there are 5,000 children on the streets, 40,000 are in debt bondage, 100 are in prison and 50,000 are working in the sex industry.

Although the Labor Act of 1992 clearly prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14, child labor remains rampant in both urban and rural areas. According to a study, the household and domestic child labor ratio in Kathmandu is 5:1. Street children, mainly beggars, rag pickers, street vendors and workers in sweet shops, restaurants and bars, are also common in the cities. Chaudhari, who get a monthly salary of Rs 200 (US$ 3), doesn’t get to go to school. But she has to escort the two children to school. The daily walk to and from school has raised her own expectations. "If I get a chance, I would love to read and write," says a determined Chaudhari, one of four daughters.

The suffering and anguish of children like Chaudhari have not been properly addressed yet. However, at the macro-level, Nepal has made some notable progress in the areas of children mortality, under five mortality and school-going children. After the Maoist insurgency began, child labor has taken a new and dangerous manifestation: child soldiers carrying firearms to wage their "people’s war".

Nepal celebrated 37th National Children’s Day at a time when United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is urging governments to vote to safeguard the rights of the children. Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has voted in the interest of children at the call of UNICEF, whether Nepalese policy makers will act on Deuba's commitment remains to be seen.