Saved from slavery, Nepali girls rebuilding their lives


The Nepal Youth Foundation started a movement that from 1999 to 2015 had rescued 13,700 girls who were forced by their families into slavery, some as young as 6 years old. The Kamlaris, the Nepali term for female bonded laborers, came from indigenous Tharu families. Rented out to perform hard physical labor as servants for the country's wealthy, they were emancipated with their families' approval when the Foundation and other charities promised to financially support and educate the girls, and help them start businesses of their own. The campaign included a legal challenge that outlawed the practice in 2006.

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