More than a decade after Nepal formally abolished the Kamaiya and Kamalari systems, the government has moved to close a legal loophole that has allowed the exploitation of children to persist.
The government has registered the Children Related (First Amendment) Bill, 2026 in Parliament, proposing explicit legal provisions to prohibit keeping children as Kamaiya laborers or Kamalari domestic servants.
The bill, presented by Minister for Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security Sita Badi, proposes amending Section 66 of the Act Relating to Children, 2018. Under the proposed provision, keeping a child as a Kamaiya or Kamalari would constitute a direct criminal offence punishable by up to three months in prison and a fine of up to Rs 100,000.
The move comes years after the government formally abolished the two systems. The Kamaiya system, a form of bonded labor prevalent in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Dang, Banke, Bardiya and Surkhet, was abolished on July 17, 2000, under the government led by then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The Bonded Labor (Prohibition) Act, 2002 was subsequently enacted.
The Kamalari system, under which young girls were kept as domestic bonded laborers, was officially abolished on June 27, 2013. However, the practices have not completely disappeared.
A survey conducted in Kailali around five years after the abolition of Kamalari found 28 girls still working as Kamalari in different parts of the district. Many had been taken in with promises of annual wages or education. Similar cases were reported in several districts of western Nepal even years after the system was officially abolished.
The Supreme Court has also directed the government to take effective measures against the practice, observing that the Kamalari system violated several provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and calling for effective implementation of the Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2002.
More than a decade after the abolition of the systems, however, the rehabilitation of affected families remains incomplete. Former Kamalari continue to demand access to education, healthcare, social security, housing, land and compensation for the hardships they endured.
Kamaiya families, meanwhile, continue to report problems including difficulties obtaining financial records and risks of losing land to floods and river erosion despite receiving land titles.
Criminal responsibility age proposed to be raised
The bill also proposes raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years, bringing Nepal’s legal framework closer to international practices.
It proposes requiring children traveling abroad for education, sports or other programs to obtain permission from the District Administration Office based on a recommendation from the local level. The provision aims to curb the trafficking of children under the guise of overseas opportunities.
The bill also seeks to clarify punishment for children in different age groups in line with Supreme Court principles. In certain cases, children would receive half the punishment applicable to adults, with imprisonment capped at five years.
Wider definition of children and stronger protections
For the first time, the bill explicitly includes minor children, adopted children, and children from gender and sexual minorities within the definition of children. It also introduces an anti-discrimination provision and recognizes intersex and sexual minority children as groups requiring special protection.
The bill proposes criminalizing gender reassignment surgery on intersex children when it is performed for reasons other than protecting their health.
It also expands the existing provision on electronic harassment by adding the term “digital,” bringing abuse committed through social media within the scope of legal action.
More responsibilities for provinces and local governments
Under the federal system, the bill proposes giving provincial and local governments greater responsibility for operating temporary protection services and rehabilitation centers, alongside the federal government.
It also proposes establishing ward-level child rights committees under the leadership of ward chairpersons and local child rights committees under the leadership of rural municipality chairpersons or mayors.
Provisions concerning the National Child Rights Council that currently exist only in regulations have also been incorporated into the bill, with the aim of strengthening the council’s legal and institutional standing.
The bill further proposes that children in juvenile correction homes who show no behavioral improvement after turning 18 could be transferred to prison. Police custody could also be permitted with court approval when they are accused of criminal offences.
At the same time, children would not have their prison terms extended solely because they are unable to pay compensation ordered by a court.
