Kismati Chaudhary, 13, a domestic help from Bardaghat in Nawalparasi, has been deprived of the right to education, among others, as she is compelled to work from early in the morning till she goes to bed at night every day.

Chaudhary, who has been working at the house of an industrialist at Butwal-11 in Rupandehi for the past two years, said a villager took her to Butwal after her stepmother kicked her out of the house. She said though she was told beforehand that her employer would enroll her in school, she was not admitted to any school.

Mohan Rana, 14, from Manharapur in Kapilvastu also works as a domestic help at Milanchok in Rupandehi for the past one year. He, however, is deprived of education.

Although the laws bar children below 14 to work, 1,500 children are working in houses, hotels and industries in Butwal alone, according to data with the human rights organisations based in the district. Of them, 1,000 work as domestic help alone.

Advocate Mahendra Prasad Pandey, who is conducting research on child labor, said some children even end up living on the street and are subjected to abuse.

He said lax laws and their ineffective implementation are attributed to the failure to curb child labour.

Published on: 21 July 2013 | The Kathmandu Post