The United Nations have urged Nepal to end "Kamalari", a traditional practice consisting in sending Tharu girls from impoverished families to work in private homes. According to UN, girls run the risk of being exploited, abused and even trafficked. Richard Bennett, from the U.N. High Commission for Human Rights in Nepal, said that "no concrete steps have been taken" to end the practice of Kamalari despite it was outlawed by the Nepalese Supreme Court in 2006.

Bennet has called for the Nepalese government to implement the law immediately, to seek for all the girls who have gone missing in the last years and to provide for rehabilitation of victims.

The UN responsible met with an organization representing Kamalari girls which traveled to Kathmandu with the aim of putting pressure on the government to implement the resolution of the Supreme Court and demanding the liberation and rehabilitation of all Kamalaris. The delegation also called for justice for those who have been abused and have gone missing.

According to Reuters, the practice of Kamalari affects Tharu girls from the west of the country, as young as 6 or 7 years old. They get extremely low wages, if they are paid at all, for about 20 hours-long working days. The news agency reports that there are an estimated 5,000 girls who have been rescued from Kamalari, but thousands of girls are still illegally employed.

Further information:

• UN News Centre: UN urges end to Nepalese practice of using young girls as domestic workers
• Reuters: U.N. urges Nepal to search for missing slave girls