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KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- We went from store to store in Kathmandu, Nepal, talking with shopkeepers and trying to find one of the country's thousands of "kamlaris" or female-child bonded laborers.
Kamlaris are part of a deep-rooted tradition in Nepal that remains quite strong today. "One lives in that house," we kept hearing, or "I've seen one over there."
With help from several aid organizations, including the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation, we finally met a kamlari. Her name was Subita.
Subita didn't know her own age, though she looked quite young, most likely about 12 years old. She scrubs dishes, watches the children, mops and sweeps the floors for a family far away from her own, she said. She hasn't spoken with her own family in more than a year. (Watch how a girl lives after being sold as a laborer -- 3:28)
Subita is just one of an estimated 20,000 young girls from the Dang and Deukhari valleys who are sold by their own families to work as bonded laborers in one-year contracts, according to aid organizations. Often the contract is renewed year after year. The kamlari practice is centered in those two valleys.
It is illegal to employ someone under the age of 14 in Nepal. According to Nepalese law, the onus of verifying a child's age is placed on the employer.
The indentured child usually does not see any of the money herself, but the families earn roughly $50 per year for each kamlari, according to aid organizations. A middleman takes the girl away and finds work for her, which is often in a distant city. The parents and children often don't know how to find one another.
Kamlaris are part of a deep-rooted tradition in Nepal that remains quite strong today. "One lives in that house," we kept hearing, or "I've seen one over there."
With help from several aid organizations, including the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation, we finally met a kamlari. Her name was Subita.
Subita didn't know her own age, though she looked quite young, most likely about 12 years old. She scrubs dishes, watches the children, mops and sweeps the floors for a family far away from her own, she said. She hasn't spoken with her own family in more than a year. (Watch how a girl lives after being sold as a laborer -- 3:28)
Subita is just one of an estimated 20,000 young girls from the Dang and Deukhari valleys who are sold by their own families to work as bonded laborers in one-year contracts, according to aid organizations. Often the contract is renewed year after year. The kamlari practice is centered in those two valleys.
It is illegal to employ someone under the age of 14 in Nepal. According to Nepalese law, the onus of verifying a child's age is placed on the employer.
The indentured child usually does not see any of the money herself, but the families earn roughly $50 per year for each kamlari, according to aid organizations. A middleman takes the girl away and finds work for her, which is often in a distant city. The parents and children often don't know how to find one another.
I could use a 14 year old to clean my house and do the laundry.
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"Generally, the girls work as kamlaris for some 10 years in their lives. ... After the girls become 16, 17, 18 years of age, they become empowered, and they are able to say 'no' to the order of the employers. Once the girl is 17 or 18 years old, they are sent back to the families, or they go somewhere else for whatever occupation they can take to survive. It could be prostitution. It could be, you know, dancing in a restaurant," Paneru said.
So after being sold off by their parents for slavery, they have stripping and prostitution to look forward to. What a deal!
that's just different and wierd