Screenshot of Shanta Chaudhary, Former Constituent Assembly Member, in an interview with Nepali journalist Dil Busan Pathak on the talk-show Tough Talk on News 24 Television.
It is a perfect story for a Bollywood film — a slave girl fights through poverty, reaches the Constituent Assembly of Nepal, pens an award-winning book, struggles against cancer and becomes the pride of her community.
Now Shanta Chaudhary, a woman with indomitable spirit, is again in the news. She has joined the eighth grade of a local school in pursuit of higher education. While her son is studying in the ninth grade and her daughter in the seventh grade at a boarding school in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, she has chosen a government school in her village.
Chaudhary, an activist and a leader with the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist-Leninist, has gone from Kamlari to national hero.
Kamlaris are young girls, belonging to the Indigenous Tharu community, who are kept as slaves by the rich living in Western Nepal.
Though slavery has been banned in Nepal, these girls are made to work day and night, lead a life of suffering, endure physical and sexual abuse and even get murdered in mysterious circumstances at times.
Kamlaris get little or no money in return of their service. According to some estimates, several thousand girls still work as Kamlaris in Nepalese cities, including Kathmandu.
Although the government outlawed the Kamlari system in 2013, this has not stopped people keeping Kamlaris.
Like other Kamlari girls, Shanta faced attempted abuse from men and had to get married to save herself.
Kamlari Dekhi Sabhasadsamma (from Kamlari to Constituent Assembly member) is the poignant tale of her journey from discrimination and exploitation as a Kamlari to an inspring figure for her community — a role model for girls enslaved and free.
She spent her childhood as Kamlari in seven different houses since she was eight.
Most landlords exploited her. Most of them thought that she should water the plants even if it was raining. They [Kamlaris] should not be allowed to rest, they should work all the time – that was the thought deep-rooted in the landlords.
She had to work in place of her sister-in-law who got pregnant as a result of sexual abuse by one of the men at the house where she was working as Kamlari. It was customary to send someone else if the Kamlari is not able to work due to sickness or any other reasons.
At one of the houses, the daughter of the landlord used to spit on her and beat her. She used to show her contempt for her by calling her “Tharuni”. She thought as if one could do anything to a Tharuni. The girl's mother and grandmother hated her too and they could not stand her staying idle even for a second.
There was a strange rule – the Kamlaris had to be ready to accept the abuse, but were not allowed to complain. Whether she was winnowing rice or bringing grass, while going to market or doing dishes – there were many attempts at abuse. But none of them succeeded which she considers a big achievement.
Once [as an MP] she was driving a car from her village to the regional centre of Ghorahi. On the way, one of her former landlords was waiting for a bus — she offered him a lift. He was amazed to see the change — it was difficult for him to accept that she was the same old Kamlari.
Apart from fighting for the rights of Kamlaris and her community, Chaudhary has been battling cancer for the last four years.
And by joining high school, she has renewed her crusade against discrimination and exploitation.