Indentured servitude to post-freedom predicament. A study of oppression of young Tharu Kamlari women of Dang, Nepal

Abstract

This study reflects on the predicament of the young Tharu Kamalri women after their legal emancipation in 2013, who had formerly been subjected to be the victims of bonded servitude in the name of the Kamlari system prevailing in Dang district of western Nepal. This study presents and analyses the accounts of the lives of young Kamlari women during their years in servitude, along with their experiences after they gained freedom. The freedom they obtained did not always bring the changes they expected. This study assumes that the much awaited freedom could not overcome the legacy of the evils of bonded servitude that existed from historical times, specifically, victimizing the young women of Tharu indigenous community. This study seeks to examine how the historical and systemic injustice and the socio-economic disparity occurred on a multidimensional basis, specifically victimizing the young Tharu women, forcing them to enter into bondage, thus continuing their oppression. While doing so, this study incorporates the theory of intersectionality to explore how the young Tharu women have been forced to be victims of bonded servitude owing to the intersection of multiple oppressions based on their ethnicity, class and gender.