【Kathumandu Nepali Times＝Editorial】
Former bonded child worker and anti-slavery activist Urmila Chaudhary from Nepal is among recipients of this year’s Global Anti-Racism Champions Award given out by the US Department of State.
The ceremony was on 21 October in Washington DC and the ‘Global Anti-Racism Champions Award’ was handed out by US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken.
Chaudhary was notified by the American Embassy in Kathmandu last month as she was preparing to leave for Kohalpur to attend to her sick father. While she was elated to receive the award, she was worried about her father.
Hearing the good news, her father insisted that she attend the award ceremony and stop worrying about him. Tragically, he never got to see her daughter receive the award.
“I wanted to share my happiness of receiving the award with him, but that did not happen,” says Chaudhary.
This award is not the first for Chaudhary, and she has been recognised for her significant contribution to eradicate the Kamalari system of bonded labour in the western Tarai.
“The award has given me more encouragement to work for the children of disadvantaged and underserved communities,” she told Nepali Times. “I dedicate this award to all the Nepalis and all my friends who have been rescued alongside me and who joined hands with me to eradicate the Kamlari practice.”
Other recipients of the Global Anti-Racism Champions Award on Monday in Washington DC were Dintie Sule Tayiru from Ghana, John Leerdam of Netherlands, Elvis Shakjiri of North Macedonia, Tanya Duarte from Mexico and Tomasa Yarhui Jacome from Bolivia have also received the award.
Established in 2023 by the US Department of State, the award recognises individuals in civil society worldwide for their exemplary work on advancing racial equity, justice and human rights.
Chaudhary says though it is a matter of pride to receive the award, there is still a lot to be done for justice and equality. “Hundreds of freed Kamalari have not been rehabilitated yet and are still fighting for their right to be rehabilitated,” she adds.
Kamlari (women bonded labourers) and Kamaiya (male bonded labour) was once a common practice in the Tarai. Born in Dang, six-year-old Chaudhary was taken to a land owner’s house in Kathmandu as a live-in maid.
“At the age when I should have been playing with books and toys, I was washing dirty dishes and doing laundry for my boss,” she recalls. Till the age of 17, Chaudhary never went to school and was never paid.
After 12 years as a bonded labourer, she was rescued by activists from Swan Nepal. After her freedom, Chaudhary started her academic journey and simultaneously started a campaign to abolish the Kamalari system. Her work was recognised and she was soon made the leader of the Kamalari eradication campaign in Dang district. It was under her leadership that Dang was declared a bonded labour free district.
Chaudhary is now pursuing a law degree, and aims to provide legal aid to children from disadvantaged families like she belonged to. She says, ”After all my pain and suffering, I want to work as a friend for children who are living a difficult life like me.”
The US State Department award honours six civil society leaders every year for ‘their exceptional courage, leadership, and commitment to advancing racial equity, justice, and human rights.’
Following the ceremony, the awardees are participating in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in Washington, DC and New York City, where they will engage in knowledge exchanges with their US counterparts on advancing the human rights and fundamental freedoms of members of marginalised communities and combating systemic racism, discrimination, violence, and xenophobia.
INPS Japan
Related articles:
UN Reviews Education Programme on Slave Trade, Warns of Racism
From Slavery to Self Reliance: A Story of Dalit Women in South India