Shanta Chaudhary

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Shanta Chaudhary
Personal details
NationalityNepali
Political partyNepal Communist Party

Shanta Chaudhary (Nepali: सान्ता चौधरी) is a social reformer and Former Member of Constituent Assembly of Nepal (CA). Chaudhary was an illiterate forced child labourer as part of the, now abandoned, Kamalari system.

Biography[]

Chaudhary was forced to become a Kamlari when she was eight.[1] She was leased for Rs 7,000 a year by her parents who had nine other children. She was sent to work for a family in Dang.[2] During this time, she was forced to work for 19 hours a day, and she lived in the cowshed.[2] She was reprimanded for her mistakes and sometimes beaten by the landlord's wife.[2] Chaudhary remained as a servants until she was eighteen, during which time she became active in politics.[1] She represented Dang in a forum for the lands rights movement.[3]

In 2008, Chaudhary was chosen to lead the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Means.[1] Her illiteracy was a problem in the CA and she started taking classes.[1] Eventually, in 2013, she published a book, Kamlari Dekhi Sabhasad Samma, about her experiences.[2]

In 2016, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer and is currently receiving treatment.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Magar, Devika Gharti (14 June 2015). "Never Too Late to Learn". Nepali Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "She Has a Dream". Nepali Times. August 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  3. ^ "The Right Way to Fight for Rights". Nepali Times. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
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