Children are exploited in Nepal’s bars and folk music venues, some of which are at the forefront of the sex trade. It is estimated that thousands of minors have been affected. BBC's Geeta Pandey reports from Delhi.

When Rita moved from a village in Nepal to the capital Kathmandu, she thought she was lifting herself out of poverty.

Back in her village, Rita-we changed her name to protect her-lived with her alcoholic mother and siblings. Her father moved to Malaysia to work and abandoned the family.

"At first he used to send us money, but then he stopped," Rita said. "We didn't have enough land, so I came to Kathmandu when I was 12 or 13 years old."

Her first job in Kathmandu included working in a brick factory, cleaning and washing utensils at home, working in a hotel kitchen, and being a shop assistant.

She said that the salary was meager, the work was heavy, and her abusive and predatory male colleagues often tried to touch and fumble her.

At the age of 14, Rita got a job in a restaurant where she had to eat and drink with customers.

"Customers smoke hookah and drink alcohol," she recalled. "They would touch my hand and talk foul language, but I can't object. Some of them even want to kiss me. I used to avoid saying that I want to go to the bathroom."

Sharing her story with activists from the Child Labor Action Research Project (Clarissa) funded by the British government, Rita detailed the events of her being forced to drink and men taking her to nearby hotels or renting rooms and offering money in return.

Activists say Rita is one of hundreds of Nepalese children, some of whom are as young as 11 years old, who are trapped in the country’s adult entertainment industry and engaged in terrible forms of child labor.

Professor Danny Burns, director and professor of Clarissa's Institute for Development at the University of Sussex, said that when we talk about child labor, a lot of discussions focus on large companies and global supply chains.

"But the worst forms of child labor are in small businesses and family businesses-where children are employed like Rita," Professor Burns told the BBC.

In Nepal, 1.1 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are engaged in child labor, and 220,000 children work in hazardous industries, even though it is illegal to employ children in the country.

Kathmandu has pledged to eliminate child labor by 2025, combined with the United Nations goal of ending all forms of child labor, and has set ambitious goals to end the worst forms of child labor by 2022.

The Minister of Women, Children and the Elderly Affairs Uma Regmi told Binita Dahar of the BBC Nepal Service that “the government is determined to achieve its goals”.

"We are running out of time, but we will do everything we can to end the worst forms of child labor by 2022," she said.

But activists said that to do this, Nepal must focus on small businesses in the informal sector, especially the adult entertainment sector.

Mother and son died in the "menstruation hut"

Pragya Lamsal, a researcher in Clarissa, Kathmandu, told the BBC that the charity has collected and analyzed the testimonies of nearly 400 children employed in the industry.

"We found that in most cases, children moved from the countryside to Kathmandu. They were recruited by informal intermediaries such as friends, relatives and neighbors. Most of them ended up in massage parlors, dance halls, guest houses or run-downs. Restaurants," she said.

Sudhir Malla, head of Clarissa, Nepal, said that most children come from poor or broken families. In cities, they are mainly employed by "dohori restaurants"-organizations that claim to promote folk music.

"There are some real places, but many smaller places in the dark hinterland of the city are dirty joints and the forefront of sex trade. They hire young women and girls to provide alcohol, wait at the table, work in the hookah bar, and dance. The bar and the massage parlour," he said.

He added that many of these locations are operating under the radar-in basements, street corners and outside private apartments.

"The law requires these agencies to regularly register and update their documents and provide the authorities with details of their workers. Many initially registered but do not renew their registrations. If they do not register, there is little motivation or influence. Then those who simply Do not register."

Therefore, the children work without a formal contract, nor do they have any job descriptions or fixed wages.

Ms. Ramsar said that most of the girls and young women working in these places said they found themselves in an exploited situation.

"Girls were told that if guests paid a large sum of money, their own tip would be higher," she said. "Most of them are young and have no formal education, and in most cases, they have no choice because their families depend on the money they earn. They are very vulnerable and many of them are in an exploitative situation. ."

Girls also have to deal with the stigma surrounding this kind of work," Ms. Ramsar said. Most people don’t even tell their parents, so in the case of abuse, they cannot seek help from their families or the police. Many people don’t want it either. Report abuse because of fear of losing your job.

Mr. Mara said that Covid-19 made their situation worse.

"During the pandemic, the government forced the industry to shut down, but many people just went deeper underground," he said. "Children have to make very terrible choices. It is a matter of their livelihoods. They have to pay rent, they have to get food, and if they are breadwinners, they still have families that need support."

"Risks" of Blocking Nepalese Children

According to Professor Burns, the new crown virus has reversed progress, and no country with serious child labor problems will end it before 2025.

"For a long time, there has been a decreasing trend, but in the past year and a half, the number of child labor in all problematic countries has increased significantly," he said.

"In the long run, the focus is to free children from the worst forms of child labor. But there will always be children who are engaged in this work because of hunger. Therefore, in the short term, we have to improve their working conditions. This is what we can do. The best thing about it."

Minister Uma Regmi stated that her government “prioritizes access to these children” and added that those in need “can contact us through our helpline number”.

"We are working with various agencies to understand children working in dangerous situations," she said. "Once we have the facts, we will coordinate with the Ministry of the Interior to hold those illegal operators accountable and punish them."

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