From Bonded Labor to Business Owner: The Story of Indira Chaudhary

Motichok, Kailali, Sudurpaschim Province

Before she turned twelve, Indira Chaudhary already knew what it meant to have her freedom taken away.

Born into a Tharu family in Motichok, Kailali, Indira was bound into the Kamalari system between the ages of four and eleven. The Kamalari is a deeply exploitative tradition of bonded domestic labor that was prevalent in the western Terai of Nepal, under which young girls from marginalized Tharu communities were handed over to wealthier households to work as maids and housekeepers, with little to no agency over their own lives. Indira was one of thousands of such girls. She did not choose this life — it was chosen for her.

When she was freed in 2005, Indira refused to be defined by what she had endured. She enrolled in school, pursuing informal education first and then formal schooling, eventually completing her studies up to class 12. It was a quiet but determined act of reclaiming what had been taken from her. Financial hardship, however, eventually forced her to pause her education. Her family was landless and depended on Adhiya farming to survive. Under the Adhiya arrangement, families cultivate land belonging to others and split the harvest equally with the landowners, leaving little room for financial security or growth. With limited resources and mounting responsibilities, continuing her studies beyond class 12 was simply not an option.

Yet Indira's ambition did not waver. She had always wanted more than a life spent in the background, and she was not willing to accept that the difficulties of her early years had to set the ceiling for her future.

"Working as a Kamalari is a very ungrateful thing one can ever experience. I did not have a choice at that time because I had neither good education nor any skill, I could make use of. I had to feed my family and take care of them."

That turning point came when Indira heard about the Women in Value Chains project run by SABAH Nepal. She applied, was selected, and completed a 15-day stitching training alongside a five-day Entrepreneurship Development Training (EDT). For someone who had spent years doing unrecognized and unpaid labor, these trainings offered something far greater than just technical skills. They gave her a sense of direction and the confidence that she was capable of building something of her own.

Indira at work in her tailoring unit, stitching garments at Kusum Hosiery Udyog in Motichok, Kailali.

"The training opened a door for me to work in a sector that was new to me, but I gradually picked up as the trainers had thoroughly taught us stitching work. I received business management and development training where I could work on my skills."

Indira began her professional journey as a wage worker at Sunulo Bihani Hosiery Centre, a local garment factory run by a group of community women in Kailali. Working on a piece-rate basis, she earned up to NPR 8,000 per month, a steady income that brought immediate relief to her household. But she had bigger ambitions. After completing an additional five-day business management training that sharpened her entrepreneurial and marketing knowledge, she decided to take the next step.

She launched her own tailoring business from her home, taking orders directly from her community and producing quality garments using the design skills she had developed through training. With guidance and support from SABAH Nepal in navigating the registration process, she formally established Kusum Hosiery Udyog. Today, her enterprise employs nine people and generates a monthly income of NPR 15,000 to 20,000, making Indira the sole breadwinner of her five-member household.

Indira's impact, however, reaches well beyond her own business. Understanding firsthand how access to skills can change the course of a woman's life, she went on to train 16 women from her community in basic stitching. One of those women has since opened her own tailoring shop. In giving others the same opportunity she once received, Indira has become a multiplier of change within her community.

Her leadership now extends across several organizations. She serves as President of the Women Development Forum and President of Gohi Milan Krishi Sahakari, holds membership in Sana Kisan Krishi Sahakari, and serves as Treasurer of the Federation of Small and Cottage Industries (Nagar). She has also remained a committed voice in the ongoing movement to free all remaining Kamalaris, drawing on her own experience to advocate for others still trapped in the system.

"I was constantly fighting to free all the Kamalaris. I am grateful that I received this training. It not only makes me independent financially, but it also allows me to engage with other people and learn so many things, such as how to expand your business in the market and link your products to the national market to get more profit."

The transformation has also touched her family in meaningful ways. SABAH Nepal's family counselling sessions helped challenge deeply held beliefs about women's roles within the household. In a community where women are often expected to shoulder all domestic responsibilities, Indira's father now shares household duties so that she can focus on her work. It is a shift that would have seemed unlikely just a few years ago, and it reflects the broader cultural change that follows when women are seen to grow and lead.

"As my family has seen me grow personally through this training, slowly they are adapting to the fact that even women should work and help their families. My family is happy that I support them."

Indira Chaudhary's story is not simply one of personal resilience, though it is certainly that. It is a story about what becomes possible when women are given the right skills, the right support, and the space to lead. She was once a child with no choices. Today, she is a business owner, a trainer, a community leader, and a tireless advocate for the rights of women like her. Her journey is proof that with opportunity and determination, transformation is not only possible but unstoppable.