Child Labour

Nepal’s battle against child labour remains a complex struggle of law, tradition, and socioeconomic fragility, even as pockets of progress emerge.

As the government prepares to publish more detailed data and possibly a national action plan, child rights activists are urging stakeholders to prioritise transparency, victim support and preventative outreach – especially in vulnerable communities where children remain at greatest risk.

Nepal’s efforts are guided by the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act of 2007, which imposes up to 20 years’ imprisonment for offenders.

Many experts emphasise the need for conditional cash transfer programmes, improved rural schooling, transportation support for students, and vocational training initiatives to ensure that families are not forced to choose between survival and education.

The rising child labour rate signals a regression: children are being diverted from education into work, simply because of economic precarity.

The report calls for the government and industry joining hands to strengthen social protection, enforce labour laws, and support climate adaptation.

Terming forced religious conversion and forced marriage of Christian and Hindu minor girls to older Muslim men as the most concerning issue, the report notes that there are few legal options available to the victims.

The CCR at NLUO is a teaching, research and advocacy centre established to advance legal and social innovations in child protection.