With her husband unemployed, it was difficult to manage the household expenses. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/soaring-debt">Debt was piling up,</a> and Sonika Sanjel saw <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/foreign-employment-revival">foreign employment </a>as her only way out. “I was always fighting with my husband because we didn’t have enough to get by so I found a middleman,” says Sanjel. The broker said she had to go to India overland and then fly to Kuwait from Delhi. Having travelled far from home, first to Kathmandu and then to Raxaul in Birganj, she was ready to go to an even more unfamiliar place if it meant it would free her from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/till-debt-do-us-part">financial trap</a>. Sanjel reached the border town of Belahiya in November, where volunteers deployed to control <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/human-trafficking-patterns-changing-in-south-asia">human trafficking </a>became suspicious and questioned her. She told them she was going to Kuwait but could not produce the necessary documents. They were telling her she was being trafficked, when the recruiter disappeared. She is now at the Shanti Rehabilitation Home in Bhairawa. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/two-decades-of-debate-on-female-migration">Two decades of debate on female migration</a>, Upasana Khadka Nitesh Kumar Chaudhary heads the organisation monitoring human trafficking at the border, and says that the number of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trafficked-nepali-woman-s-testimony">Nepali women being trafficked</a> has increased significantly. “We have been stopping those we suspect,” he adds, “but some may have slipped through.” Organisations working on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">migration</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-goal-is-empowerment-and-independence-of-women">women’s issues</a> in the area including the Peace Rehabilitation Center, Aafanta Nepal, Sana Haat and Shubha Avar Gram provided counselling to nearly 33,000 women at the Belhiya border crossing in the past year. Of them, nearly 800 women were trying to go to a third country to bypass a ban on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/female-migrant-workers-hold-up-half-the-sky">women migrant workers</a>. Nepali women used to be <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/people-to-people-at-india-nepal-border">trafficked to India</a> to work in the sex industry, but the recruiters have now shifted to luring them to third countries. However, those going overland via India are also sometimes stranded in Mumbai and Delhi and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/epicentre-trafficking-migration,3256">sold to brothels</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250117050144_04798f07ac862be15b5862cf3e276256ed800d4a522e30306b3befaa00199e7b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250117050144_04798f07ac862be15b5862cf3e276256ed800d4a522e30306b3befaa00199e7b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1033" height="580" loading="lazy" alt="Women on the move NT"> </figure>  So far, 15 human trafficking and smuggling cases have been filed at the district police office in the last five years. Deputy Superintendent of Police Suraj Karki also confirms that the number of women traveling to third countries overland through India has increased. “There is an increasing trend of women travelling India on foot and then flying off to other countries from there,” says Sita Pantha of the group SAMI. “Those who take this route are at a much higher risk.” Just on one day two months ago, 13 women were stopped at Belahiya checkpoint. Other checkpoints on this side of the border in Biratnagar, Birganj, Nepalganj, and Mahendranagar have also seen <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-baby-export">human trafficking cases</a>. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/girl-trafficking-in-nepal,1829">Teach to fight trafficking</a>, Stéphane Huët Following some high-profile cases of violence against Nepali female workers in the Gulf, the Nepal government on the recommendation of the International Relations Committee of Parliament banned women from travelling to the region in 2016. But women continue to migrate in the absence of other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">livelihood options</a> at home, often resorting to illegal routes and at much higher costs. Gyanu Poudel of the Namuna Integrated Development Council that works in human trafficking and social awareness in Bhairawa says that the risk has increased since the government closed the legal route to migration. “The government banned women workers from going to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/migrants-returning-from-the-gulf-with-infertility">the Gulf</a> because of abuse and exploitation but it did not give them an alternative either,” points out Poudel. “This ban should be reconsidered to ensure that women go through the legal route safely.” Following the ban, middlemen are now using tourist visas to get women workers to the Gulf. Recruiters also pay immigration officials at Kathmandu airport to look the other way. Sunita Pahari of Lalitpur reached the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a tourist visa in August 2023. But unable to land a good job, she jumped from a building three months later. Nearly 300 female migrant workers have died abroad in the past 14 years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250117050144_f58df7097c5d9689e284a0957ee03b12ad728d26df3fc673e75efd4b39bda7d7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250117050144_f58df7097c5d9689e284a0957ee03b12ad728d26df3fc673e75efd4b39bda7d7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1339" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Women on the move NT"> </figure>  The report by the Ministry of Labour also considers suicide as a major cause of death among Nepali workers in the Gulf and Malaysia. According to the report, 1,187 Nepali migrant workers have died by suicide in the same period. Of these, 10-15% are women. Tikaram Dhakal at the Foreign Employment Board says that women who take a backdoor to the Gulf are undocumented and essentially illegal in these destination countries. Nepali embassies there do not have any information on them, which means they have no recourse<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-abused-by-nepalis-in-luxembourg"> in case of abuse </a>or exploitation of any form, they are deprived of services and compensation of any kind. Brokers who take women to India via land and fly them to third countries are known to lure unemployed people in the villages, tempting them with free visa and ticket. Sunita Ram of Jhapa received a similar offer. The broker also told her that she would earn Rs55,000 a month in Kuwait. Ram made a passport soon after, and before long was at the Sunali border about to cross into India when she was stopped. She wasn’t arrested because the broker wasn’t with her and instead taken to the Peace Rehabilitation Center, from where she was handed over to her relatives. Panchamaya Tamang from Sindhupalchok was also lured by a broker with an offer of a free visa and ticket. But when she was trying to cross the border, she was found without necessary documents, and without a middleman. She was sent back home. Women going for foreign employment via India are between 20-35 years, most of them from ethnic and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-marginalised-on-the-margins">marginalised communities</a>. Gyanu Poudel of the Namuna Integrated Development Council cautions aspiring women migrants against tempting offers while also noting, “It seems that the brokers are targeting uneducated women from remote villages.”

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Women on the move

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd6e19c7e80680e092da9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>When we <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHyoT76RBxqlRGo3WXmHQL848_6og">last wrote about Nepal’s Department of Immigration’s proposal</a> requiring women under 40 years to obtain permission letters from family members and the local ward, it was heavily resisted.The fights, those before us had to pick to change the status quo on female emigration are no different than the present. The recent proposal was a chilling reminder that we are just going around in circles.Over the last two decades since this newspaper started covering the issue, the stories we tell are all the same: women bypassing restrictive policies due to desperation or aspiration, the risks that women are willing to take for a better shot at life for themselves and their families.The rationale for the Department of Immigration’s reactionary proposal showed that the response to exploitation and abuse of female migrants has not moved beyond knee-jerk bans and travel restrictions.Going back through the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue_archive/list/2018" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue_archive/list/2018&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEfXpyv_9i6cMQgWXJR9u8ACzy4IQ">Nepali Times</a> <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue_archive/list/2018" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue_archive/list/2018&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEfXpyv_9i6cMQgWXJR9u8ACzy4IQ">archive</a> to find references to the state trying to keep Nepali women tied up at home reveals the complexities of the issue:In the very first #0 prototype edition of this paper Jasmine Rajbhandary in her Women to Women column wrote about how female immigration officials at Kathmandu airport also extort female passengers: ‘I would dare to say that almost every female in Nepal at some point or another has felt unsafe, insecure or uncomfortable in her surroundings and those in it.’<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd6e39c7e80680e092daajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="2000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In its 19 October 2001 issue, Nepali Times conducted an online reader poll on whether the government should lift restrictions on Nepali women going to the Gulf to work. Nearly 1,000 people responded, with over 60% saying yes. It showed that this has always been a contentious issue. Some of the responses are quite revealing (see screenshot).<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd6e69c7e80680e092dabjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1005" height="672"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7171#.YDxiIVUzaUk" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D7171%23.YDxiIVUzaUk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEVitaBiga5kWAmqU8k0MudJq4xQg">interview, Renu Rajbhandari</a> of the Women’s Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) in March 2002, points to bills on abortion and domestic violence that would impact women: ‘The patriarchal notion of the state is strongly evident in the bill(s).”In the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4816#.YDxjOFUzaUk" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D4816%23.YDxjOFUzaUk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFdN_i8TkGnPRYlU6o_oyrUKm26Bw">10 January 2003 edition, Nepali Times reporter Hemlata Rai</a> explained how the high profile suicide of Kani Sherpa in 1998 after being sexually abused by her Kuwait-based employer led to the ban of women going to the Gulf for foreign employment. But even then, there was a realisation that the ban was not serving its purpose. She quotes Binda Pandey of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT): “It is the government's obligation to guarantee safety of its citizens. Preventing women from foreign employment is violating women's basic human rights to conceal its own weaknesses.”In 30 July 2004, reporter J B Pun Magar in an article titled <a href="http://Manpower%20Agencies%20and%20Women’s%20Power,%20JB%20Pun%20Magar" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://Manpower%2520Agencies%2520and%2520Women%E2%80%99s%2520Power,%2520JB%2520Pun%2520Magar&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEToenjca3C8v7LELawPuhsTF4law">‘Manpower Agencies and Women’s Power’</a> showed how abuse abroad had not deterred Nepali women from migrating for household work in the Gulf. He quotes Maya GC who was exploited and sexually abused but was still migrating for work in Qatar: "I know it may happen again, but look at the situation in our country".Another woman named Anita from Palpa who managed to escape from an abusive employer in Kuwait, said in a taped message to her family how she had been duped by an acquaintance from the village. (See screenshot)<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd6e99c7e80680e092dacjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="863" height="289"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In an op-ed published in the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13755#.YDxlTFUzaUk" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D13755%23.YDxlTFUzaUk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGn9gjpFUiAAU8uIdoUI264800jaQ">20 July 2007 edition of Nepali Times, Nischal Nath Pandey</a> points out how Nepali embassies abroad were poorly equipped and staffed, and budget was scarce to attend to labour matters.In 31 October 2008, reporter Dewan Rai told the story of Kopila Rai who suffered abuse as a caregiver in Israel. She asks, “We only talk about the government benefits from the money that migrant workers send home, but at what cost?”In <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16350#.YDxnG1UzaUk" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D16350%23.YDxnG1UzaUk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEMYnkAI50DgRfebeYCLaVqSFD8kw">another report in 2009, Rai</a> points out that the ban on domestic workers has not improved the situation of women workers abroad. Contrary to the more common India route to bypass the ban, he writes about Sabina who submitted fake documents saying she will be working in a hotel so she could fly out.In an interview with Nepali Times in the 3 December 2010 issue, Caroline O’Reilly of the ILO is asked if there is a link between migrant workers and human trafficking. She replies, “Absolutely, especially when migrant workers don’t go through official channels, they are vulnerable to forced labour.”An editorial in the 28 October 2011 edition of Nepali Times mentioned the story of Dechen Doma Sherpa who recorded an immigration official at Kathmandu airport asking her for a bribe even when she had the required paperwork. The editorial called for a crackdown on exploitation by immigration officials, reducing recruitment costs, and skills training to make migration more rewarding.In an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19120#.YDxpbVUzaUl" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19120%23.YDxpbVUzaUl&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHHmK4Oh3jCGRcPSD6GdMXQFDOTIQ">op-ed titled Womanpower in the 23 March 2012</a> issue of the paper, Rubeena Mahato argues that despite the ban being lifted with the passing of the Foreign Employment Act 2007, women continued to travel via illegal routes as the perception of the ban persisted. She reported that 3,200 Nepali women had been intercepted at New Delhi Airport after the Nepal government asked Indian officials to stop Nepali women going to the Gulf on visit visas.‘Even Slaves are Treated Better’ was the title of a joint report by Sushila Budathoki and Mina Sharma in the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19374#.YDxqI1UzaUk" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19374%23.YDxqI1UzaUk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGzgw6_3ZmcVDlqvDpwaFSMBkI36A">issue of 8 June 2012</a> about how lifting the ban on female workers was not enough. Legalising individual contracts for domestic workers to directly arrange their employment with foreign employers put women at risk while giving recruiters a free pass to game the system, and avoid being identified or implicated in case of abuse.The story began with four heart-wrenching stories of Nepali women who were sexually abused, and had endured physical torture at the hands of their Nepali recruiters and employers in the Gulf.In 13 September 2013 Brikuti Rai and Sunir Pandey reported in Nepali Times about Sita, a Saudi returnee, who was robbed and raped by officials at Kathmandu airport. While Parshuram Basnet and Somnath Khanal got one year jail sentence, immigration section officers Tikaram Pokharel and Ram Prasad Koirala were acquitted.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd6eb9c7e80680e092dadjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="766" height="365"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/women-migrant-workers-are-doubly-vulnerable" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/women-migrant-workers-are-doubly-vulnerable&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFNhj7hAQxTpGJ4D3bI0omudE73Rw">Rojita Adhikary reported in the 6 June 2014 issue of Nepali Times</a> about how women workers are doubly vulnerable because they are not just easy prey to recruiters and abusive employers, but also to sexual predators. She related the experience of Dilmaya who was a victim of domestic abuse, who left for overseas work only to land an employer in Qatar who raped her. She returned to Nepal in 2011 with a baby. She also related shocking stories of Maya in Kuwait and Hema in Saudi Arabia who were raped, abused, and returned with health issues to an unwelcoming society.In an <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-right%20-to-have-rights,2656" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-right%2520-to-have-rights,2656&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFaovmyeTwYrNxCjNI72m8DIvFKow">op-ed in the 16 October 2015 issue, Sangita Thebe-Limbu</a> argued that provisions on mothers’ citizenship to her children in the new Constitution laid bare misogynistic and patriarchal values hiding behind nationalism. She said this put the children of trafficked women, migrant women workers and other transient women whose offspring are born outside Nepal in a disadvantaged position.In the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/epicentre-trafficking-migration,3256" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/epicentre-trafficking-migration,3256&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG9E-7jvv5_JgNMjYPmzGzR3kOLyQ">2 September 2016 issue, Om Astha Rai</a> reported on how trafficking rings that sold uneducated and poor Nepali girls into Indian brothels, had moved on to the Gulf and even East African countries. The 2015 earthquake made girls more vulnerable to trafficking because they lost homes and parents.  In a report titled ‘Never Heard from Again’ in the 27 January 2017 issue, Rai reported on missing Nepali migrants who disappeared abroad, mostly women who are trafficked to the Gulf via India to work as housemaids. He interviewed relatives of women like Parbati Karki who disappeared in Saudi Arabia, and Sita Rai who was travelling to Kuwait via India.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd6ec9c7e80680e092daejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 27 April 2018, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepali-migrants-missing-abroad,3503" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepali-migrants-missing-abroad,3503&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGP_pfpovy4ehPJf6WlsJkcsEj3Aw">I reported from Lebanon on Nepali domestic workers</a> who were desperate to come home to visit family. They were afraid the ban on female household workers would mean they would not be able to return to their jobs. We got insights from Lebanese employers who described their relationship with their Nepali employees who after years, had become like family.In 2019, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-and-malaysia-rewrite-rules-for-migrant-labour/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-and-malaysia-rewrite-rules-for-migrant-labour/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEeVceiRi1Xn_blbwAd_JymWwHVKA">Nepali Times reported</a> on the government decision to allow current domestic workers abroad to visit family members and return to their jobs, a welcome move as it was right before Dasain.In the 16 September 2020 issue of this paper, Marty Logan and I reported on Lilamaya Dhimal, a Nepali woman who was rescued from Saudi Arabia after 12 years of abuse by her employer. It was a combination of luck and proactive embassy support that rescued her from an employer she described as a “monster”.It was also a year when the pandemic revealed pre-existing fault lines of a ‘protection’-oriented migration policy as women, especially those who had bypassed the ban, were disproportionately impacted while abroad and during repatriation.It is 2021. The year began with a controversial proposal by the Immigration Department to required women below 40 to have written permission from male members of the family and ward officials before she can travel. News of the proposal sparked outrage, and street protests. In my report on the issue in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHyoT76RBxqlRGo3WXmHQL848_6og">11 February edition of Nepali Times</a> I traced the history of restrictive immigration policies and reported on the protests by frustrated Nepalis resisting such patriarchal laws.In the story, women reported feeling harassed by the Immigration Officials with or without the ban or the restrictions, just like it was reported in the very first edition of this paper in 21 years ago.We are back to square one. Or perhaps we never left.To be sure, the stories of abuse have also persisted and trafficking under the guise of foreign employment is rampant. It is necessary to strengthen anti-trafficking laws, including amendment to laws as per the Palermo Protocol that Nepal ratified last year.But it is also important to allow <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/caught-in-the-middle/migration-agency-exploitation,4003" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/caught-in-the-middle/migration-agency-exploitation,4003&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDoINfevTKsbt5dzMEofd3eUo0_Q">safe employment opportunities for women via legal channels.</a> The causes of poverty and desperation run deep, and the restrictive rules, even if well-intentioned, are counterproductive because they have only made the roles of agents and their services more relevant. In many cases where the woman is not abused during the journey, or lands a good employer, the agent is viewed as a hero, a facilitator, and not a criminal.Even as the government proposed restrictions on visit visas for women flying to the Gulf and African countries, came news of 26 young women languishing in jails in Sri Lanka. They were headed to the Gulf via India. Recruiting agents are creative and stay one step ahead of new rules, finding increasingly circuitous routes. Since Nepali women who travelled overland to India were stopped from flying from New Delhi and Mumbai to the Gulf, they started taking them to Colombo.The impact of the pandemic on Nepali families, and the rising demand in the care economy abroad, means greater push factors. Interceptions viewed as a success by the government are often seen as just ‘bad luck’ by migrants. This small selection of Nepali Times reports from the past 20 years shows that there needs to be an honest evaluation of the unintended, but anticipated, consequences of policies restricting travel for women.On International Women’s Day on 8 March, there will be many references to women holding up half the sky. However, rules that clip the wings of women have thwarted a more vibrant discourse on unleashing the full potential of Nepali women in nation building.How can we deliberate on labour agreements, skills training, stronger worker provisions, better financed and staffed Nepali embassies, and rewarding alternates at home and abroad, when the fundamental right to movement sucks up all the attention?Upasana Khadka writes this column <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/a-few-good-agents/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/a-few-good-agents/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHxrTbWX1w8Q_cVAAS5v1MeORJ_pw">Labour Mobility</a> every month in Nepali Times analysing trends affecting Nepal’s workers abroad. The selected content in this article can be accessed through the site search function on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1614680804916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPhpcGkCAbUa-qRlZFrbOxzMvdPg">https://www.nepalitimes.com/</a>.

Upasana Khadka

Two decades of debate on female migration

Recent outrage in Sikkim over an Indian Army expedition climbing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-kangchenjunga">Kangchenjunga</a>, the world’s third-highest peak, has spiked attention to the need to balance mountaineering jobs with indigenous reverence for sacred landmarks. Kangchenjunga (8,586m) is not a peak as much as it is a mountain range with 16 peaks above 7,000m on the border between India and Nepal -- the word itself means ‘five treasures of the snows’ in Tibetan. Some of the highest prominences like Kangchenjunga West and Kangbachen are in Nepal, while the Main, Central and South Peaks are on the border. Climbing the peak from the Indian side has been banned since 2001 because the indigenous Lepcha community there regard the mountain as the abode of Dzoe-nga, the patron deity of Sikkim, which was an independent Himalayan Kingdom until it was annexed by India in 1975.&nbsp; Buddhists in Sikkim say their saint, Padmasambhava, recognised the mountain as a protective spirit. The state has declared the base of the mountain Kangchenjunga National Park, which covers an area one-third of Sikkim. ‘The act of scaling this sacred peak is not only a matter of serious concern but also a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and the deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim,’ read a letter from Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) to Amit Shah, India’s Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation.&nbsp; Tamang continued: ‘We further request Your Honour to take up the issue with the Government of Nepal to ensure that no future expeditions are permitted on the sacred mountain, in deference to the deeply held beliefs and cultural values of the people of Sikkim.’ Kangchenjunga was climbed for the first time exactly 70 years ago by a British team who told King Tashi Namgyal, the Choegyal of Sikkim, that they would not set foot on the summit. Since then, there have been about 532 successful climbs of the peaks and 52 have died while trying.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250628060616_5c268e08cf49f36b79ef9b31933fc2d9bf9a6f65414e7ca06dd028bf04e7ccc1.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250628060616_5c268e08cf49f36b79ef9b31933fc2d9bf9a6f65414e7ca06dd028bf04e7ccc1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1782" height="1178" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga: too sacred to climb NT"> <figcaption>Indigenous communities in Sikkim held purification ceremonies following the Indian expedition to Kangchenjunga. Photo: THE VOICE OF SIKKIM / FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>  <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">This spring climbing season</a> alone, there were 70 climbing permits for foreigners issued for Kangchenjunga by the Nepal government, and made it to the top while one French climber died.&nbsp; One of the expeditions this year was an Indian Army team led by Col Ranveer Jamwal, who has summited the highest peaks on all seven continents, and Mt Everest thrice. Jamwal’s team was on the final leg of a ‘<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/nimas-summits-mt-kangchenjunga-concludes-historic-har-shikhar-tiranga-mission-successfully/articleshow/121341315.cms?from=mdr">Har Shikhar Tiranga</a>’ (The Tricolour on Every Peak) mission to plant the Indian flag at the highest points of each of India’s 28 states. Kanchenjunga was the last peak they had left, and the hardest, but the expedition put five climbers on the summit. What seems to have incensed the Sikkimese is that while it has banned climbing the mountain from its side, it was an Indian military expedition that went to Nepal to climb the mountain. After news broke of the climb in May, the Sikkim Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association asked people to observe purification ceremonies in temples across the state. Mayalmit Lepcha of the association acknowledged that the Sikkim government was also partly at fault: “I don’t think such an expedition could have gone forward without the state government being informed, so it could have done something to intervene. It shows weakness. What’s done is done, all we can do is carry out these sanctification ceremonies.”&nbsp; In 2000, one year before Sikkim’s ban, the state allowed an Austrian team to attempt Kanchenjunga’s northeast face for a fee of $20,000, on agreement that they would stop 10m before the summit. Despite this, there was outrage over the expedition on the grounds that it violated Indian laws regarding the defiling of religious sites and Sikkim’s rights to maintain its culture after merging with India. The Indian Army expedition was also seen to have circumvented Sikkim’s law and violated religious sensibilities by going through Nepal. While the team may have thought they were respecting Sikkim’s beliefs by finding a way to complete the mission, the people of Sikkim saw it as defilement.&nbsp; The somber mood of the Sikkim people at the ritual contrasts sharply with Jamwal’s sense of accomplishment. “Without a doubt, the most difficult summit of my life,” he told reporters after the climb. “It tested every ounce of our will.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250628060616_ccfe079c78dab788d19fe2080ee8a5d5dcb11de4157316f6d94e5964da097157.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250628060616_ccfe079c78dab788d19fe2080ee8a5d5dcb11de4157316f6d94e5964da097157" data-rendition-name="original" width="787" height="377" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga: too sacred to climb NT"> <figcaption>Prayer flags along the Sikkim-Kangchenjunga trekking route. Photo: TREKKINGININDIA.COM</figcaption> </figure>  The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">controversial Nepali-British mountaineer Nirmal Purja</a> was also on Kangchenjunga this spring the mountain, on a mission to summit all 14 8,000m peaks for a third time. He echoed Jamwal about the tough conditions: “The conditions above camp were extremely tough, with deep snow and challenging terrain—more crevasses than usual.” Nepal’s government has not said anything publicly, but it is unlikely that it will ban climbing on Kangchenjunga, since it is becoming popular with expeditions because of its technical challenges, and overcrowding on Mt Everest. Nepal does have bans in place for some of its mountains out of respect for local beliefs. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/to-open-machapuchre-for-mountaineering-or-not">Mt Machapuchre</a> (6,990m) the imposing pyramid that looms over Pokhara, for example, is seen as an icon of purity by the Gurung people and a symbol of Vishnu by the Hindu communities who live at its base. A strict climbing ban has been in place since 1957, when a British expedition led by Col Jimmy Roberts stopped 45m short of the summit – either because the last bit was too difficult or out of deference to local sentiments.&nbsp; Khumbila that stands above Namche Bazar is only 5,761m high, but like Kanchenjunga is considered the protector deity of the Sherpa people. Gauri Shankar on the Nepal-China border, called Chomo Tseringma by the local community, was off-limits between 1965 and 1979 due to its association with Lord Shiva and Gauri, his consort. Although expeditions are now allowed, there are not too many takers. In Tibet, climbing Mount Kailash is prohibited by the Chinese government because it revered by the Hindus, Buddhists and followers of the Bon faith. Even Mt Everest is regarded as sacred, and its Sherpa name is Chomolungma, Goddess Mother of the Earth.&nbsp; Economically, climbs on Kanchenjunga bring in decent revenue. This climbing season, the 41 permits, at $1,800 each, brought in $73,800. This is somewhat comparable to Makalu, Lhotse, and Annapurna I, but these numbers are dwarfed by the $4 million in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Everest permits</a>. Revenue from Kanchenjunga climbing permits is something Nepal could potentially forgo if necessary, but the expeditions also provide jobs to hundreds of high altitude guides, porters, base camp support staff and other logistical costs.&nbsp; As the third highest mountain in the world and the tallest in India, there will always be significant motivation to climb it from the Nepal side, especially as climbers are drawn by the technical climbing at high altitude.

Kangchenjunga: too sacred to climb?

The debate about who is less accountable to the public: politicians or bureaucrats is as old as Nepal’s democracy itself.
Some blame politicians for being beholden to the businessmen who finance their electoral campaigns, and are forced to return the favour with contracts and kickbacks when in power.&nbsp;
Others say it is civil servants who are neither civil nor servants, and know the inner workings of the system to exploit loopholes – they then teach ministers, MPs, mayors, or ward chairs which juicy projects can be squeezed. And everyone gets their share.
In reality, it is probably not a case of either, or. Both have their hands deep in the honey pot. Corruption is now such a given that yet another exposé in the mainstream press, like the latest visit-visa scam, does not raise eyebrows anymore.
We may have to edit Lord Acton’s famous quote to say that in Nepal we do not even need absolute power to corrupt absolutely. The ruling cartel has divvied up the spoils, so that no one ever faces charges. The three parties all know about the skeletons rattling in each other’s closets, and they cancel each other out.
Politicians and bureaucrats get all the blame for taking bribes, but what of the givers of bribes? In this crony capitalism, businesses invariably need political patrons in an elaborate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-only-growth-industry-private-sector-corruption" target="_blank">national network of give-and-take</a>.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-only-growth-industry-private-sector-corruption" target="_blank">Politicians and businesses work hand-in-glove</a> so that conflict of interest in contracts, insider trading, cartelling, and non-performing assets of banks become the norm. Our survey after the 2017 local election showed that out of the 753 newly-elected local government chairs, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/elected-contractors" target="_blank">nearly 300 were contractors</a> involved in sand-mining, quarrying, or transportation syndicates.
Nepal’s tycoons have discovered that instead of donating to election war chests of politicians, it is a much surer return on investment to spend the money to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-business-of-politics-in-nepal" target="_blank">become legislators and politicians themselves</a>.
In democracies, there are checks and balances to control corruption when it becomes endemic. The Nepal Police and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are supposed to do the detective work without political interference. The courts are required to be independent in dispensing justice and punishing crooks.
But the less said about the judiciary the better. A writ petition in the Supreme Court last week accused our sister magazine <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/" target="_blank">HimalKhabar</a> of contempt of court for two stories: one about how high courts have been overturning a majority of verdicts of district courts in cases of rape, and another about the Biratnagar High Court clearing a self-proclaimed holy man, Krishna Bahadur Giri, of rape despite police presenting physical evidence.
The doctrine of the separation of powers stipulates that it is when the other three pillars in a democracy are compromised that the role of the free press becomes even more vital. The world over, as soon as populist autocrats are elected to the executive, their first order of business is to co-opt the legislature and the judiciary. Then they buy off, intimidate, or neutralise the media with Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP).
Nepal’s officialdom seems to be taking midnight Zoom lessons from other despots on how to gag the media. Last month, popular talk show host Dil Bhushan Pathak was served an arrest warrant by the Kathmandu District Court for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CntsnTrtG8" target="_blank">a YouTube explainer</a> about the alleged involvement of the son of Foreign Minister Arzu Deuba Rana in a reported purchase of Kathmandu’s Hilton Hotel.
The Lalitpur District Court ruled that Pathak could not be arrested without fair trial, but this week the Kathmandu District Court filed another case against the journalist based on a complaint by the Cyber Bureau, and put him on a fugitive list.&nbsp;
Without going into the veracity of Pathak’s explainer, it is deeply problematic that the Electronic Transaction Act has been invoked – proof that politicians are getting the courts and investigating agencies to make an example of a high profile journalist.&nbsp;
The intention is to silence media investigations into the fake refugee scandal in which the main partner in the ruling coalition is implicated, and in which one of its former home ministers was jailed last year.
The Kathmandu High Court has been mysteriously active in targeting journalists these days. <a href="https://bizmandu.com/" target="_blank">Bizmandu</a> and <a href="https://nepalkhabar.com/" target="_blank">Nepalkhabar</a> were served a notice last month <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/no-freedom-after-expression-y4inku06" target="_blank">to withdraw a story they did</a> on the Chair of the <a href="https://www.sebon.gov.np/" target="_blank">Security and Exchange Board of Nepal (SEBON</a>) Santosh Narayan Shrestha allegedly demanding kickbacks from hydropower investors.&nbsp;
Incredibly, the court even asked the two portals not to report on the subject anymore – a ruling so absurd that the Patan High Court overturned it a week later.&nbsp;
The allegations against Shrestha were made in a public meeting of the <a href="https://www.ippan.org.np/members/3060/bungal-hydro-ltd" target="_blank">Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN)</a>, and MPs demanded a <a href="https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/parliament-demands-probe-into-sebon-chairman-over-alleged-commission-demand-40-32.html" target="_blank">Parliament inquiry</a> into the regulator. <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/144523/santosh-narayan-shrestha" target="_blank">HimalKhabar</a> reported this week that while Shrestha was reportedly demanding commissions from private investors for IPOs, he cleared primary share sales in Bajhang’s 10.75MW <a href="https://www.ippan.org.np/members/3060/bungal-hydro-ltd" target="_blank">Bungal Hydro</a> in which his family members have investments, company records show.
And then just on Monday, bureaucrats hoodwinked MPs by deleting references in a bill requiring a two-year ‘cooling off’ period under which retiring civil servants could be barred from holding constitutional positions for two years.
The contest for who is more corrupt: bureauacrats, politicians, or the private sector is on.
Kunda Dixit

SLAPPing Democracy

The monsoon this year arrived on time, and brought life-giving rain — irrigating paddy terraces, recharging groundwater, reviving springs, and increasing electricity generation.
But Nepal has to deal with either too much water or too little. On a clear April day before the monsoon, the hills of Sindhuli district were parched, and there were wildfires burning out of control. There had been no rain for the past six months.
And that has been the perennial crisis for Nepal’s farmers: that 85% of the rainfall occurs during just four months of the monsoon with little rain for the other eight months.&nbsp;
The water crisis is related to the powerful changes sweeping the mid-hill region of Nepal. With better roads, higher incomes and more exposure, many residents now aspire to have the kind of water supply seen in urban homes. They want hot or cold water at the turn of a tap, showers and flush tank toilets.&nbsp;
To meet this rising demand, many local and provincial governments are investing in large water supply projects often by lifting water from rivers hundreds of metres down the mountain. But these new systems may not be sustainable in the long run.
Many villages in Sindhuli are switching from local springs to piped systems, and even in rural homes, overhead tanks are becoming common.
But this new convenience comes with big challenges. Lifting water from rivers far below requires long pipes, electric pumps, and constant maintenance. These systems are costly, and the streams themselves often shrink to a trickle in the dry months. Big water-lifting schemes look impressive, but there is doubt if they can meet growing water demand.
A much more sustainable solution would be what some communities are doing: restoring old ponds or build new recharge systems. But those villages are exceptions, in most places traditional ponds and wallows are being filled up to be turned into sports fields, or make way for buildings.
Where there are new ponds, they are sometimes in the wrong places or without proper design. Roads and drains are not engineered properly and have increased landslides and erosion. Water management in hilly areas is not just about building things, it is about building in the right way, in the right place.
Traditional water systems were based on nature. They were not perfect, but they used the land wisely. Ponds used to hold rainwater and slowly refill springs which supported families, farms, and forests.&nbsp;
Not everything worked well in the past, but we can learn from traditional water management practices. Across Nepal, some rural municipalities have launched campaigns to store monsoon runoff — either in tanks, ponds or by recharging the aquifers.
But not all efforts have been successful. Some ponds are built without any hydrological study. Some are rushed to meet deadlines rather than real needs.&nbsp;
Now, the Muhan initiative hopes to revive springs to make households more resilient and help farmings. With the financial support of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, research is being done to understand how springs work and how they are affected by changes in rainfall, land use, and development.&nbsp;
Instead of just building pipes and tanks, the project maps the entire springshed so we can understand the root cause of water shortage. In Sindhuli, the problem is not the amount of rain, but the loss of natural systems that store it and the social systems that manage water.&nbsp;
Nepal’s towns and villages now face a major challenge: how to manage water all year round as demand rises with people’s living standards. Depending only on river-lift systems is not a sustainable solution.&nbsp;
We need a mix of approaches that help store water from the rainy season to make it available for the rest of the year, whether by directly harvesting rainwater, restoring ponds, managing springsheds, or smart management of demand.
Rural Nepal is also seeing dramatic depopulation. Much of the outmigration can be stemmed if there is easier water supply for agriculture and household use. Across the mid hills, villages are emptying because springs are going dry. Government policy needs to catch up with the reality on the ground, and support solutions that work for people and nature. Every water supply plan should include recharge structures. Every road or building project should consider water flow and erosion. Local governments need more than budgets: they need training, tools, and data.
Ngamindra Dahal is with the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation, Kathmandu. Hemant Ojha collaborated in this piece and is associated with the Australian National University.

Water for Life

<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-last-of-the-kusunda">The Kusunda</a> are among the last remaining hunter-gatherer communities left in Nepal, and it has only one fluent speaker left of a language that is not related to any other language group in South Asia.&nbsp; The Kusunda call themselves the King of the Forests ((गेम्येहाक़ in Kusunda,वन राजा in Nepali) and used to have a nomadic lifestyle till recently. But decades of exclusion from mainstream society and modernity have forced the Kusunda to assimilate. &nbsp; Today, most Kusunda live across Nepal’s mid-hills and western plains, choosing to identify themselves as Thakuri and adopting names like Sen, Shahi, and Khan to avoid ostracisation. Over time, inter-ethnic marriages between the Kusunda and other communities became increasingly common.&nbsp; However, the assimilation with other communities also meant that almost no one from the Kusunda community can speak their mother tongue – considered by linguists to be a ‘language isolate’ not related to any other language group in the world, and lacking set rules of grammar that are foundational to other languages. There are no words for ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in Kusunda, nor are there words to signify direction. There are 23 languages with less than 1,000 speakers listed in Nepal's 2021 census, with Kusunda being the language with the least number of speakers. The number of people who identified as Kusunda has decreased with each subsequent census. Only 253 individuals identified themselves as Kusunda in the last National Census of 2021, down from 273 in 2011.&nbsp; <div class="embed-block"><iframe src="https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/raithane-bhakha/embed/episodes/Kusundas---the-last-of-the-forest-kings-e23ge6p/a-a9peei1" height="102px" width="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div> The government’s decision to provide a social security stipend to the community for the past few years has prompted many from the Kusunda community to reclaim their identity and in the process, explore their culture and language. Kamala Sen Kusunda, who lives in Dang, is the only fluent native Kusunda speaker alive, although there are now other Kusunda and non-Kusunda people learning how to speak the language. By the time Kamala Sen Kusunda was born in 1975, her family had settled in a village in Rolpa. Although she did not experience the nomadic life of her forebears, she still roamed the forests freely as a child and many of the values and socio-cultural practices of her community were instilled in her and her siblings.&nbsp; This meant that Kamala grew up speaking Kusunda with her family. But by then, the Kusunda had increasingly begun to interact with people beyond their community, and inter-ethnic marriages had become a norm.&nbsp; Kamala herself married at 18 to a 52-year-old man from the Chhetri community. She would go on to have four children, but they were brought up with her husband’s culture and community rather than her own, and teaching them her mother tongue seemed impractical.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250628030648_afaa298bf8ea3b7086e2ed086b11eab463ef2b20a82a4aad74df3dd2e922a4c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250628030648_afaa298bf8ea3b7086e2ed086b11eab463ef2b20a82a4aad74df3dd2e922a4c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="855" height="641" loading="lazy" alt="Kusunda NT"> <figcaption>Gyani Maiya Kusunda with Kusunda youth in 2015.</figcaption> </figure>  “If I had spoken my language to them when they were children, they would have learned,” she tells us ruefully. “But they were growing up in a different community, so I never pushed, and they never expressed interest.” At the time, she had other things to worry about, such as earning a livelihood and sustaining her family. To find work, Kamala and her family moved to Shimla in India, where she worked at an apple orchard for six years.&nbsp; Over the next years, Kamala and her family moved back and forth between India and Nepal for work, and Kamala was not actively conversing in the language of her people or being able to connect with members of her community now scattered across Nepal.&nbsp; Had she not forgotten her language after all those years? “How could I forget the language of my ancestors?” she replies. “Not speaking it did not mean that it ceased to be a part of me.”&nbsp; Kamala had been working at a brick kiln in Thimi seven years ago when the National Language Commission tracked her down, offered her a paid position as a Kusunda language consultant and source person for basic language training in Dang.&nbsp; It was there that Kamala met her cousin Gyani Maiya Sen Kusunda, the only other person able to speak Kusunda fluently, who had been working with the Commission to conserve Kusunda language and culture. It was also where Kamala met language researcher and lexicographer Uday Raj Ale. Ale had been in the middle of his research into the Tharu language and community 15 years ago when he met Gyani Maiya Kusunda’s son, who told him that his mother was one of the few people who spoke Kusunda, but that no one had shown an interest in studying and preserving the language and culture. Ale met Gyani Maiya, spending time with her learning and researching Kusunda. By 2017, Ale had collected enough words to put together a Kusunda dictionary. The Kusunda vocabulary currently comprises 2,000 words. His research into the Kusunda language and culture has taken him to every known Kusunda household in Nepal. Although the census puts the number of Kusunda at 253, Ale reckons there are only 158.&nbsp; “Kusunda language is endangered due to its lack of use in everyday life, literature, and religious and socio-cultural practices, as well as the prevalence of inter-ethnic marriages,” explains Ale. In 2019 the Language Commission began its language transfer programs for youth from indigenous communities. Since then, the Commission has completed multiple phases of Kusunda language classes in Dang facilitated by Uday Raj Ale. The classes have 20 students, not just from the Kusunda community, but also interested non-native students.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250626120632_c6c378bc00af450f2b7f0cf17af1c3b2b6f7b7226927c458c3e01ec389869d33.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250626120632_c6c378bc00af450f2b7f0cf17af1c3b2b6f7b7226927c458c3e01ec389869d33" data-rendition-name="original" width="1485" height="1535" loading="lazy" alt="Kusunda NT"> <figcaption>Students learning Kusunda with instructor Uday Raj Ale (second row, left)</figcaption> </figure>  Khamba Rokaya, who worked as a caretaker for young Kusunda children in Dang, became interested in learning the language as she sat in with the children during their lessons, and for the last few years has been among the few non-native Kusunda language learners in Dang. “I am not from the Kusunda community, but now that I have learned the language, I hope to do my part to carry on the work and share my knowledge with as many people as possible,” she says. “One way to ensure that we preserve this language is to extend its speaker base, both within the Kusunda and non-native communities.” Ale and Kamala have continued to work together since Gyani Maya’s passing in 2020, expanding the Kusunda vocabulary and creating appropriate curricula to fit the needs of the students as their knowledge of Kusunda expands.&nbsp; But without any documentation of Kusunda history, the community’s traditions, stories, values and language were at risk of being lost to time. “The loss of an ethnicity, language or culture in a country is akin to losing a vital organ, and a unique perspective of looking at the world,” says Ale. Which is why Archive Nepal in collaboration with the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund and the UK’s Department of Culture, Media, and Sport in February launched a book of creative writings in the Kusunda language titled पिन्डा (meaning ‘The First’ in Kusunda): A Compilation of Kusunda Literature. The book is a collection of informative essays about the Kusunda language and culture, short stories that explore themes from nomadic life to universal Nepali experiences of poverty and migration, letters to loved ones, as well as conversational pieces by five Kusunda students ranging from ages 16 to 30. The works in the Kusunda language are also translated into Nepali and English.&nbsp; “Language is an important part of ethnic identity, and our indigenous languages cannot evolve or be conserved unless they are spoken or taught,” said Ale during the launch of the book earlier this year. “But most importantly, language exists as long as there exists literature in that language.” Kamala was in Kathmandu for the launch of the book, and smiled proudly as she looked at the young writers who had contributed to the collection. She said: “I’m glad the young people have chosen to learn and preserve Kusunda. Otherwise, our language would have died with me.” &nbsp;

female-migration

Women on the move

Two decades of debate on female migration

Kangchenjunga: too sacred to climb?

SLAPPing Democracy

Water for Life

Saving the Kusunda language from extinction