Anti-Child Labour Rhetoric, Child Protection and Young Carpet Weavers in Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

TThe reputation of the Nepalese carpet industry as one in which youngchildren are forced to labour is persistent, even after efforts by both the Nepalese state,industry organizations and non-government organizations to eradicate it. In this paper,I reflect on ethnographic field research to discuss the aftermath of adverse publicity inEurope and North America about child labour practices in the industry. In particular,the claim that children are debt-bonded, misled or otherwise coerced to weave carpetscontinues to be made both locally and internationally, and has contributed to a declinein carpet exports. Recent data, however, collected with the collaboration of the NepalIndependent Carpet Worker's Union, indicates that these forms of coercion are notnecessarily experienced by most young—but not child—carpet weavers, who werevictimized not so much by traditional labour practices, but by the capricious cycles ofglobal capitalism. Efforts to protect children from the risks of hazardous carpet workcontribute to the ongoing decline of the industry, making it more difficult for youngcarpet weavers to earn a sustainable wage from their labour.