Stories about children’s days
Supriya, 16 year old girl
About Surpriya’s life
Supriya works in a ‘party palace’ venue that is rented out for weddings, receptions, birthday parties, corporate events, and other celebrations. This is seasonal work that takes place in the evenings. Supriya works in the kitchen and waiting tables. She works whenever her boss offers her a shift.
Supriya lives with her mother, father and younger brother in a rented flat in Dallu, an inexpensive area. She has another brother who lives in her home village with an aunt. Her parents can’t afford to support all their children in Kathmandu. Supriya was born in Kathmandu after her parents moved there from Nuwakot around 20 years ago. She began to work before she was 10 years old.
Working hard
I am paid less than the amount that I am supposed to get. However, I can’t even complain to anyone as I fear not getting the job next time. This makes me feel powerless.
Carrying heavy loads
When Supriya was a child, she used to go to accompany her mother to work. Later, she started working as a domestic helper.
As a domestic worker, Surpiya earned NPR 3,000 (US $25) a month as salary. They provided her with food, but it was bad. Later, when she turned 10, Supriya started working in a party palace but when lockdown started she lost that job. Then she worked in a garment factory as a thread cutter, and later (aged 12) as a labourer on a construction site, where she used to carry mud in baskets.
“Many of the guests are drunk now, it’s making me feel uncomfortable, also we haven’t had anything to eat, we are just working.”
Inside the party palace
Walking home in the dark
Supriya’s typical day comprises school in the daytime and seven hours of work in the evening.
She frequently finishes work at about midnight, sometimes later. If she asks her bosses for transportation home she might get it, but not always, and only if she asks. Fortunately, the road she needs to take is well-lit at night.
Surpriya in her workplace
Now, Supriya is back working in a party palace. Domestic work is the job Supriya likes least, as it involves long hours for very little pay. But circumstances compel Supriya to take whatever jobs are available. She still cleans people’s homes and does dishes for NPR 150 (US$ 1.2) a day.
The party palace that Supriya works at is owned by a relative and her mother also works there, which means she feels pretty safe there. However, she really doesn’t like getting hassled by drunken guests when she is clearing tables. She feels that society despises her for the job she does. Customers say to her “Tighra kasto goro” (What nice thighs) or “Jaane Ho? (Go out with me?)
Staff at the party palace face harassment from the police, once Supriya’s mother was once asked by a police officer to accompany him somewhere, but she refused.
Preparing for dinner service
Supriya’s day
Supriya’s experience
I wake up around 7am. I do simple house chores like cleaning, sweeping, and fetching water. I either pack my lunch or go to school without eating anything. Today I don’t eat because I am not feeling well. I go to school around 9:30am.
Supriya’s experience
My school is nearby, around 10-minutes’ walk from home. Sometimes, at school, male teachers hassle my friends and I don’t like that. In the classroom the boys can be very annoying, they swear. Some girls also bully us. During the break I eat my packed lunch, or I buy lunch, or my friends share their lunch with me.
Supriya’s experience
I get home from school at 4pm today. This is the normal time for me to get home. I walk with two of my friends, one guy and one girl. There are many butchers in my neighbourhood, and the streets are very polluted with waste on the roadside. It smells foul. The butcher stores are very unhygienic and dirty inside and when they are transporting the meat, they use a cart that is not covered, and I see crows pecking at the meat quite often.
Researcher’s experience
We meet Supriya in her neighbourhood, and we accompany her to her workplace. She is with two of her friends who work at the same place. They are all under 18.
It takes us around 35 minutes to walk to Supriya’s workplace. We go along a main road which is a mix of houses, grocery shops, small restaurants and khaja ghars (informal eateries). The river is on the left side, bordered by bushes and vegetation.
It is a straight road. The area is generally well-lit, except for a stretch that lacks street lights around a kilometre from Supriya’s home, making it dark at night.
In the kitchen where Surpriya works
Supriya’s experience
I arrive at the party palace around 4:45 pm. I usually take the same path, by the riverside. My working hours are from 5pm to midnight. My job is to collect dirty dishes.
The full day salary at the Party Palace is NPR 1,500 (US $11.5) but I am paid less than 50% of this because I am at school during the daytime and can only work part-time. I was promised NPR 400 (US $3) but I only got NPR 300 (US $2.2) . Why the manager reduces my salary isn’t clear to me yet. The manager also hesitates to give us enough food, even though there is abundant food in the party palace , where leftover food is plentiful. The day has gone as usual without too many problems. The occasional stares from the guests, but I didn’t face other forms of abuse. The senior staff and the owner can be rude whenever we make small mistakes though.
Researcher’s experience
The party palace is situated in the busy Kalimati area, with numerous establishments such as malls, grocery shops, small supermarkets, banks and a police station nearby. While the area is bustling with activity during the daytime, it tends to become empty at night however. There are not many adult entertainment sector venues in the area.
The streets by night
Supriya’s experience
Usually, I walk home from the party palace, even after midnight. Today I am with a male and a female friend. It was almost 00.15 when we returned home. The road was very quiet. We could only hear the occasional barking of dogs.
When we reached the Dallu riverside area we ran for around 500 metres like our lives depended on it. It is dangerous here due to the presence of bushes and trees along the riverside. Crime is high around this area. Just a month ago, a mother and her daughter were killed on their way back home in the early evening at the riverside, it was on the news.
If I am alone or girls of my age are in the group, we get a ride home. The cost varies depending on whom I ask, as our manager charges us for the ride but our owner covers the expense. Unfortunately the owner usually leaves work early, making it difficult for us to request a ride.
Researcher’s experience
During our journey back to Supriya’s home, we hardly come across anyone. Occasionally, we spot an old woman selling snacks but the shops are closed by 8 pm.
Supriya and her fellow child workers do not get transportation if a male friend is with them. If the group comprises only girls, they opt for a taxi ride as they deem it too unsafe to walk back home. Their route is considered to be especially dangerous at night due to a high incidence of crimes including burglary, rape, and even murder.
Explore Surpriya’s journey
Rama, 17, supports her family by working as a beautician in the daytime and as a dancer in a dance bar at night.
Pema, 15, works in events catering in the afternoons and evenings, after going to college in the morning.
Khem, 17, has worked for a relative in a khaja ghar (small eatery) since he was ten years old.
Arpita, 16, works in a massage and spa venue.