Bishnu Chaudhary

Indentured Daughters Program Alumna

Public prosecutor, District Government Attorney Office, Hetauda, Makwanpur District

Bishnu Chaudhary was sold into kamlari bondage at age 8, and spent the next four years trapped in indentured servitude far from home.

At age 12, in 2007, Bishnu was liberated by SWAN, a nonprofit which had recently joined forced with NYF to rescue as many young women as possible. After completing a back-to-school bridging course, she was quickly enrolled in the 5th grade. From that moment on, Bishnu excelled, consistently earning the highest scores in her classes.

Bishnu became more directly involved with NYF’s programs in 2010, when she became a Peer Counselor. She quickly became an Empowering Freed Kamlaris superstar.

Between 2010 and 2015, Bishnu was a community leader in anti-kamlari protesting, women’s and girls’ empowerment, and the organization of both the Freed Kamlari Development Forum and multiple local cooperative groups for women.

“NYF’s support helped me set clear goals, work hard and smart, and maintain a positive mindset,” Bishnu says. “One of my greatest strengths is that I experienced injustice and discrimination during my childhood. That experience, combined with the support I received from NYF, gave me the motivation and resilience to achieve my goals.”

In 2015, a sponsor agreed to fund Bishnu’s journey through law school, and in early 2021, she passed Nepal’s Bar Exam. She was the first former kamlari to become a lawyer, and the first woman from the Tharu ethnic minority to do so.

Today, Bishnu is a public prosecutor, working to ensure victims of exploitation, discrimination, and violence can receive justice. In the future, she hopes to become a judge.