OneWorld.net (U.S.)

For more than nine years a conflict has raged in Nepal between government security forces and fighters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The conflict has had a devastating effect on all sections of Nepali society—but especially on the lives of children. The most fundamental rights of children are being violated routinely, and nowhere is this more apparent than in schools across the country.

Tens of thousands of children have been abducted from schools by Maoist fighters to attend “political education” sessions. There is increasing evidence that some of the abducted children are recruited for armed activities. Many children who might otherwise attend school are kept at home to avoid abduction. In some areas children are getting less than 100 days of schooling a year.

Hundreds of schools have been shut down or destroyed, or used as barracks Some schools, particularly private schools, have been attacked deliberately by the Maoists.

Teachers are being tortured and killed, either for not complying with the demands of one side or on suspicion of supporting the other. Many are forced to make “donations” from their salaries to support Maoist activities.

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