Tara is one of hundreds of former bonded labourers who work to free families and communities in northern India. Watch this short film below, which follows her efforts to free a village where everyone is trapped in bonded labour at a brick kiln.

Born to a poor family in a village in northern India, Tara faced caste discrimination her entire life. After her father died at the age of nine, Tara began working at a brick kiln, where her entire family and most of her village were in bondage.

The conditions at the brick kiln were appalling. Her employer forced Tara and her family to work under threat of violence and forbade them from leaving. He would often beat the workers violently, and one of them suffered fatal wounds. Tara couldn’t go to school and had no freedom to travel anywhere. Fearing for their lives, the workers at her kiln were too scared to speak out.

Thanks to the efforts of MSEMVS, a local organisation supported by the Freedom Fund, Tara and the other workers were able to free themselves. Now an adult mother of two who runs her own small tailoring business, Tara is a leader in her area who has helped liberate more than 60 bonded labourers. As a member of Azad Shakti Abhiyaan (meaning Strong Campaign for Freedom), a survivors’ collective, she travels from village to village to encourage solidarity among groups suffering caste-based exploitation.

Tara hosting a community meeting to empower communities to resist bonded labour and understand their rights.

Tara visits a community in northern India to speak with those in bonded labour and support them in achieving liberation.

Before the covid-19 pandemic, the rates of bonded labour were falling in parts of northern India because marginalised communities that have been exploited for centuries are now mobilising for their rights.

Former bonded labourers like Tara are uprooting discrimination by empowering survivors, while working with those still in bonded labour to help them have the courage to claim their rights. They’re sending their children to school and advocating collectively for themselves. The collective is joining with other survivors across India to raise their issues with policy makers.

As Tara herself says in the film: The fear has gone from my body and soul. I have courage and confidence now. The biggest freedom I’ve got is the strength to speak out about our issues. Everyone has the right to live in freedom, and everyone must fight for their rights to be free.

Tara now runs her own tailoring business, and continues to work with Azad Shakti Abhiyaan empowering others to resist bonded labour.

Learn more about the work Freedom Fund are doing here, and find out more about how CIFF supports child protection programmes here.