Revolting Against Discrimination
With the restoration of democracy, women pluck courage to speak out against socio-cultural discrimination and violence
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
After the restoration of democracy in Nepal following People's Movement in April, Nepalese from all segments of life have started to come out against centuries-old oppression and demanding their rights be respected.
Women, too, have come out to speak against the horrors of the decade-old conflict, the violence they had to undergo and also against the deep-rooted socio-cultural discrimination they have been subjected to so far.
Rita Thapa, a lady from Chitwan in central Nepal , demands that she be recompensed for the horrendous episode she had to suffer from during the conflict. "Three years ago, my husband was abducted and killed by the Maoists. I have two children. Now who is going to help me raise them? I have heard about peace agreement, but what does it have for women like me?" Thapa, who still does not use her original name for fear of reprisal, asked. Her husband, a simple wage laborer was killed on charges of spying by the cadres of Maoists who later admitted that he turned out to be an innocent person.
Then, there is the story of a Muslim lady from Kapilbastu in southern Nepal . Mumtaz Khan (again name changed) recalls an episode of three years ago when her husband – a poor logger – was grisly murdered when her third child was only three-day-old. Ever since, she has been living in a ramshackle shed by the side of a pond.
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Sitapati Chaudhary : Ensure equal pay
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"My man was murdered and now I earn only Rs 50 (less than 75 cents) per day by working in agriculture field. How am I supposed to raise my children?" she asked.
Khan's story is not merely related with the consequences of violent conflict in the country. Her story also has links with the discriminatory socio-cultural and economic relations whereby a woman is paid less than half compared to men for doing the same job. And then, her children now face equally uncertain future since Nepalese citizenship laws are not friendly to single mothers as citizenship certificates are provided based on name of father.
Another lady belonging to freed Kamaiya community – poor and landless community who have recently been emancipated from shackles of bonded labor – had similar stories to tell. Only difference in the story of Binita Chaudhary (name changed) is that her community had suffered from violence meted out by state security forces.
"During the conflict, security forces used to eye us with suspicions of being Maoist supporters. My husband Motiram Chaudhary was severely tortured by them on this baseless suspicion. He cannot work properly these days," she complained.
There are thousands of women like Rita, Mumtaz and Binita who have just started to speak out against the brutal human cost of the violent conflict that raged this Himalayan country for the last 11 years.
On November 21, the government of Nepal and the Maoists signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) officially ending the internal strife. In the agreement, they have also vowed to agree on the need "to specially protect the rights of women and children and the need to stop all forms of sexual exploitation and other forms of misbehavior on women and child labor and other violent act against children and not to include children below the age of 18 in any form of military force. The children who have already been affected shall be rescued immediately and adequate provisions shall be made for their rehabilitation."
How far the two sides will live up to their commitments will be demonstrated by the manner in which they help these conflict-hit women.
Socio-cultural violence
Although the plights of conflict-hit women are bad enough, no less are the plights of women who have been facing inhuman discriminations for centuries due to persistent socio-cultural practices and superstitions.
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Sita Bika : Tales of miseries
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There are stories that could jerk tears out of eyes of everyone. Take for instance, the pain and miseries that a lady from Achham – a district in the mid-west hilly region – narrated regarding the barbaric tradition called Chhaupadi - of forcing women to stay out of homes in shabby sheds for a week every month when they menstruate. As per the religious and cultural beliefs among the people of the region, women become impure during those days and thus must remain isolated from others. They have to stay in unhygienic sheds away from their homes, are given only salt and bread to eat, and face risks of snake-bites and rapists who try to take advantage of their plight.
"We give birth to our sons. They stay with us and sleep with us when they are small. But once they grow up, even they do not touch us and give us water/food from far away," wailed Pashupati Kunwar.
For women who come from Dalit – or so-called untouchable caste – the problem is even worse. "When we go to local tea shops and restaurants, they give us tea in separate glasses and we have to wash them ourselves," said Pinki Sarki from Doti – another mid-western district.
"Even in this 21 st century, women face unimaginable discrimination and violence in parts of Nepal . It is only recently that they have been able to speak out against these practices," said Babita Basnet, president of Sancharika Samuha, a women communicators' group.
Economic Discriminations
Another dimension of discrimination against Nepali women is the economics. Women are generally paid less for the same job compared to men; and they get lesser opportunity to participate in productive economic activities.
"We work shoulder to shoulder with men but at the end of the day, they pay us Rs 80 (approx. $1) compared to Rs 150 (approx. $2)for men," said Sitapati Chaudhary, a freed Kamaiya from Kailali district. She said that men spend money on alcohol and beat women while the women will have to take care of home and children.
Nirmala Aire from Doti district reciting her problem asked the state to ban alcohol. "In our village, boys as small as 14 years old are found drinking alcohol that is so easily found at Rs 15 per pouch." Aire, a victim of domestic violence, said that men resort to physical violence against women when they are drunk. Aire, along with Chaudhary, called on the authorities to prohibit drinking.
Sita Bika, a Dalit lady from Doti district, complained that people from her community were being treated "worse than dogs." She asked, "Where is the state? Aren't we human beings?" Dalits are generally prohibited from entering into temples or houses of so-called high-caste community. People from high-caste community refuse to accept water from their hands.
For women of Dalit community, the discrimination is so deep and wide that every step of theirs is filled with inequalities. For instance, they cannot use public taps and if they are allowed to do so, they will have to wait till other women from high-caste have filled up their utensils. They are highly illiterate, working in the bottom of the economic ladder as low-paid agricultural laborers.
Time for Transformation
With the restoration of democracy and return of peace, political leaders have talked about building a new Nepal by ushering in socio-economic transformation.
Such transformation can be meaningful only if they are able to do away with the causes for deep-seated discrimination against women. It is quite clear that without uplifting one half of the population, a new and prosperous Nepal is simply unattainable.
At present, Nepalese women are in a very disadvantageous position in the socio-economic ladder. The ratio of young literate females to males is 82 percent. In Nepal , the very event of giving life leads to death. Each year, some 4500 women die of complications of delivery. According to surveys, every two hours, one woman dies of such complications. According to Census 2001, the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) per 100,000 delivery was 539 in the early 1990s – one of the highest in the world. Half a million children of school-going age are still out of school and over 60 percent of them are girls. In the last one decade of violent conflict, over 13000 people lost their lives – around one third of them women. Likewise, at least 200,000 people were internally displaced – more than half of them women and children. As such, women have borne the brunt of both violence and discrimination.
In this connection, Sandra Beidas, Head of Protection, Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Nepal , says that Nepal now faces a huge challenge to create a safe, supportive and protective environment in which women and girls can come forward, talk about what has happened and seek help.
Beidas urged for ending impunity for violence against women and girls, which she said is one of the most crucial ways of dealing with the problem. She also called for translating peace agreements and commitments "into clear policies, strategies and programs and with the resources to ensure their implementation."
