 |
Kathmandu,Thursday March 09, 2000 Fagun 26, 2056.
|
Empower women
The fight for "equality and
justice" carried on by women in a male-dominated society like Nepal has made little
headway in drawing the attention of policy-makers. The reason behind this situation is
that women themselves seem to lack a united stand. The mixed responses among women
activists to issues related to women is proof of this fact. Generally speaking, women who
head numerous lobby groups want women’s emancipation through legal enactments such as
granting of rights to parental property and reservations in all sectors through a quota
system. While these are debatable issues in Nepal, most activists have been ignoring that
the best way to empower women is to emphasize on education for women at all levels. The
girl child in particular, must be educated, for it is the lack of education that is at the
root of discrimination against women. The same cause has also fostered the ethos of male
domination which would have definitely been a thing of the past had the government taken
special care to provide education to girls.
Article 11 (Clause-1) of the
Constitution states "all citizens are equal before the eyes of law and no one will be
deprived of protection by the law". Apart from this, the government has also ratified
the Convention of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CDAW) in 1990. The country
has also accepted the 12-point programme formulated in the fourth women’s conference
in Beijing. Are these not enough that further legislation should be needed to ensure equal
rights? The problem seems to be the discrepancy between the ideals that the government
commits itself to so easily and the actual practice. The commitment to international
declarations regarding women remain on paper at best. Similarly, discriminatory laws too
have not been scrapped. And whatever law there may be that purports to do justice to women
are not being implemented properly.
One obstruction on the path of
realising women’s rights is no doubt the age-old social outlook which has resisted
moves to empower women. Parliament’s reluctance to push through bills related to this
issue may, in a sense, be a manifestation of these entrenched values. Laws giving equal
status to women must be there. Apart from this, the government must also introduce
policies and programmes that benefit women. But there is a way to go about it. If the laws
are there but are not implemented or if the programmes for women are there only as an
excuse so that NGOs can cultivate green bucks in the name of women’s emancipation or
empowerment or some such jargon, then the efforts will only go to waste. The country needs
women who are educated and aware. Universal education, employment opportunities and
entrepreneurial and leadership trainings are prerequisites in this regard. Only these will
make them competitive, independent and capable of fighting for their rights.
Other Stories
|
