 |
Kathmandu Saturday October 13, 2001 Ashwin 27, 2058.
|
Insulting bill
By approving the "Property Rights Bill" in its present form, the
House of Representatives once again demonstrated how weak they are in coping up with time
and change. I feel pity on their lack of awareness, knowledge and self-confidence as
impartial policymakers. The House did not even care to follow a democratic process to
undertake such a step. When did they discuss, with whom did they consult and how did they
decide to drop this kind of "mercy" to the women of Nepal ?
The House must know that the Nepalese women are not begging for any mercy but
claiming their rights as equal citizens. The biased attitude and behaviour demonstrated by
the House has really blacklisted its own image as a gender blind group. It is very
disappointing to note that the members of the House are not free from gender bias when
they value son and daughter differently. Property rights attribute a value to a child as
soon as he or she is born. It is a symbol and source of power in Nepali society and
determines the behaviour of a woman and man.
The real life and struggle for a man or a woman starts with the tie of
marriage. This is the stage where a woman needs to have independent power to make decision
with regard to her reproductive rights as well as right to participate in public life,
development work and so on. A man has full security because in this system, he enjoys a
powerful, independent social and economic status and can participate in all kinds of
public activities without any hesitance and restriction due to being independent. How can
the Nepalese woman come forward and join hands in development, if she is kept under the
control of her husband and in-laws only? This is a matter of having the status of being
powerful and powerless.
I am a formally educated woman. I work hard day and night to earn enough to
run the expenses of my household. I have worked in senior positions in various
organisations so far. However, when I asked for a bank loan to buy a house, the company
immediately asked me to bring my husband’s approval in all the documents. Moreover,
once I fetched the Kathmandu CDO’s office for getting my passport renewed where I was
almost humiliated for not bringing my husband with me to verify my sole existence as a
human being. I was very much insulted within myself.
Kanchan V Lama
GTZ/IFSP, Kathmandu |
