"We make voices of the women heard"

Anjana Shakya was inspired when very young by the power she saw in the girlchild goddess, Kumari in Basantapur. Anjana never thought herself to be any different or less capable than men. The going was not easy for her but today she has emerged as a highly capable, driven woman committed to the cause of making a difference in the lives of the women in her country. Anjana is the chairperson of HIMRIGHTS (Himalayan Human Rights Monitors), INHURED INTERNATIONAL (International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development), Director of Women’s Rights and Development, and coordinator of Beyond Beijing Committee. She was recognised by the college where she studied, Smith College, Massachusettes, USA, on their 125th anniversary, for her work in Nepal. Thirty women out of which four were international alumni were awarded for their outstanding achievements. "I wanted to do something for the women, by the women and of the women." She is doing exactly that and very happy with what she is doing. The Independent spoke to the outspoken lady who always knew what she wanted from life. The excerpts:

Q: Tell us about your work.

A: I’m involved in quite a few organisations, doing similar but also different things. With Beyond Beijing Committee, with implementation, monitoring and lobbying of Beijing Platform for action, we have been working since late1993. Now we are approaching the work with modifications. Now, we have a network at regional, district and VDC levels. We have to think of these before we can get into the national conference that we had planned for September/October. What we aim to do is - we want participation and the say of most women in Nepal, nor just of those in Kathmandu. We are planning initially to give intensive training workshops to the committee members so that they have a say in what will be the national plan of action in the Beijing platform, for CEDAW, CRC, so and so forth. We will be taking advice from some others too. Now we have this huge network, we need to mobilise them and sustain them. It is difficult but important.

Q: You participated in the post Beijing conference held in New York. What were the issues discussed?

A: A lot that was discussed were what was discussed in Beijing. By last year, every government was supposed to give a report of what they have done in terms of implementation of Beijing platform for action, what they have not been able to do, what are their achievements, setbacks, future strategies and so on. Based on that, every region had to produce a report. All those reports were combined into a working document.

Human rights of women, reproductive health, sexual orientation, abortion, refugee status for raped women etc., were the difficult issues that came up. Countries like Libya, Pakistan and other right wing groups from developed countries were against the issues, openly and otherwise. It was a real challenge as to how to put women’s rights forward.

Trafficking was another major issue. Every region was lobbying but the Asia Pacific region was much stronger because we had a wide range of consultation in every country. We were working as a group. And the outcome document is for everybody though countries might have their reservations. It was interesting to observe that we had reservations five years ago and they are continuing in the same manner.

In totality, it is a commitment made by the governments who are supposed to change their policies, laws. There have been changes to some extent, though not to the extent to which we would have liked it to be done.

Q: What is your opinion on the recently introduced civil code 11th amendment - that grants inheritance rights to a sixteen year old and also states that the right ceases to exist as soon as she marries.

A: It is a women’s bill, it is not property rights only. If it is going to come as it is, as you said, then it is not worth it. Then what does a girl child gain, if she is to lose the right after marriage. The whole point is to create a real change in a girl child’s life. This clause would also discourage a girl to marry, is that the whole point? In our culture anyone who does not marry is not viewed positively, thus it is contradictory.

If a woman inherits property, I think it will stay more in the family. It will not go out, as people are making such a hue and cry about. For most women, it is always children that come first so I do not see the sense in all that talk of property going out. Whether it’s your son’s or daughter’s children, it is a part of your family. I really do not see the point in the much debated issue of land division, property division.

If you have ten sons, a land is divided into teeny weeny bits of lands but if you have a daughter or more, then how does it become a problem?

Q: What about the will system?

A: In my recent conversation with a friend who is a foreigner, I was struck by what she said. She said that our inheritance system keeps what belongs to our family in the family. But abroad, since they have a will system, the family might or might not get anything. They can give it to anybody and if there is no will, it goes to the state. She said that we most probably have never thought along these lines.

But come to think of it, we already have it in our law that what we have earned, we can give it to anybody we want. We do not need another law to define it. Here, we are talking about ancestral property and about inheriting it.

Q: How have your work brought changes in the grassroot levels?

A: Even before going to Beijing, we always focussed on getting the real voices of people rather than...I wouldn’t say pseudo voices of people. I find it funny when we say that our voice is the voice of the nation. Our reality is so different from most of the women in Nepal.

We make it a point on getting the real voices, the majority of women from the rural areas. In whatever we do, we take it back to or take it from the grass root level. Actually, we started the whole process of alternative report, we coordinated the report for CRC (Convention on the rights of children). There was a wide consultation throughout the country. It was a good report with good support between the NGOs and the government.

After bringing in the women, we had to let them know what it is all about, how they can give their inputs and how it can change their lives. We do not just to go in and run workshops. Our point is how they are going to internalise the issues and how to empower them. We will be making comic books, documentaries, street theatres and get them involved. We work in such a way that they learn and they can carry on by themselves after we leave.

Q: Many allege that not much have changed despite countless numbers of NGOs, seminars and workshops. What do you think?

A: That is what we are going to change. We want the local people to do it. It is hard for them to get started, they are capable of it but it is just that they need some support. Even in the Beijing conference, we made it a point to take more than a dozen women with us. It was not easy for them but they could communicate a lot with others with or without English.

A woman from a remote region who was there realised later that she herself had been abused and she had been unaware of it all this long. She not only realised that what she tolerated was wrong but also that there are many others like her who live through similar experiences and accept it as their Karma. She learned how a daughter, daughter in laws should be treated, why they should seek health care, education etc.

She is bringing in a lot of change in terms of rights perspective and other changes in her village. But at the same time, it is difficult for her because she is alone. She is bringing in so many new ideas with her that the villagers are distancing themselves from her. She is fighting a battle of her own. People are changing but the real impact is not easy to measure.

Q: What do you think are the reasons behind the resistance to change, to new ideas in the rural areas?

A: Poverty, lack of education has its roles. Culture has a great role to play, how a girl or a boy is treated from very young makes a big difference. We either over protect the girls making them incapable of looking after themselves or we mistreat them - discriminating them starting from the basics such as food. The attitudinal change has to begin from the family level.

One thing interesting that I observed in the rural areas after the micro credit, income generation projects was that people are earning more money and they are sending boys to boarding schools and girls to non formal schools only.

Q: Tell us about your childhood - to what would you attribute to being the person that you have become today.

A: I grew up in a big joint family and my parents did not discriminate me in any way. I could do anything I wanted. I would even roller skate in New Road! But unfortunately, I lost my mother at a young age and then I began to realise what it is like to be a girl. I got into an arranged marriage very early. It was very very difficult. Then, I decided I would go abroad to study and I did. By then, I already had a son.

After I completed my studies, I came back and one thing led to the other. It all worked out like a big puzzle, one thing fitted with the other. Throughout it all, one thing was clear in my mind, that I am going to do it and show women that we can do it despite the odds. I think the roots of my confidence in myself took hold when very young - from the time my parents saw me no different from boys.