Invisible barriers are set in front of women

Jyoti Bhandari (Pyakuryal) holds a masters degree in music and a bachelors degree in education. Her interests range from journalism, music, politics, education to being a good mother. Jyoti  has been teaching music in Padma Kanya campus for 17 years now. She considers journalism as her hobby and is the editor-in-chief of Bidushi, a women issues related quarterly magazine. Jyoti has been  professionally involved in several social welfare and music  related organisations.  She has represented Nepal in international conferences in Japan, Sweden, Delhi and Dhaka. A firm advocate of equal rights for women, the outspoken lady spoke with Sushma Amatya of The Independent  recently. The excerpts:
Q: Tell us about your political involvement. What motivated you?

A: I was actively involved in politics right from my student days. I was involved in it from the grass root level. We’d make the posters in the night and go about town in the dark pasting it with home-made glue. I was inspired by  B.P. Koiralaji. His charisma attracted me to join the Congress party.  I call myself a true democrat. We put our lives at  risk by getting politically active in the pre-democracy days. It was a dedicated struggle. We were ready to go to jail or even sacrifice our lives for the cause. We had no aspirations beyond that.  I personally care more about nurturing a healthy democracy and strengthening the party rather than running after any positions.

Q: Are you happy with the way things stand today politically?

A: I am not happy with the leadership today. I strongly feel that it has to change. An honest, dynamic and democratic person should lead our country, not a corrupt and immoral one.

Q: Do you think such a person exists? 

A: We have such a big party. There certainly are some capable, honest people among them.

Q: Is it lack of competent leadership or do you think people change once they hold the position? Or is it a case of the voters getting what they chose in the first place?
A:  How can I say for sure unless I experience it first hand. Perhaps the position is such that people change. I really do not know for sure. But it is amazing to see to what extent a person changes in due course of time.

Q: What  political aspirations do you have today?
A: Many  people who fought with us, shared the joys and sorrows today hold big positions. Those people should realise their friends’ contributions, dedication and history also. If I go up to them and ask them to make me a minister, they will not. But if a smuggler goes to them with a lot of money, he will be made a minister overnight. That is the trend today.

Q: What can be done to change such a scenario?

A: People like us without any selfish motive can only act as watchdogs. We should be able to speak and write the truth as it exists.

Q:  What are your journalistic activities?

A: Bidhushi is a Nepali quarterly publication. We also take out two English bulletins in a year and one programme in a month. We bring together experts from various fields and organise talks  and interactive programmes. This is in keeping with the name of our publication, which means intellectual women.

Q: What attracted you to journalism?

A: I have found journalism as the means to voice my opinion and create an impact on the society without losing my self respect. I need not go and butter up anybody or put up an act just to get something done as is the norm in power politics today. Journalism is also an effective means to voice the issues of women.

Q: You led the historical women’s protest rally to denounce the mysterious death of two female students, Namita and Sunita by sexual abuse in 2038 B.S. Did anything come out of the exercise? Were the guilty punished?

A: At the time, the president of our college student union Meena Pandey was indisposed. As vice president of the union, I was obliged to lead the campaign. We mobilised other women’s colleges and schools to participate in the event. We received threats following the event. It shames me to say that the culprits today are members of NC. They were seen distributing water during the elections. Some of them even hold posts today. No, they were not punished.

Q: What do you think of the status of women’s participation in politics today? Do you think they have received enough encouragement?

A: Women have been oppressed since ages gone by. If you see the reports on the status of women in our country, year after year, it remains the same. That they are under clutches of poverty and ignorance, albeit in different words in different reports. Women are shackled mentally and to a certain extent physically to their homes even today. They are never allowed reach the policy making level. The fact remains that women are as capable as men to carry out any responsibility in any position. It is just that invisible barriers are set in front of them. Yes, in appearance, verbally, they are most welcome everywhere and anywhere but in practice they face enormous setbacks. Politicians talk a lot about these issues to get their votes. When it comes to implementation, thousands of excuses then loom large. How can women get equal rights in policies made only by women? Legally too, women have been placed in the same category as that of the handicapped. This attitude needs an overhaul.

Q: How can it be changed?

A: Even today, the young generation have it impressed on their psyches that women’s place is at home. Women have to come out and participate in all fields. Most importantly, they must not be dependent on anybody. The outdated adage of Manu that a woman has to be dependent on somebody at some stage of life is no longer true. What happens if her father, husband and son dies or is rendered incapable of earning. Should she then go out and beg? Even uneducated women can learn skills and work from home. Women must be encouraged to be independent. We can do anything if we want it hard enough. No barriers exist for the determined. We have to compete and earn our own living. We constitute half the Earth, we must create our own position.

Q: Is music accepted socially today? Do your students go on to practice what they have learned?

A: Music is gradually being accepted by the society as a respectable art. It is a remarkable change. Earlier it was something to be taken up by good for nothings only. In our Tribhuvan university, the curriculum is very defective. Students have no clue of music throughout their schooling years. Suddenly they take up music and within a short period of time, they are expected to complete a vast number of exercises. In no way can the novices meet the unrealistic expectations of the curriculum. However, despite all these setbacks, quite a few students are today working in various fields. We need a separate fine arts college, a music college to honestly educate the aspiring students. And the number of students are increasing by the day.