National 8 (Spotlight Weekly)

Changing Lives of Rural Women

By Dechenla Sherpa

"How can one speak about war, poverty and inequality when people who suffer from these afflictions do not have a voice to speak?" These words spoken by Isabel Allende, renowned writer, depict the true status of women in Nepal. This article is not about women, it is not against the male gender either. It talks about the reality Nepali women face everyday, and how their hardship goes unnoticed. Most importantly, it talks about social transformation for a sustainable development.

Nepal, at present faces many challenges, challenges which have arisen mainly because of unequal relations, whether it is a socio economic relation, class relation, caste relation, race relation, or relation between a man and a woman. If you talk about caste system and oppression, it leaves you once you enter your house, your family, but, sex oppression and gender discrimination walk with you, every time.

Sustainable development in any field is not possible without removal of domination and inequality. Inequality is increasing as a result of the paradigm of development. Series of governments in Nepal, after democracy, have developed a numerous programmes to empower women, but not all have been successful. Just by changing one side of the coin, gender relation cannot be improved. We have to change the perception of the men as well. Comprehending deeply, one can understand that men simply do not want changes because this system suits them, just like the caste system suits the upper caste, just like the global system suits the white people. Women have always stood behind the success of mankind, yet their contribution has been barely recognized.

Nepal cannot be termed as a poor country. We have natural resources and biodiversity second to none. How we utilize and how we share the benefits is a question of interest. Tourism has climbed its way steeply in Nepal in just a half a century. It has been seen as one of the most potential industries to uplift the status of citizens. And, tourism probably is one of the few sectors which can boast of maximum participation of women in Nepal. However, it would not be wrong to say that feminization of poverty is one of the main hurdles in the development of this sector. Women are the poorest of the poor and the reason mainly remains their lack of information, education, training and bargaining power.

In most of the rural areas of Nepal, women in majority still suffer from abstract poverty and discrimination. Yet, in the mountain regions of Nepal, tourism has been perceived as a speck of hope for those deprived women, to uplift their status from mere subordinates to economically capable beings. For an industry as dynamic as tourism, there is a strong need to make it pro women, or else, sustainable development will remain just a mere dream. Poor working environment, unaccountability of women's work, increasing out migration of men, call the need for having a pro women dimension in the tourism sector.

Realizing this need, a tourism programme was started in 2001 with a pro women dimension, and a goal to alleviate poverty and develop a sustainable and responsible tourism, namely Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP). The Tourism programme, jointly funded by UNDP, DFID and SNV, has, within a period of 3 years, been successful in bringing changes in the rural lives and societal attitude. One example is Rupandehi, where TRPAP is working to develop tourism models, whereby the poor villagers can share the benefits of tourism proportionately where disadvantaged women have come up as role models.

Lumbini has long been famous as a pilgrimage destination, and every year, visitors flock the region endlessly. However, these tourists are only short haul tourists, staying for only a day, without contributing much to the local economy. The Nepalese government has not yet, been able to retain these tourists within the country. But, the tourism programme, designed specially for the poor, brought a new ray of hope giving locals a chance to share the benefits of tourism. The programme guided the local women, mainly Muslims, in generating income from the handicraft they used to make during their leisure hours. These women were given awareness on tourism and women empowerment, trained professionally and guided along with market linkage process. Earlier, the Dhakkis (Baskets made of grass-kaas and mooj) were used only as gifts to relatives or to store grains. They were not produced commercially, since there was no market, and there had been no professional trainings on refinement and marketing. But now, after the trainings, these handicraft items are being produced at a larger scale, they are found in almost all the outlets in the Lumbini Development Trust area and in hotels and lodges. Tourists buy them as souvenirs from Nepal, without the slightest hesitation, and directly contribute to the local livelihood. Today, this development has made women of Lumbini capable enough to earn a substantial disposable income, send their children to boarding schools, and live a better life.

The tourism programme is trying to develop a Lumbini Buddhist Circuit in the region, a must visit for all the Buddhists around the world. This will bring more tourists to the region, whereby giving the local community an impetus in income generating activities. Besides handicraft and souvenir items, local men and women in Lumbini are stepping in to opening lodges and restaurants as entrepreneurs, and giving tour guide services. But, all these can be successful only if the country's situation improves. A lot of dreams and hopes of these poor people rely on us and this can be a birth to a new movement for deprived and disadvantaged women, creating sustainable lives for all, through tourism. n

- Rural Tourism Feature - 11/ TRPAP