WOMEN IN NEPALI DEMOCRACY
By Krishna B. Bhattachan, Ph.D

July 28, 2004 - (Weekly Telegraph) After the "territorial integration" of Nepal in 1769, we Nepalese experienced exclusionary democracy twice. Once upon a time it was in 1950-60 and twice upon a time it was during 1990-2002. After October 4th of 2002, we are back to square one, or "back to Mangalman."

If we look from gender perspective, it hardly matters whether we have had autocracy or "democracy," because joon jogi aye pani kanai chireka! or old wine in a new bottle with a different label.

As a State Nepal ratified CEDAW, that is, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in 1991 but it never satisfied because of another CEDAW, that is, Calculated Efforts to Drive Away Women (CEDAW).

Therefore, in general, there is no democracy for all women at the public sphere. For some women, specially those who are following anthropologist Lynn Bennett," Scared Sisters and Dangerous Wives," there has been no democracy at the private sphere, whereas for non-sacred sisters and non-dangerous wives there has been a partial democracy at private sphere.

Gender issues of the past and present remain to be mostly the same. Most of the gender issues have been kept in the deep freeze of state, society and market. So the issues are always fresh.

Nepalese women are not a homogenous group. They form a heterogeneous group. Therefore, practice of democracy at private sphere and forms and intensity of discrimination and inequality at private and public spheres vary enormously from one group of women to another.

All women are victims of gender discrimination. Some women are single victim; some are multiple victims--double victims, triple victims, quadruple victims and so on.

Bahun-Chhetri women are single victim;

Hill Dalit women are double victims- one of gender discrimination and other of caste-based untouchability;

Madhesi Dalit are triple victims-one of gender discrimination, second of caste-based untouchability and the third of regional discrimination as being Madhesi;

So-called "high caste" and Muslim Madhesi women are also triple victims of gender, linguistic and regional discrimination.

Mountain and Hill Indigenous women are pentagon victims- gender, ethnicity, language, religion and culture;

Madhesi indigenous women are hexagon victims of gender, ethnicity, language, religion, culture and region;

In terms of poverty -

All women suffer from "feminization of poverty";

Dalit women suffer from "Dalitization of poverty";

Indigenous women suffer from "indigenization of poverty";

Madhesi women suffer from "regionaliztion of poverty";

Rural women suffer from "ruralization of poverty";

Nepalese women's status or positions and roles or functions are not generally based on ascription an/or achievement as imagined by sociologists. Instead, it is mostly based on prescription by patriarchy rooted in religion and culture.

Some Bahun-Chhetri and Newar women have relatively better access to public sphere;

Some Indigenous women have relatively better access to control over resources at the private sphere and have better mobility; but this is more true to non-Hinduized or non-Sanskritized than Hinduized or Sanskritized families;

In practice, Bahun-Chhetri women are "temporary untouchables" whereas Dalit women (and also men) are permanently untouchables. The Chaupadi system in the mid and far-western Hills resembles to solo "concentration camp."

Among women, at the bottom of the bottom are the trafficked women, who have no control over their own body.

It is for sure that democracy would exist as a myth -

as long as women's identity and rights are denied,

as long as women are treated like second-class citizens,

as long as women are dominated, subjugated and exploited or oppressed, suppressed, depressed, compressed and monopolized;

on the bases of -

gender,

caste and ethnicity,

language,

religion,

culture, and

region.

Women's rights movement would be more powerful, more effective and more meaningful –

If it could spread its wings to embrace women belonging to Dalits, Madhesi, indigenous nationalities, religious and linguistic groups;

If women's rights movements from national to grassroots level merge;

If women's rights movement could supplement and complement by raising issues of women belonging to Dalits, Madhesi, indigenous nationalities, religious and linguistic groups; and

If women's rights movement could forge alliances with other movements, namely, Dalit movement, Madhesi movement, indigenous people's movement, equal language rights movement and movement for secularism.

If the past is present and present is past for women, neither past and present should be the future, nor future should be just like the past and present.

All Nepalese women and men should focus on the following agenda of social transformation:

I. Structural Elements

Federalism

Ethnic, linguistic and regional autonomy and sub-autonomy within autonomy

Proportional representation

Special Measures or Affirmative Action

II. Process related Elements

Round Table Conference

Right to self-determination

Referendum

Constituent Assembly

The continuing rule of the game is unfair towards women. They have always been forced to become losers because of foul play and wrong decisions of referees who are biased against women. Loser has no other possibility than to win and winner has no other possibility than to lose. We know that this is thegame in which neither one should lose, but both should win.

( the author can be reached at kchan@wlink.com.np )