Tag Archive: Udayapur

1. democracy in Nepal?

   September 10, 2009 2:00 am Leave a Comment

   Sadly, my powerbook plug has decided to die in Nepal.  It’s currently being worked on in the market of Gaighat.  A good thing because I might have started a fire at the NESPEC office if I had kept on using it.  If only there was a mac store near by…

   Most of my pictures and video are on my computer including pictures for this blog.  Please excuse the lack of visuals while I wait for my plug and hope I don’t need to buy a new computer. 

   Yesterday morning while getting ready to step out the door to take my short walk to NESPEC my host family, Sova and Ram Basnet invited me to the local National Congress Party Office in Gaighat.  Throughout the summer I have attended the democratic political party meetings where people discuss current issues locally and nationally as well as mediate conflicts that may come arise with one another. 

    I have enjoyed the meetings to witness how active people are in Gaighat, especially seeing Ram and Sova take part in the democracy they strive for.  It’s a gathering place where all different castes are represented, can come together and relate to one another through their shared admiration of the Democratic Party.    

   It was BP Koirala’s 95^th birthday anniversary, a revolutionary leader who helped create the National Congress Party. He was tragically imprisoned many times for the sake of freedom for Nepalis. In 1959, in Nepal’s first try at ‘democrcacy’ was when he was elected to prime minister only to be jailed two years later for angering the King, Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah and the traditional elite.  He was known to have socialist ways by the royalty; took away elite tax exempt land, opened schools, built drinking water, started phone lines, introduced international flights and radio communication.

   Since there are not enough hours in the day to understand the political history of this country I am reading the book, “Forget Kathmandu” by Manjushree Thapa to help me understand how the current situation got to be where it is today.  I recommend it highly for a personal account of the quest for true 21^st century democracy.

   That struggle for democracy was in the forefront in my mind after attending the Nepali Congress and many questions come to mind almost on a daily basis about the political situation while talking to Nepalis.  The citizens want equality and freedom yet the political parties see it much different and only for themselves.  What exactly does democracy mean in a country like Nepal?    

   “Democracy does not exist here and I don’t know if it will ever,” words spoken by Gilash Bati Chaudhary. While at the crowded meeting trying to understand the few words I could, I met the chairperson of the single women group in Gaighat.  The group is called Single Women Struggle Committee and represents single women in the Udayapur district. 

   Gilash Bati Chaudhary, a young woman whom I felt at ease with right away is speaking out against the inequalities single women face through her own story.  She no longer is scared to talk about her own story, realizing that she must overcome her own tragedies to fight the injustice single women face in Nepal.  16 years ago her husband was killed while working at a mill, with only her baby daughter a few days old she was left with very little.  Property rights to her house and land were disputed for many years with her father in law, worried that she would start a new life somewhere else without her two children.  The fighting ended communication with her husband’s family.  Soon after her husband’s death she started cooking in homes until she earned enough money to sell rice herself. 

   For the past 16 years Gilash has had to face immense discrimination with being a widow.  She has decided to wear a red sari while I was speaking with her in defense of how she cannot wear one without being ridiculed. (Red saris are only for married women Nepali culture dictates, along with tikas). Neighbors tease her relentlessly about not having a husband and one man has even propositioned her to marry and promise to split the government dowry, the appalling 50,000 rupees that will be given to men who marry single women.

2. Meet Shoeha

   September 3, 2009 12:49 am Leave a Comment

   Meet Shoeha Dahal, a young single woman living in Gaighat struggling to get by since her husband’s death six years ago who died in the conflict innocently.  She has two children that can only go to school with the help of local NGO’s since the cost of school fees are such a burden.  Shoeha cannot wear bright colorful saris like married women, only white dress which tells society that she does not have a husband or a fulfilled life. When her husband died, Shoeha was left with very little and no support.  With a family to provide for, she did not know what to do. Luckily, local organizations are beginning to see the crisis with how single women are treated in Nepal. 

   A new organization in Gaighat, Agency for Community Development and Change (ACDC) is pioneering a single women’s project in the Udayapur district.  Unfortunately, this district is known as one of the worst areas in the country regarding inequalities of women.

   The major objective is to empower single women to speak out for themselves and their families.  Shoeha has used her own life positively by becoming an activist with ACDC.  They have formed 23 women’s groups throughout the area to help single women in skill building, (learning how to sew to building chairs) education and aid in school fees by creating a loan system.

   Shoeha’s plea is to change society’s overall perception of single women.  The biggest problem is economic due to the lack of job training and skills.  Interest free loans and free education for children and parents of single women are greatly needed Shoeha proclaims.  Also, the knowledge of law in Gaighat is limited and assistance is needed with land rights, economic stability and conflict among families is common.  

   The government only gives monthly subsidies to single women over 60 years old.  Shoeha, ACDC and NESPEC hope to change this law for all single women and also establish other government incentives.  In addition, Shoeha hopes to create a similar discount system to that of India’s government, where single women receive a discount card for food and transportation.  Such a subsidy system in Nepal would benefit women’s daily lives as well as their futures economically.