Swastika: Even within the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex) community, there are several opinions and political affiliations of individuals and that has been preventing many of us from interacting with each other. It has been creating a divide within the community that has a common goal.
Manushi: We are still in a period of transition and if anyone feels a greater ownership to the results of the change, it is the youth. In a short period of 10 to 15 years, we have experienced rapid changes as we went through childhood to youth.[break]
In my opinion, the center of maximum hope and frustration is Tribhuvan University. Here, students have come from all over the country with big dreams and hopes, but the reality is different, yet they are hopeful. We are in a frustrating time; nonetheless, it is full of hope.
Tika: Physically challenged people in Nepal never get to experience their youth because the moment we are born, parents think of ways to hide us from the society by either sending us to rehab or putting us up for adoption. We are brought up in ways such that we don’t realize our own capabilities.
However, we, too, are part of the youth and there comes an age when we want to contribute. Many fields from education and sports to health facilities are not disable friendly. Physically challenged people comprise nearly three million of the nation’s population.
Sujan: The physically challenged and LGBTI communities do need a collective strength. On the other hand, it has become a necessity of such collective youths to be associated with a political group in order to achieve something.
Reservations are important for minority groups. But right now, there are so many criteria for reservations and that it is creating loopholes and scattering the youth. Factions have developed due to political inclinations.
THE DETACHED INDIVIDUAL
Swastika: Right now, my friends are interested in politics, with the election of the new PM. But once it’s all over, they will be indifferent to the result.
Manushi: Yes, individuality is in the core of liberal democracy and there is a huge population, especially in urban areas, who value that. They have been groomed to think that way. But if you detach yourself, and if you don’t care about it (politics), then there will be someone doing it for you and all you can do is complain about it.
In Nepal’s context, people have been compelled to form a group – political or non-political. Many times, it’s been political.
Right now, there is nothing that we can call a political system in Nepal. We are still struggling on ideology. Having said that, no matter what system is set, it will affect our daily lives. Therefore, there shouldn’t be a complete detachment and there are different ways of being involved.
Democracy is also at the core of Marxism, the Marxism that I believe in. At the core of it, we are all individuals.
Sujan: I think I represent the youth that limits our involvement in politics to coffee talks because we are simply disinterested. We are politically aware, but that doesn’t mean that we have to go to Singha Durbar. We have voted and taken to the streets. But I will not try to enter any political party or carry flags and shout slogans because I believe that I can prove myself as an individual person.
As soon as we talk of policies, we talk about reservations. ‘Oh, he’s my brother. He threw stones. He carried the flag…’ How we can make state-level policies if we bring in such trivial things? This is why I believe that we have to try from an individual level.
We should be able to capitalize on individual strengths of the youth at decision-making levels.
OUR RIGHTS & POLICIES
Manushi: Where there is abundance, there won’t be arguments. For the youth, there needs to be a sturdy economic program. There will always be divisions and reservations when resources are limited because everybody will go looking for their share. And for the country to be economically strong, there needs to be a strong political system.
Raaz: We were born as human beings; shouldn’t we get the rights we are entitled to regardless of being transgender or homosexual? Or are we not humans at all?
It is time for us to seize our rights instead of asking for it. Give us opportunities before you assume that we can’t do anything. We are not asking for pity, but for our rights. We are in the 21st century where even the rights of animals are protected. Shouldn’t we get our rights?
There are employment quotas set for women, for Dalits. Perhaps the government can allocate a small quota, however small it may be, for third gender people as well.
Tika: Physical disabilities do not define a person’s intellectual capabilities.
When talking about social and political inclusion, physically challenged people are taken for granted. The general attitude is that we can’t do anything, and therefore, we are always trying harder than others to prove ourselves.
Moreover, disabled women face the most discrimination. A majority of deaf women are victims of gang rapes because they can’t call out for help.
According to the Muluki Ain, a man can remarry if a woman is physically challenged, blind and can’t give birth in 10 years time. Even though the Supreme Court has ordered the law to be nullified, it remains in place.
Sujan: Most of the youth – the cream of the country – who have studied at the best universities of the world, are settled and working abroad. And those who have studied in Nepal are filling up gas at stations. How is Nepal going to develop?
The way the youth of this country are migrating to foreign countries is worrisome. Employment opportunities need to be created in Nepal. Polices need to be made…must have been made, but are probably only on paper. They need to be implemented.
BREAK, JOIN OR CREATE?
Swastika: For us LGBTI people, we tried to break the system. We have been trying it since 2001, the year Blue Diamond Society was established. We tried hard but individually we can never do it. We gave up. We had to join the system.
Manushi: Right now, we are trying to break the prevalent hegemony and the youth play a huge role in that. Politically and legally, we are working to institutionalize federalism, which emphasizes on equality and justice. We are trying to break down the centralized system in Kathmandu.
Sujan: When we started KUart as a Department of Art & Design in 2003 in Bhaktapur, in two rooms, many underestimated us. However, seven years since the establishment of KUart, we are already planning to begin our Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) program, which happened last year at Lalit Kala.
There is a saying: If you can’t beat the system, join it. But what I say is: If you can’t break the system, don’t join it. Make a new system.
EDUCATION, ATTITUDE, AWARENESS
Swastika: Similar to the case of disabled people, unless an LGBTI is a member of your family, it won’t matter to you. And most families will try to hide or avoid the fact once they come to know.
It is easier to convince and educate people who are ignorant than those who feign ignorance. My family understands me but they just don’t want an LGBTI in the family. But we need to create awareness from our families, because the message goes from families to the society and beyond.
Five years, when we were ignorant, people called us ‘chhakkas’ or ‘hijaras’. Now people address me as third gender, and yes, the words have made a difference.
Manushi: The education system largely affects those outside of Kathmandu. For instance, those living in Kathmandu were indifferent to the decision to phase out Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL) because they have access to private institutions and can afford a 10+2 education.
PCL is most needed by the poor and uneducated from outside of Kathmandu. Yes, it may have been necessary to phase out PCL, but what is the alternative? You can’t suddenly tell thousands of people who rely on it to join a 10+2 college, which they can’t afford. The annual fee of PCL is equivalent to the entrance form of a private institution.
The irony in all of this is that the center for everything is Kathmandu, but the problems are of those living outside of Kathmandu. So where do we go to revolt?
The government needs to invest in a good education system.
Raaz: Our priority is to make our identities known in the society as third genders and as natural human beings. A small child today will enter his/her youth in 10 years from now. What we want is for that child to grow up knowing that, besides male and female, there are third gender people as well.
Parents are happy when a son is born, hoping that he will take care of them when they are old. But if the same son becomes a third gender person in 15 years, parents will disown him. Third gender students are still being expelled from schools and colleges.
School curriculums should, therefore, include educational information on third gender. That way, children will not only grow up learning about LGBTI, but be more aware of his/her gender.
Tika: Some of our courses are discriminatory agaisnt the physically challenged. For instance, a Grade Four book contains the phrase: Andhole hatti chhamne (A blind touching an elephant).
The same child that grows up with such a mentality turns into a youth one day. The youth should be sensitized to derogatory words such as lato and langado. It may not matter to someone who is not disabled, but it does to those who are.
While to change the attitude of people does matter, it all starts with the use of such words. If you call me ‘langado sister’, I will be be angry.
Sujan: To change the society, you have to make the education system strong right from the foundation levels. Removing certain offensive words from books is not going to change the attitude of the people towards the disabled or an LGBTI. This goes beyond words. Policies alone won’t make a difference.
To develop Nepal, the responsibility of the current youth is to think of what we can give to the future generations. How can we give them opportunities that we were deprived of? The easiest way is through the strengthening of the education system.
FIVE YEARS FROM NOW…
Swastika: I hope that there is a change in the attitude of people in how they perceive LGBTIs. I will still be struggling to get my rights and to create awareness.
Manushi: I hope that Nepal will be a better platform for the youth. I hope to see the ideals we fought for being implemented by then. I want to be less of political rhetoric, and more of someone working for the strengthening of the economy.
Raaz: Rights are something far in the distant horizon, but I hope that in five years time, third gender people will get their identities. I also hope to see young people running the nation.
Tika: I don’t see myself representing only the physically challenged but working as an influential leader for the youth because I believe that I am capable.
Sujan: I hope that individuals like me, who are politically aware but detached, will have means to do whatever they want. Personally, I will continue to work harder, without any political affiliations, because I am a believer in individual strength.
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