The country is believed to have undergone a sea change in the aftermath of the successful 2006 April Revolution. But it appears that the more things change, the more they stay the same (or get worse). Take the case of violence against women. There seems to have been no marked improvement in violence against women since the historic Jana Andolan. If anything, the situation has gotten worse the longer the political transition has dragged on. Aided and abetted by lawlessness and impunity, the patriarchal practices seem entrenched as ever. The case of 65-year-old Raj Kumari Rana of Kailali is illustrative. On Friday, Rana, who was accused of practicing witchcraft was stripped in public, then mercilessly beaten, before being forced to consume human excreta. Or take the case of 35-year-old Samyukta Devi of Saptari who succumbed to her injuries on Friday after allegedly being set alight by her in-laws for not bringing adequate dowry.
There have been many studies to determine the level of discrimination against Nepali women. A National Women Commission (NWC) study last year pointed out how dowry contributed to violence against women, and perpetuated discrimination against daughters, abortion of female fetus and lack of education and healthcare for girls. Although it is a crime in Nepal to give or receive dowry, the custom continues in the absence of stringent measures to bring those involved to book. Such an absence of the fear of the state’s writ also contributes to over 100 cases of witchcraft that come out in the media every year. The real number is believed to be much higher, as most women never report their cases fearing social repercussions. Witchcraft and dowry are just two of the many ways Nepali women continue to be victimized for no greater crime than being born into the ‘wrong sex’.
The fact that so many of the grassroots-level campaigns for justice for women have fallen woefully short of their mark is indicative of the true extent of the problem. Changing the mindset of a population long accustomed to patriarchal practices will not be easy. Only persistent effort, both on the part of the government and other organizations working in the field, will bring meaningful changes. There has to be strong political will for such a change, which has been sorely absent so far.
Women continue to bear the brunt of discriminatory practices because the supposed big changes have been limited to paper. Even measures like 33 percent representation of women at all state institutions, which was hailed around the world as a mark of a truly progressive society, risks being reversed. The women working in the field must share some of the blame. Often, it has appeared that different women’s bodies have wanted to push ahead alone, when a coordinated approach is clearly the need of the hour. These problems are too big for piecemeal solutions. Only persistent grassroots level activism and continuous collective pressure on the political class to respect the wishes of more than half of the country’s citizens is likely to make a meaningful difference in the long run.
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