Namrata Sharma

Following last week’s opinion piece ‘How can our girls be safe?’ this writer here attempts to investigate the root causes of Gender Based Violence (GBV). It is a fact that GBV especially Violence Against Girls and Women (VAW & G) is increasing day by day and justice is not received by most of the victims and survivors. It is therefore important to explore where we are going wrong and how should this be addressed to achieve a zero tolerance strategy against these heinous crimes.

Patriarchy
Women in Nepal are generally treated as subordinate to men in virtually every aspect of life. Nepal is a rigidly patriarchal society. Women's relative status, however, varies from one ethnic group to another. While women from certain communities like Brahmins and Chhetri are subjected to polygamy, women from Sherpa communities are subjected to polyandry. Nepal in general does not have services suitable for people with disabilities. Girls and women with disability, from rural and Terai- plain area face more discrimination and inequalities. The status of women in Tibeto-Nepalese communities generally, is relatively better than that of the women in the mountains and Terai or Madhesh. Women from the low caste groups also enjoy relatively more autonomy and freedom than the Madhesi, Pahadi and Newari women. However, women in general, especially those belonging to the marginalised communities have been facing exclusion from various rights.
Women in the workforce like ex-Kamlaris (bonded labourers), migrant and domestic workers, women in the entertainment sector fall in a very vulnerable situation and face more discrimination, both at home and in the community. Nepali women's lives mainly remain centered around their traditional roles — taking care of most household chores, fetching water and animal fodder, and doing farm work. Their standing in the society is mostly contingent on their husbands' and parents' social and economic positions. They still have limited access to markets, productive services, education, health care, and authority. Malnutrition and poverty hit women hardest. Female children usually are still given less food than male children, especially when the family experiences food shortages.
This column has reported that women and girls have faced the impact of COVID 19 pandemic the hardest too. They have faced the lack of nutrition and a report predicts that the pandemic could result in the dropout of over 50 per cent girls from schools from rural communities of Nepal. Reports and research of incidents during the pandemic has exposed that during lockdown, VAW & G occurred in several forms including physical abuse, rape, murder and increase of domestic burden couple with work from home for professional women.
Women usually work harder and longer than men. Women are responsible for 60 to 80 per cent of all house and care work as per World Development Report. The economic contribution of women is substantial, but largely unnoticed because their traditional role is taken for granted, also their contribution is not accounted in the GDP. As mentioned in my earlier writing, it is a fact that although women are economically active and may have education, there is still violation of their rights both within the households, work place and the community in general. Highly educated men still treat their women family members who may have education and salary equal or more than themselves in the same roles that their fathers and grandfathers treated.
The society in general including women, who being part of the overall patriarchal system, still seem to value the fact that no matter how educated or financially strong women are they need to still be “domesticated” and find a husband and family from where the financial needs are met. The emotional, spiritual and mainly the need to have a dignified life are still not addressed properly. Even highly empowered women usually succumb down to family needs more than their own needs, as women keep family needs before their personal interest. This often backfires on them. While the family and the feminist movement points fingers at these able women, no one unpacks the day to day dilemma they may be facing within their households and the workplace to make sure their dignity is intact.
Women’s access to literacy, education, and decision-making is still less than men’s in Nepal. However, over the past few decades, significant progress has been made in the health and education sectors. The life expectancy of women has slightly increased and is now higher than men’s. The maternal mortality ratio has decreased significantly. In the last two decades, access to maternal health services increased and service utilisation improved remarkably. Significant progress has been noted in the education status of women in Nepal. Eighty-three per cent of women residing in urban areas are literate compared with 64 per cent in rural areas.

Women’s contribution
In Nepal, according to a World Bank Report, 66 per cent women are in the workforce. Women’s earnings are determined by their type of work. Women are primarily involved in agriculture, wage labour, domestic work and to some extent salaried jobs. In the urban area women are involved in professional jobs including both technical and enterprises. In rural area women are targeted by government projects to be part of micro entrepreneur activities. The majority of married women who are employed are engaged in regular household chores and agriculture work, which is unpaid. Agriculture work is part of the subsistence farming that their households engage in, and thus women’s economic contribution through household and agriculture work is not recognised. Women’s employment opportunities and ability to access such opportunities are influenced by their overall social status.
The rising of women’s march to protest against the rape and murder, our daughters are facing every day, is a very important step to bring people from all walks of life together to protest against this heinous crime. It is also equally important time now to explore how the root causes of Gender Based Violence can be addressed to support the advocacy and protests to keep our girls safe.

(Namrata Sharma is a senior journalist and women rights advocate. namrata1964@yahoo.com Twitter handle: NamrataSharmaP)