Collective Fight Ends Gender Inequality

 

One of my college students asked me, out of the blue, 'Ma'am, does patriarchy still exist in Nepal?' I thought she was simply curious about the issue, so I responded in a normal tone, 'Yes, of course! You'll find a lot of examples of this if you observe our society closely.' Then she opened up about how she was discriminated against by her employers in her workplace, only based on her gender. Her story made me think about the issues of gender balance or gender equity. Luckily, she is a strong-headed girl, so she fought for her rights and raised her voice high to teach a lesson to those handful of biased people. Unfortunately, not all Nepali women may not have the guts like my student to stand for themselves or speak up when they experience gender differences.

We find gender equity only on paper but in reality, there is still a practice of male chauvinism in most of the cases in Nepal.  Since historically, culturally and socially, Nepal has been a patriarchal society, it seems to be very hard to maintain gender balance. Apart from in some exceptional situations, people have a deep-rooted belief system that men are superior to women in every sphere of life, and this belief will not go away easily. Some examples of discrimination between girls and boys include chhaupadi, dowry system, rape, property rights, domestic roles, gender-based violence, citizenship hurdles, limited political representation, limited economic participation, workplace harassment and many more. 

Constructed differences 

Although the law has protected women's rights, the implementation side has not been working effectively. A research study, conducted by Pranab Dahal, Sunil Kumar Joshi and Katarina Swahnberg in 2022, also confirms gender inequality in Nepal. Their findings suggest that the subjugation of women occurs due to practices based on gender differences, constricted life opportunities, and internalisation of constructed differences among women. They have developed a concept of power-play, which is identified as a cause and consequence of women's subordination and violence. This means that the ultimate power needed to run the Nepali society is still in the hands of men. 

Women have been struggling to share that power for a long time; for this, they have even sacrificed their lives. Yogmaya Neupane (1867 - 1941 AD) is a great example who is considered Nepal's first revolutionary woman. Yogmaya was a spiritual leader and social reformer who ended her life along with 68 of her followers in protest against the social conditions of her time by jumping into the wild floods of the river Arun. Her protest was directed against the social practices that had been highly divided along gender and caste hierarchies. 

Nepali women, at different times, have pushed for changes around them, winning small battles, one at a time but they have not succeeded yet. Currently, there are many women, such as Anuradha Koirala, Bandana Rana, Uma Devi Badi, Durga Sob and others who are working tirelessly in the field of gender equality.

While I was reading an essay by Bonnie Smith-Yackel, I just thought about women in our society. In her narrative essay, 'My Mother Never Worked,' Bonnie, an American author, has depicted her homemaker mother's picture very beautifully. The writer wants to make her readers aware of how a society devalues unpaid household chores and farm work. Her mother, who devoted all her life to taking care of the house, raising her children and doing difficult farm work, was sadly deprived of Social Security benefits. According to federal law, only those workers are entitled to such benefits who have a paid job. 

Although the author tries her best to convince the Social Security officer by saying that her mother worked harder throughout her life than anybody else, so she must have got death benefit, the officer does not budge. Instead, she responds, 'Well, that's right. Your mother didn't work, you know.' This response breaks a reader's heart. In the same vein, another American writer, Sandra Cisneros, has written an essay 'Only Daughter'. In this essay, she has shown how difficult it is to be a daughter in a Mexican family where there are already six sons. Her brothers did not want to play with her in public because she was a girl, so Sandra was isolated throughout her childhood. 

Her father used to believe that she was going to be someone's wife. She recalls how h e thought college was good for girls to find a husband but not to gain knowledge or education. However, Sandra was determined to make her father understand that his daughter is a writer; she worked hard to make him proud but he did not seem to value her. She writes, '...Everything I have ever written has been for him, to win his approval even though I know my father cannot read English words.'

Women's struggles 

I am using these essays to make a point that not only Nepali women are struggling to get recognised but women around the world are also facing the same problem. There are different movements in world history to secure women's rights or gender equality. For instance, the Women's Suffrage Movement (also known as the first-wave feminist movement), second-wave feminism, third-wave and networked feminism. The UN is also working in the same direction.

An Asian Development Bank report highlights that Nepal has taken progressive steps toward greater gender equality throughout the past five decades of planned development. Important legal amendments have been made to strengthen women’s rights in key areas such as citizenship, inheritance, and anti-trafficking. Yet, there is gender-based discrimination in all walks of life. So, we must fight against this problem collectively. Thanks to my student who stood up for herself and fought against gender-based discrimination at her workplace. We need more girls like her who are aware of their rights and capable of taking a stand whenever situations call for. 

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, January 9, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]

Good Intention Leads To Victory

These days, my acquaintances and friends from different parts of the country and abroad ask me questions like, "What's going on in your place? Are you okay? What do you think about Balen Shah's entry into national politics? Do you think he should be the Prime Minister of your country? Who is this Balen Shah who has a lot of media coverage recently?" Such questions compel me to closely observe Balen Shah's activities. Because of his candidacy in Jhapa-5, his campaign has particularly highlighted Damak, where he is staying for his election campaign. 

Everybody has seen how he is getting people's attention from the eastern to the western parts of Nepal. It seems like he is the only hope to bring positive changes in Nepal. There are masses gathered to meet him and share their problems. Whether Balen wins or not in the upcoming election or will become the next Prime Minister is not a topic to discuss here because speculations do not work every time. Let's leave all this to the result of the election. As far as I am concerned, I have been observing him as a person, not as a politician, and I have found that he is teaching us different lessons that are obviously useful in our lives. 

A good listener

First of all, he is a good listener. When he meets the local people to learn about their situation, he patiently listens to them, and then only he responds. I have never seen him interrupt others to make his point or to be heard louder. Usually, what happens - people just want to talk or they interrupt others without allowing them to complete their sentences. This is regarded as a breach of the communication rule. In addition, there is a high risk of communication breakdown due to a lack of proper listening.  It is said that if you are not a good listener, you cannot be a good speaker. 

I have found Balen Shah to be an extremely goal-oriented person. He sets some goals and will not derail even an inch until achieving them. For instance, we can see how organised his nationwide tour is. He has not wasted a single day loitering here and there. He is determined to meet the deadlines of his tasks. In his capacity as a Mayor, whatever he has done to beautify Kathmandu within a short period of time is also evidence of his determination to complete certain work within a specified time. Balen seems to be an expert in executing his strategic plan. 

Another aspect I have seen in Balen is that he is capable of managing a crisis. He lost his father nearly two months ago. One can imagine how shattered he must be from this irreparable loss. As he has promised himself to transform the country basically by good governance, anti-corruption and many other measures, he hid his grief and moved towards the direction to achieve his dream of nation building. As if his father's passing away was not enough, Balen recently lost his dear friend Dinesh Sitaula during a political campaign tour in Achham. He managed this as well and moved on.

Among all strengths, I have found the most impressive one is his tolerance for criticism. A handful of people are throwing baseless criticisms at him continuously but he chooses to be quiet. Sometimes I am upset to hear filthy comments and want to yell at those insensitive people who make such comments, but Balen is a different person. He states that he takes negative statements positively. He also believes that the so-called critics are, in fact, promoting him, as the general public can differentiate what is true and what is false about him.

Somewhere I have read that 'less is more' and this applies to Balen Shah. Some of the political leaders talk nonsense all the time; they make false promises to deceive the public but in Balen's case, his actions speak louder than his words. He does not want to waste his energy on unnecessary talk; he saves it for better purposes. If he needs to speak, he uses every word meaningfully. He talks little but when he talks, talks logically.

Positive side

I accept Balen Shah may have weaknesses, who doesn't? But if we look at his positive side, I am sure we can take a lot of inspiration from him. He is a man with a clear mission and vision. If one can develop Balen's level of determination and clarity, they can achieve any goal they set in their life. The youths all over the country may also have experienced the same thing, so they are after Balen with a slogan, 'Balen dai! Balen dai'. They look up to him as a role model. They have put their hope and trust in him. 

Whether Balen will become the Prime Minister after the Falgun 21 election or not does not matter much, like for others who declare that if the election result is not in their favour, they will boycott it. Even if he loses this election, Balen will definitely find other options to lead his life successfully and meaningfully. I know people with pure intentions and determination will never fail. Being one of his admirers, I wish him all the best.    

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, February 6, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]

Candidates Mustn't Forget Gen Z Agenda

 Until last week, people were doubtful regarding the upcoming election of members of the House of Representatives scheduled for March 5. But what was seen on the 20th of January draws a different picture. On this day, political leaders with old and new faces eagerly filed their candidacies across the country. This scenario has obviously prepared the ground for the general election.  Among all places, the most talked about place has become Jhapa-5, where Kathmandu Metropolitan City's former mayor and Rashtriya Swatantra Party senior leader Balendra Shah or Balen and former prime minister and CPN - UML chair KP Sharma Oli filed their candidacies. Now, the public is curious to see who will win this electoral battle between them. Interestingly, both of them have projected themselves as candidates for Prime Minister.    

My concern here is not to support one or the other candidate. However, I will use my voting right to vote for a genuine contestant. What is more important is the responsibilities to be fulfilled by the new government, which seems to be formed sooner rather than later. The government should not forget why the Gen Z movement occurred on September 8 and 9. The general public's trust has been shattered due to the monopoly of the earlier governments, where mainly three major political parties - UML, Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre - were involved. So, that lost trust must be gained by the newly elected government by taking immediate actions for the pending issues.

Deep-rooted corruption 

The first and foremost thing to do is to find out the criminals who were involved in killing more than 70 innocent people during the Gen Z movement, and then to punish them according to the law. All Nepali people and particularly the martyr families, are waiting for justice. Another issue to be addressed is the eradication of corruption, which is deeply rooted in all levels of governance systems. For instance, bribery is a common practice in almost all government offices. Wherever you go, your work will not get done smoothly unless you bribe in some way. As a result, the general public is suffering greatly.

 I think we are being corrupted in a sense because of the state system. To accelerate the completion of our work, we prefer to pay extra money rather than wait unnecessarily for long, or we bribe a taxi driver and rush to our destination instead of confronting him for demanding a higher fare than needed. Many such incidents keep happening in our everyday lives. The third and most serious issue to be addressed is to stop brain drain and unemployment. These days, people are moving to foreign countries mainly for two reasons. They leave Nepal either to study further or to get employment. 

The ultimate goal of students is also to reside in a foreign land to secure a better life. We are pretty aware of the fact that brain drain and foreign employment have invited different kinds of problems in the country. Firstly, let's discuss the problems related to brain drain.  It is said that over 1,00,000 youths are departing Nepal annually in recent years for higher education. This significantly impacts the nation's human resources and economy. In addition, such students are at a high risk of depression, anxiety or even suicide due to family pressure, study and workload. Most of the students go abroad with a heavy loan, which their parents expect to be paid as soon as possible. 

The situation will not be favourable for newly arrived students in a foreign land. They need to juggle with many things, such as accommodation, study, work and familiarisation with a new lifestyle. They may not be able to cope with all this and start losing their sanity.  Wasting youth energy this way is not good for the nation.  Usually, people choose foreign employment to uplift their life standard or simply to fulfill their basic needs of lodging, fooding and clothing. According to recent reports, more than 7, 00,000 to 8, 00,000 Nepali people go abroad annually seeking employment. Among them, around 2, 00,000 are unskilled and the remaining are semi-skilled or skilled. Such workers include both men and women. 

Contribution 

Although they contribute massively to the country's economy through their remittances, their family life has been jeopardised in most of the cases. Mostly, children suffer a lot in such families. Both father and mother have a great role in shaping their children's future but sadly, either one or sometimes both of their parents are absent in their lives at the stage when they need them the most. Such a situation may lead to children's destructive behaviour, bad company, drug addiction or even crimes.   

So, what can be done to keep the people in Nepal itself so that they can support the process of nation-building? First of all, after completion of their degree, there must be a job guarantee for youths in the respective fields of their studies. Along with this, the salary must also be lucrative so that they will not be tempted to look for better job opportunities abroad. Secondly, there must be sufficient and dignified employment opportunities for those people who reluctantly go to other countries only to fulfill their family's needs. If the new government seriously works on the issues mentioned above, I hope the people who lost their lives during the Gen Z movement and their families will get justice to some extent. The lost lives cannot be revived but some comfort can be brought to those who are alive.

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, January 23, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]