Bring Strict Law Against Rapists

 Last time I raised an issue of the Epstein files, which disclosed how the world leaders may also have been involved in sex trafficking. However, this is yet to be proved. The Epstein case indicates that girls or women are vulnerable everywhere around the world. And Nepal is not an exception. For the last couple of weeks, the Nepali media has been continuously publishing news reports about Inisha BK, who was a victim of gang rape and murder. There are different protests being organized asking for justice. 

Inisha was just a 16-year-old girl who aspired to be a doctor but unfortunately, her dream was shattered by some insensitive and foolish boys who were accused of being rapists and murderers. Not only this, her parents had lost their son a decade ago and now their only child had also gone because of someone's brutality. Inisha is only an example; there are several cases of rape every day in Nepal. Since 2018, Nirmala Panta's parents have been waiting for justice for their daughter, who was raped and murdered like Inisha. 

Rising rape cases 

The available data shows that on average, seven women and girls are being raped daily in the country. Annually, the rape cases have increased by roughly 20 per cent. These are only reported cases; in most of the situations, victims cannot raise their voice because of different social or familial reasons.  A UNICEF report states that more than 370 million girls and women or one in eight, experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18. Females are struggling worldwide for their safety. 

Even if rape is not socially acceptable at any cost, why men are prone to this unacceptable act? There are several research studies conducted to find the answer of this question. Their findings suggest that primarily it is a production of patriarchal society where men feel proud to execute violence, power and control over women rather than just satisfying their sexual desire. Other reasons include psychological factors, substance abuse, racism and poverty.

Some people may think that it is only a problem in some poor Asian or African countries but in the developed countries such as France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, New Zealand or America, the rape cases are equally reported. In fact, it is a worldwide issue. What is surprising to learn is that countries with stronger legal protections often have higher reported rape figures.

Different countries across the world have strong laws against sexual assault to make their societies a safer place, particularly for women. For instance, a rapist in India has a punishment of life imprisonment to death sentence, for a similar case, a death sentence is applied in Pakistan as well, and China has a death sentence or castration. In Saudi Arabia, the punishment for rape is a public beheading. In North Korea, the rapists get a death sentence by firing squad. Similarly, they are shot in the head in Afghanistan. 

Other countries where there is a death penalty for rapists are Egypt and Iran. The USA itself has life imprisonment for such criminals. When it comes to Nepal, there is only imprisonment, which ranges from 10 to 25 years according to the age of the victims and the nature of rape, such as gang rape, marital rape or incestual rape. This sort of punishment does not seem to be as strong as in other countries mentioned here.  Although there is a high demand for the death penalty by lawmakers and the general public, it has not been passed into law yet. 

In the context of Nepal, some strategies can be used that may help to decrease rape cases. First of all, it is very important to empower girls. They must not feel inferior to boys. When they sense some kind of filthy intention of boys, they must stop them then and there. There is a tendency to blame victims, e.g., questioning their clothing or objecting to their openness, which the girls must realise is not true. If there is some kind of physical or verbal defense training, it will be very helpful. 

Most of all, sex education is very important in our schools. The students must receive age-appropriate content related to human sexuality. If they are well informed regarding their body, they may not want to engage in unhealthy experimentation with sex. Coming back to Inisha's case, one of the boys is said to be her boyfriend; can a boyfriend be so ruthless? Whatever statement he gave to the police is not convincing and what is more important is that his statement and Inisha's postmortem report do not match. 

Public skepticism 

Currently, there has been a news story that one of the four alleged boys' fathers said that if his son is found guilty, he can be punished by hanging and he will not have any objection to this. As a father, he has made a big statement but the public seems to be quite skeptical about whether he is telling the truth. The case is still under investigation. 

I truly hope Inisha BK's case should not be pending like Nirmala Panta's or dismissed like many others'. She must get justice sooner rather than later. Every girl has a right to feel safe. Now we are on the verge of forming the new government that must review the law related to the punishment system for rapists. At least life imprisonment needs to be introduced, if not the death penalty. If there is a strong punishment system, a rapist will always think twice before committing a crime.

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, March 20, 2026 ) 

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Women Continue To Face Sexual Abuse

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. It was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly  in 1948. The UDHR defines human rights as universal, inalienable, and inherent entitlements belonging to every person, regardless of status, based on the principle that all people are born free and equal in dignity.  However, there is a big question: 'Even though these rights are protected by international law, are they implemented in reality?'

Recently, a news story related to the Epstein files was published by the international media, which made people's eyes go wide open. The release of these files triggers a public debate globally. When I read about Jeffrey Epstein, I got furious. How can people be so cruel to children? In fact, he has been on news since 2005 when his criminal activities were exposed. That year, the Florida police started investigating him when the parents of a 14-year-old girl reported that she had been molested at the millionaire's home in Palm Beach. Epstein turned to be a wealthy convicted sex offender. 

Sex trafficking 

He was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. It is said that the same year, he died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. This year the US Department of Justice has published more than three million additional pages related to the Epstein files. What is surprising in this document is that many high-profile world people are listed there who seemed to be somehow connected to Jeffrey Epstein. These people include Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Sarah Ferguson, Ehud Barak, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and many others. 

Appearing in the documents, however, does not mean that there is any implication of wrongdoing. Still, these people may be under surveillance until the investigation is complete. We all know that America is one of the most democratic countries in the world. In such a country, children are also not safe and what can we expect in places like ours? Human trafficking is the biggest problem in Nepal as well, where women and girls are the most vulnerable. Anuradha Koirala, a social activist and the founder of Maiti Nepal, has been fighting against this issue for years and the problem remains the same. Who doesn't know about a 13-year old girl, Nirmala Panta? She was found raped and murdered in 2018. Sadly, justice for her has not been delivered yet.

The other day, I heard a terrible story of a woman from Arghakhachi who was extremely tortured physically and mentally by her own husband. She was kept hostage in a house by him. She was sexually abused every day, because of which her vagina was torn up. She could not hold either her urine or stool, as both of them came out from the same organ. To terrorise her, the husband used to put a knife to her chest while sleeping. The couple had two children and the father had threatened them not to tell anything to anyone; if they did, he would kill their mother and them as well. So, the children were terrified. 

Luckily, the son was able to take a photograph of her mother with a knife on her chest and show it to the local social activists. Eventually, she was rescued by them after living a hellish life for nearly one and a half years. Let's take another case of Shobha Pathak, who has a lot of allegations against a CPN-UML leader, Mahesh Basnet. She claims that she got married to Basnet but he denied the fact and abandoned her. She shouts now and then that she has not got justice. She even blames the KP Sharma Oli-led government for covering Basnet's truth. She is still fighting her battle in the court. 

These are only a few examples. Every day, there are news stories published which are related to child marriage, child abuse, forced marriage, dowry, rape, domestic violence, murder, sexual harassment or gender discrimination. In most of the cases, females are the victims. We talk about Women's rights or children's rights but these rights may not be experienced by all of the concerned people. A UN report shows that around 50,000 women and girls worldwide were killed in 2024, most by family members. The same report says that a French woman, Gisele Pelicot, was drugged by her husband and raped by dozens of men while she was unconscious for over nine years. 

Domination 

Whether it is in Nepal or elsewhere in the world, it is seen that more powerful people dominate the less powerful ones. Historically, this power has been given to men based on patriarchal norms. The label attached to women as the 'weaker sex' seems to be persistent at some level. This may be the reason why some men mistreat women and girl children. They should not forget that everybody has equal rights in all spheres of life. 

Human civilization has come this far but the savagery of the ancient society follows in one or another form. Even if this is the case, we should not stop raising our voice continuously against each and every sort of discrimination until we are heard and appropriate action is taken. At the same time, we should be watchful that some people always want to silence our voice to prove their superiority or power. The fight for human rights goes on and on.

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

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Are We Enjoying Democracy?

 

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, said that democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. If we explore the origin of the word 'democracy', we find that it has been derived from the Greek word 'demokratia' where 'demos' stands for 'the people' and 'kratia' for 'power' or 'rule'. 

So, in very simple terms, democracy can be defined as a system of government that is decided by the people via election. They vote for representatives and send them to parliament, which is a country's legislative or law-making body. The parliament develops different systems to run the country smoothly. If we see the history of democracy, it goes back to the fifth century BC. During that time, it was first introduced in Athens by Cleisthenes of Athens, who is considered the father of democracy. 

History 

Since then, there has been the practice of democracy in the world in different forms. Nepal has its own history of democracy. For the first time, with the help of political leaders, such as B. P. Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, and many others, the late king Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah took an initiative to establish democracy in Nepal on the 7th of Falgun, 2007 BS or 1951 AD. This step was taken to topple the 104-year-long autocracy of the Rana regime.  So, this year, we, the Nepali people, are celebrating the 75th democracy day. 

During these years, Nepal has gone through different democratic movements, and people have experienced a lot of ups and downs. The Nepali Congress-led government ruled the country for about a decade. Unfortunately, this government was removed by the late King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah in 1960 AD to introduce the Panchayati system, which he claimed was a suitable system for the nation. But people started to feel that this system of monarchism pushed democracy back. 

There are different indicators of democracy. Some of them include sovereignty, fundamental human rights, equality, and individual freedom, open access to information, freedom of speech, free press, people's participation in politics, multi-party system, free election, independent judiciary, transparent government, decentralisation, and others. Since the Nepali people were deprived of all these facilities, they were not happy with the Panchayati system.

As a result of their dissatisfaction, there was a joint civil resistance in 1990 AD. It was led by the United Left Front, which turned out to be the CPN UML and Nepali Congress. After a long struggle, eventually they were successful in overthrowing the Panchayati system and establishing a constitutional monarchy, which seemed to be a form of democracy. 

Although the government system was changed and people got limited access to democracy through a multi-party system, they were not fully satisfied. This was reflected in the Maoist rebellion in 1996 AD, and led to an armed civil war. Once again, democracy was at stake in Nepal. The people's war lasted for a decade, and it resulted in thousands of deaths and widespread destabilisation, particularly in the countryside. 

In the meantime, the Royal Palace Massacre occurred, in which King Birendra and much of the royal family were killed. Following this tragedy, King Gyanendra ascended to the throne. He dissolved the government and assumed absolute power in 2005, which invited much public criticism and opposition from political parties. This led to yet another movement in 2006 AD. It forced the king to step down. Subsequently, Parliament was reinstated, and the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord with the Maoists formally ended the decade-long civil war.

Although democracy was restored this way, it had not been implemented as people had expected it to be. Three major parties emerged - Nepali Congress, CPN UML, and Maoist - to rule the nation. They took charge of the country turn by turn. Gradually, corruption, nepotism, anarchism, inequality, unemployment, brain-drain, and what not started to foster. When all this reached a climax, the Gen Z revolution occurred in 2025. We all know the rest.

This snapshot of the political history of Nepal shows that more than seventy years have been employed and spent on democracy. It seems like the movement started against the autocracy of the Rana dynasty has not fully achieved its goals yet. Dr. Tara Nath Ghimire had conducted a research study on 'Democratic movements and challenges in Nepal' and found several reasons for the failure of democracy in Nepal. First of all, the political parties were unable to teach people that the country is bigger than the party. 

Greed for position and power

The Nepali citizens could not be emotionally organised due to the leaders' greed for position and power. Secondly, the political leaders have lost respect for morality. The rights and duties of citizens are not delineated. The general people are also prone to immorality due to the unethical actions of political leaders. Another reason Mr. Ghimire points out is that the media also has an important role in shaping democracy, but unfortunately, most of them are run by political parties, and this leads to bias.

Once again, Nepali people are at a threshold of general elections to elect the members of the House of Representatives. I hope this time people vote for the right candidates who understand the real meaning of democracy and allow all the citizens to enjoy the system freely. The elected political leaders should keep in mind that democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It, in fact, protects people's power, not the political leaders'.  Happy Democracy Day to all who are in Nepal and abroad.    

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, February 20, 2026 ) 

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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.]

के बुढेसकाल साँच्चै दयनीय छ त ?

 

हामी सहकर्मीहरु बसेर गफ गर्ने सिलसिलामा एकदिन ‘सेवानिवृत्त’ जीवनको बारेमा कुरा चल्यो । कसैले भने, ‘रिटायर्ड भएपछि त के काम गर्नु र ? चूपचाप घरमा बस्यो, खायो, सुत्यो ।’ कसैले यसको प्रतिवाद गर्दै भने, ‘रिटायर्ड भएपछि त यो नियमित जागीरबाट छुटकारा पाइन्छ । अनि आफूले यतिन्जेल चाहेर पनि गर्न नसकेका कामहरु कुनै वाधा व्यवधानबेगर गर्ने नि !’ यसै क्रममा एकजनाले बडो घतलाग्दो कुरा सुनाए । उनले भने— ‘रिटायर्ड हुनु भनेको कामै नगरी घर बस्नु भनेको होइन नि ! यसको मतलब त री–टायर हो नि ! अथवा हाम्रो दैनिकीको पुरानो टायर फेरेर नयाँ टायर लगाउनु हो !’ उनका यस्ता कुराले मेरो मन छोयो । हो त नि, हाम्रो जीवनको एउटा कालखण्डको अन्त्यपछि शुरु भएको अर्को खण्ड हो सेवानिवृत्त जीवन । जुगाड गर्दै गर्दै धेरै समय चलेको गाडीको पुरानो टायर फेरेर नयाँ टायर हालेपछि गाडी जुन गतिमा कुद्न थाल्छ, कतिपय व्यक्तिहरु रिटायर्ड भएपछि पहिलेभन्दा सकृय भएर आफ्नो जीवनमा अगाडि बढ्छन् । आफ्ना अधूरा सपनाहरु पूरा गर्छन् र चर्चित पनि हुन्छन् ।

                जब जीवनको दोस्रो खण्डमा कुनै नयाँ काम गरेर त्यसैमा कीर्ति स्थापित गर्ने व्यक्तिका कुरा आउँछन् , म सबभन्दा पहिले फ्र्यान्सिस  म्याकोर्ट अर्थात् फ्र्याङ्क  म्याकोर्टलाई सम्झिन्छु । उनको जन्म न्यूयोर्कको ब्रुकलिन भन्ने ठाउँमा सन् १९३० मा भएको थियो । उनका मातापिता आयरल्याण्डबाट बसाइ सराइ गरी अमेरीका पुगेका थिए । पेशाले उनी माध्यमिक विद्यालयमा अध्यापन गर्ने एक साधारण शिक्षक थिए । न्यूयोर्कका विभिन्न ३३ वटा विद्यालयमा उनले सिर्जनात्मक लेखन विषय पढाए । उनको पढाउने शैलीलाई त्यो बेलाको शिक्षण प्रणाली मुताविक काम गर्ने व्यक्तिहरुले खासै रुचाएनन् । त्यसैले त उनी एक विद्यालयदेखि अर्को विद्यालयमा भौंतारिइरहे । वास्तवमा उनी तत्कालिन शिक्षा प्रणालीमा फिट हुन सकेनन् । यसको मुख्य कारण म्याकोर्टले आफ्नै शिक्षण पद्धति प्रतिपादन गरेका थिए । पाठ्यपुस्तकमा दिएका विषयवस्तुमा भन्दा उनको चाख विद्यार्थीहरुका अनुभवमा बढी थियो । त्यसैले उनी यिनै अनुभवका आधारमा आफ्ना पाठ्य सामग्री बनाइ अध्यापन गर्थे । उनले हुबहु आधिकारिक पाठ्यक्रम अनुसार नपढाए पनि विद्यार्थीहरु उनको शिक्षण शैलीबाट सन्तुष्ट थिए । फ्र्याङ्क  म्याकोर्ट आफ्नो पेशामा रहुन्जेल गुमनाम शिक्षक थिए । उनलाई सीमित परिवेशका मान्छेले बाहेक  कसैले चिन्दैनथ्यो ।

                तर जब उनी सेवानिवृत्त भए, उनले आफ्नो सिर्जनात्मक लेखाइको सीपलाई पुस्तक लेखनमा लगाए । उनकोे जीवनको दोस्रो काल खण्डले म्याकोर्टलाई विश्वप्रसिद्ध बनायो । उनको पहिलो पुस्तक ‘एन्जेलाज् यासेज्’ सन् १९९६ मा प्रकाशित भयो । यसबेला उनको उमेर ६६ वर्ष भैसकेको थियो । यसैगरी दोस्रो पुस्तक ‘इट इज: अ मेमोइर’ सन् १९९९ मा र तेस्रो पुस्तक ‘टिचर म्यान’ सन् २००५ मा प्रकाशित भएका थिए । उनको पुस्तक ‘एन्जेलाज् यासेज’ ले सन् १९९७ मा ‘पुलिट्जर प्राइज’ पाएको थियो । यो पुस्तकमा उनले आफ्नी आमा एन्जेला र आपूmहरुले आयरल्याण्डमा हुँदा भोगेको चरम गरिबीको बारेमा लेखेका छन् । म्याकोर्टको जन्म अमेरीकामा भएपनि उनी ४ वर्षका भएपछि उनीहरुको परिवार पुनः आयरल्याण्ड फर्केको थियो । त्यसैले उनको बाल्यकाल त्यहीँ बितेको थियो । यो पुस्तकमा आधारित चलचित्र पनि बनेको छ । यसरी आफ्नो जीवनको उत्तरार्धमा नै फ्र्याङ्क  म्याकोर्ट चर्चित भए । आज संसारले उनलाई एक प्रख्यात लेखकको रुपमा चिन्छ । उनको सन् २००९ मा भौतिक रुपमा मृत्यु भएता पनि उनी आफ्ना कृतिमा अमर छन् ।

                फ्र्याङ्क  म्याकोर्टजस्तै जीवनको उत्तरार्धमा चर्चित भएकी अर्की व्यक्तित्व हुन्— एना म्यारी रोबर्टसन् मोसेज अर्थात् ग्रयान्मा मोसेज । उनको जन्म सन् १८६० मा अमेरीकामा भएको थियो । उनी एक प्रख्यात चित्रकार थिइन् । आश्चर्यको कुरा, उनले आफ्नो पहिलो चित्र ७८ वर्षको उमेरमा बनाएकी थिइन् । ढल्किंदो उमेरमा नयाँ पेशाको थालनी गरे पनि उनी त्यो पेशामा सफल भइन् र नाम कमाइन् । अमेरीकाबाट प्रकाशित हुने ‘टाइम’ पत्रिकाले सन् १९५३ मा उनको बारेमा छापेपछि उनको प्रसिद्धि चुलिएको हो । त्यो समयमा विभिन्न टेलिभिजन कार्यक्रममा उनको चर्चा हुने गथ्र्यो ।

                वास्तवमा ग्रयान्मा मोसेजको पूर्वार्धको जीवन निकै संघर्षपूर्ण थियो । घरको आर्थिक अवस्था कमजोर भएका कारण उनी १२ वर्षको उमेरदेखि नै अर्काको घरमा काम गर्न बसेकी थिइन् । यस्तो काम गरेर उनले १५ वर्ष बिताइन् । आफ्नो विवाहपश्चात् उनी आफ्ना श्रीमान्सित खेतीबारीको काममा व्यस्त भइन् । उनको बाल्यकालदेखिको सपना भने चित्र बनाउनु नै थियो । घर व्यवहारको कामले ओझेलमा परेको त्यो सपनालाई मूर्त रुप दिन ग्रयान्मा मोसेले ७० को दशक पार गर्नु प¥यो । खुशीको कुरा, उनी यसमा पूर्ण रुपमा सफल भइन् । अहिले उनले बनाएका चित्रहरु संसारमा विभिन्न संग्रहालयहरुमा संग्रहित छन् । सन् १९६१ मा उनको मृत्यु भयो । त्यो बेला उनी १०१ वर्षकी थिइन् ।

                जीवनको पहिलो खण्डमा असफलता नै असफलताको सामना गर्ने कर्णेल हारल्याण्ड स्यान्डर्सले ६५ वर्षको उमेरपछि मात्र सफलताको स्वाद चाख्न पाए । आजको समयमा ‘केएफसी’ को नाम नसुन्ने मान्छे यो संसारमा विरलै होलान् । यसको पूरा नाम ‘केन्टुकी फ्राइड चिकन’ हो । यो खाद्य सामग्रीलाई स्थापित गराउन स्यान्डर्सले धेरै नै पापड बेल्नुपरेको थियो । उनले आफ्नो उर्वर समयभरि विभिन्न किसिमका नोकरीबाट अस्विकृति खेपे, व्यापारमा घाटा सहे, सधैँ उनलाई आर्थिक तङ्गी थियो । हुँदा हुँदा ६५ वर्षको उमेरमा उनी टाट पल्टिए । तैपनि उनले आफ्नो तारेको कुखुराको मासु पकाउने विधिलाई व्यापारीकरण गर्न छोडेनन् । यही क्रममा १,००९ पटकसम्म अस्विकृतिको सामना गरेपछि बल्ल एउटा रेस्टुरेन्टले उनको केएफसी रेसिपि किन्यो । त्यसपछि यो बिस्तारै चर्चित हुँदै गयो । आज संसारभर यो खाद्य पदार्थ प्रचलित छ । कर्णेल हारल्याण्ड स्यान्डर्सको जन्म सन् १८९० मा अमेरिकामा भएको थियो । उनी ९० वर्षको उमेरमा सन् १९८० मा यो संसारबाट बिदा भए पनि अमर छन् ।

                यहाँ वर्णन गरिएका तिनैजना व्यक्तिले उमेर भनेको खालि संख्या मात्र हो; यसले मानिसको सकृयता र सफलतालाई मापन गर्न सक्तैन भन्ने कुरा प्रमाणित गरेका छन् । यी केवल केहि उदाहरण मात्र हुन्  । हामीले खोजी गर्यौं भने अरु थुप्रै यस्ता मानिस भेटिन्छन् । हाम्रो समाजमा पनि जीवनपर्यन्त सकृय जीवनशैली अपनाउने व्यक्तिहरु छन् । तैपनि   अधिकांशमा के धारणा छ भने सेवानिवृत्त हुनु भनेको आफूमा भएको उर्वरता  समाप्त हुनु हो । यो कुरामा कुनै सत्यता छैन । एक किसिमले आफ्ना सम्पूर्ण जिम्मेवारीहरु पूरा गरिसकेको यो समय भनेको स्वतन्त्रताको उपभोग गर्ने समय हो । व्यवहारिक झन्झटमा फँसेर पूरा हुन नसकेका आफ्ना कतिपय अधूरा र अपूरा सपना, चाहना र इच्छा पूरा गर्ने समय हो । कसलाई के थाहा, लगनशील भएर  आफूलाई मन पर्ने काम निरन्तर गरिरहँदा हामीमध्ये पनि कोही फ्र्याङ्क  म्याकोर्ट, ग्रयान्मा मोसे अथवा हारल्याण्ड स्यान्डर्सजस्तै विश्वभरि प्रसिद्ध भइ पो हाल्छौँ कि ? उनीहरुको स्तरको सफलता हासिल गर्न नसके पनि हामी आत्मसन्तुष्टि र आत्मविश्वासका साथ आफ्नो उत्तरार्धको जीवन व्यतीत गर्न भने पक्कै सक्छौँ ।

 (जेष्ठ नागरिक द्वैमासिक पत्रिकाको आश्विन - कार्तिक २०८२ अंकमा प्रकाशित) 

[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.]