The candidacy of Ram Chandra Paudel for Nepal’s next presidency backed by eight parties including the Nepali Congress and Maoist Centre this week is the latest proof (if any is still needed) of Nepal’s entrenched political patriarchy.
The series of backroom deals in the run-up to presidential elections on 9 March was meant to stop K P Oli of the UML from being all-too-powerful two-and-a-half years down the line when his party would have president, prime minister and speaker.
In this quagmire, we are losing a chance to elect a non-political president respected by all Nepalis. In the spirit of national unity and inclusiveness, it was the turn of a candidate from an indigenous community or a Dalit to be the third president of Nepal.
But what we are getting instead is another partisan figurehead who will continue the legacy of Bidya Devi Bhandari to do the bidding of a ruling party -- exactly why a ceremonial post has now become a dealmaker (or breaker).
Paudel’s presidency is probably a foregone conclusion and underscores the gerontocratic patriarchy in which a handful of superannuated incompetent and tainted men have been reshuffling the cards for more than two decades. They will not tire of mansplaining to us that they are just defending democracy and stability.
This is in direct contrast to the people’s strong show of support in the 2022 elections for young, independent leaders, the likes of Rabi Lamichhane, Toshima Karki, Balen Shah and Harka Sampang.
This is a sorry state of affairs for a country that at one time had women in the three topmost positions: Bidya Devi Bhandari as the President, Sushila Karki as the Chief Justice and Onsari Gharti Magar as Speaker.
Women also made up 33% of parliamentarians and, in the 2017 elections, women were elected to every local unit as either a mayor or a deputy mayor, or both.
While many argue that women were mostly confined to ceremonial posts or rarely got to contest the direct election, in 2022 they did not even get to be token women. Indigenous people, minorities and Dalits were even more sidelined as politicians used electoral alliances (between parties with diametrically opposing ideologies) to cheat them out of Constitutional provisions.
It is not surprising, therefore, that women are still unable to provide citizenship in their name to children while celebrities accused of rape wangle get-out-of-jail cards, and get back to business as usual.
Ironically, it is rural Nepal with its limited access to resources and low literacy rate where women are truly growing as leaders. With men away working overseas, women have taken a lead in every sector from community forestry and agriculture to school and health post management committees.
Community forestry, which doubled Nepal’s canopy cover in 25 years, is an internationally recognised model, while the Female Health Volunteers (FCHVs) program is the backbone of community healthcare in the country. In many ways, the feminisation of rural Nepal is empowering Nepali women to take charge by default.
Among the most dramatic successes of the last decades is the decline in childhood malnutrition and maternal mortality rate in Nepal, both of which are inversely correlated to increased literacy of girls.
But of late, progress has stagnated. In some areas, incidences of child marriage, malnutrition and maternal mortality are creeping up again. So, what are we missing?
<h2>Explaining to some men</h2>
Women empowerment needs men to not just accept equality, but make up for historical marginalisation. Most Nepali women are now aware of their rights and potential, many have proven themselves. But the attitude of men towards gender equity has not changed at the same rate. This can mean young men and boys unlearning the culture they have grown up with.
Homemakers are not jobless people. If all of their work was monetised, they would be the biggest earners in most families. A girl child, if given the same opportunity, can be at par, if not above her male counterpart. Educated career women have a more difficult life balancing home and work.
Only when men are educated do they respect all individuals, their choices and decisions. International Women’s Day on 8 March should not just be about women: it is about educating men, the men in our families, in our communities, and society. &nbsp;
Only then can we envision a world that is just and fair to everyone. And maybe then we won't need to mark an International Women's Day anymore.
Sonia Awale

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Political patriarchy

Indra Maya Shrestha was raised in a village in Kavre by a sick mother and a father who could not afford to send her to school. She was always fascinated seeing people driving cars in the movies, and came to Kathmandu aged 17 with a dream of driving a car herself.But city life was not what she imagined, jobs were hard to come by, and getting a license was not so easy twenty years ago. One day, she rode a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/how-to-get-things-done-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Safa Tempo electric three wheeler</a> and was surprised to see a woman driving it.“That is when I thought, if those women can do it, so can I,” Shrestha recalls.It took her a year to get a driving license and become a Safa operator. Today, she owns her own three-wheeler and runs a charging station in Mahankal which can charge 35 battery-powered vehicles at one go.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cfc9c7e80680e0b789cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="126" height="150"/><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cfe9c7e80680e0b789djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Shrestha drives along four routes in the Sankhamul-Chabahil-Boudha-Kapan area with fellow female tempo operators Sunshang Ghising and Saraswoti Moktan. There were at most 20 <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10936#.Yies6S8w3u1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">female Safa Tempo drivers</a> 20 years ago. Today there are 500.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d029c7e80680e0b789ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="519" height="500"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Saraswati Moktan came to Kathmandu from Hetauda as a newly married woman in 2002. Her husband took a job as a tempo operator, and when she found out that women drove the tempos too, she learned to drive as well.“My husband taught me to drive but when it was time to get a license, he stopped me,” recalls Moktan, who spent the next few years raising her son. “But in 2011, I put my foot down, this time he didn’t stop me.”Sunshang Ghising grew up in a family of five siblings in Dolakha. “My family had to wait for Dasain to wear nice clothes. How could my parents have afforded to send five kids to school?” she says.Ghising came to Kathmandu as a young mother 10 years ago, and initially worked as a seamstress. After the 2015 earthquake, she bought a Safa Tempo, at first not intending to drive it herself but after meeting other operators, changed her mind. She failed the licence test a few times, but got one eventually.For Shrestha, Ghising and Moktan, operating electric three-wheelers has been a path to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/vibrant-mithila-art-thrives-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">financial independence, supporting their families</a>, and putting children through school.“We are self-sufficient business operators,” says Ghising proudly.Adds Moktan, “We did not get the chance to be educated, and that is always a regret. But we have worked hard to educate our children.”Shrestha points to the jewellery Ghising is wearing, and laughs, “She bought that driving a Safa Tempo.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-backs-evs-to-boost-hydro-electricity-uptake/">Nepal backs EVs to boost hydro-electrivity uptake</a>,  Nepali Times<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d049c7e80680e0b789fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Other women <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/women-standing-above-the-ground" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Safa Tempo drivers have moved on</a>. Chanmaya Tamang drove three-wheelers in Kathmandu for ten years, and now owns a car in which she gives driving lessons for women.It has not been easy for the women drivers. Women drivers are frequently harassed by traffic police and face constant discrimination.“Imagine, the police still ask us why we are out on the roads instead of at home cooking,” says Tamang. “If we attempt to talk back, they issue a fine on the spot.”Shrestha says she has been<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> sexually harassed</a> as well. Policemen often pull her over and initiate unwanted conversation. “They ask for our phone numbers, and if we refuse they give us tickets. Some women have actually quit driving because of this.”Meanwhile, the response from the passengers is markedly different, many are still surprised to find women behind the wheels. Some express their respect and appreciation when they get off at their stops, others do not ask for change or even pay five times the fare amount.“We know we have worked very hard, and we don’t need validation,” says Moktan. “But it still feels good to get such responses every once in a while.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d079c7e80680e0b78a0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Because they operate electric vehicles, these female entrepreneurs are also helping Nepal reduce fossil fuel use and meet its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/net-zero-is-not-zero/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">goal of net-zero emissions</a>.Sonika Manandhar’s fin-tech company Aloi has been helping Safa Tempo entrepreneurs get affordable financing since 2018, and says the 700 electric three-wheelers are an important component of Kathmandu Valley’s public transport network, and have contributed to reducing Nepal’s climate impact in the past 30 years.“I call them climate ninjas,” Manandhar says.Safa Tempos started out in 1993 as a USAID project to convert polluting diesel Vikram three-wheelers into battery powered ones.Safa’s lithium-ion batteries need to be replaced every five years, while the lead-acid batteries are replaced every six months. At present, there are more than 700 Safa Tempos in Kathmandu Valley.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d0a9c7e80680e0b78a1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-scrap-old-diesel-vehicles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">government’s ban</a> on 20-year old vehicles extends to the Safa tempos too. Even though operators successfully lobbied to extend it to 30 years, they have to constantly convince bureaucrats about the utility of these vehicles.Safe Tempos have also dissuaded many Nepali women from migrating overseas for work by providing a well-paying alternative job at home.“We earn as much here comfortably, and double that if we own our own vehicle,” says Shrestha.The chat with this reporter is over, and the women get out of the office into the sun and talk business for a while.Then Saraswati Moktan gets into Chanmaya Tamang’s Maruti. They say goodbye and leave, Tamang’s toddler seated in Moktan’s lap. Indra Maya Shrestha and Sunshang Ghising make their way to a teashop on their Shivaratri off day.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-goes-electric-but-conditions-apply/">Nepal goes electric, but conditions apply</a>, Ramesh Kumar

Shristi Karki

Women in the driving seat

<figure><img width="1342" height="899" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cf99c7e80680e0b789ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: DARAZ</figcaption></figure>Aanchal Kunwar sits in her office that has an overview of employees of Daraz busy at their desks. A meeting is in progress in  a conference room next door.In January, Kunwar became one of few women in leadership in Nepal’s corporate sector, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/anchal-kunwar-at-daraz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heading the operations of Daraz</a>, the company now owned by China’s Alibaba.Kunwar was working for Amazon in Seattle when a recruiter reached out to her via LinkedIn to let her know that the Managing Director position was open at Daraz in Nepal. “I felt like coming back to Nepal after gaining all the experience would be more impactful than whatever else I could be doing right now in the US,” she says.Kunwar was born and raised in Kathmandu and spent her early childhood moving around the country because of her father’s job. She left for the US after high-school, graduated in maths and economics, and began to work for Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) while doing her MBA. She then worked for Amazon for five and a half years, managing the company’s mass cosmetics business, working in global expansion -- helping launch the platform in countries like Sweden, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  “Four years into that job is where I was starting to think --what do I want to do next in my life?” Kunwar recalls.  <img width="126" height="150" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cfb9c7e80680e0b789bjpeg.jpg" alt="">“There was a clear path in terms of just moving up the ladder in the corporate world. But something in me was telling me that wasn't enough, and that I needed not something more, but probably something different, something that I believed would be more fulfilling.”  Kunwar had been considering going into the non-profit sector when Covid hit. “With the pandemic, I thought I’ll just hold my thoughts for a little bit because there were a lot of other things to handle.” When the Daraz opening in Nepal came up, she remembers thinking: “That would be cool.” Daraz would be a perfect fit: she was Nepali, had similar approaches to running a business in terms of being <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-company-wins-global-environment-awards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">socially and environmentally responsible</a>, and a customer focus.  Kunwar’s entry into Daraz coincides with a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-e-shopping-booms-under-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dramatic growth in e-commerce in Nepal</a> as Nepalis locked up at home during the pandemic began to explore online purchases.   “The pandemic has definitely helped push people towards e-commerce more,” Kunwar notes. “Prior to the pandemic it was probably just the younger generation but during the pandemic, even the older demographics understood the convenience and started buying things online.”  Kunwar is convinced the Nepali market is quick to adopt new technologies, and gives the example of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-e-conomy-rapidly-goes-digital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">growth in e-payments</a>. Even till last year, only 10% of Daraz business was through e-payments, now it is half.  Kunwar’s experience at Amazon has given her insight into how global markets operate, and the unique set of challenges that markets across the world present with legal restrictions, logistics, and tools. Nepal’s challenges include lack of experience in e-commerce which means sellers need the right kind of training and education to be able to answer questions, so buyers have the information they need to make a judgement call, she says. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-budding-e-commerce-ecosystem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's budding e-commerce ecosystem</a>, Sikuma Rai Another challenge is that Nepal does not have a proper GPS mapping system, and deliveries still have to call people to figure out where exactly they are located. “An unstable government adds to the challenges with banda announcements,” Kunwar says. “And during Covid, if there is a lockdown or odd-even rules, we have to navigate that and ensure proper delivery. These challenges are unique to Nepal, you wouldn’t see them in the US.” She adds, “The companies I worked for in the US are very mature businesses, where processes are defined. Here in Nepal we still have a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Cross-Cutting/Start-ups-need-staying-power,439" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start-up</a> culture. But we will probably be where Amazon is now in a number of years.”  Daraz currently operates in 47 cities across Nepal, and plans to expand to 80 this year. But Kunwar wants to take one step at a time, and have the logistics in place for growth. “In the last two years, we have had to run before we could walk, but in order to keep growing, we just need to have processes in place,” she says. “We need our key account managers to focus more on strategy and then have execution be more on a lower level.” This is dependent on improvements in connectivity, people being able to shop online, road infrastructure, and mapping systems.   As Daraz Nepal’s managing director, Kunwar joins a growing number of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/women-leaders-set-example-for-rest-of-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali women taking the lead</a> in the corporate world. “My family raised me no differently than my brother,” she says. “So I’ve always questioned the status quo. I don't take 'This is just how things are’ as an answer.” She admits that there have been instances since she joined Daraz where men in power have shut her down halfway through her introduction.  “It is something that I wish was different but it’s not,” she admits. “But I don't necessarily let that get to me as long as it is not preventing me from doing what I want to do for the business, and for the country.” Kunwar says her driving force is putting in the hard work, and making her presence felt. Outside Daraz, Kunwar is passionate about education for under-served Nepalis and sponsors young students.   She wants to focus on mentorship because even when students have funding for education, they cannot dream bigger because they are stuck in their social milieu.  “I came back to make an impact for Nepal, it is broader than just Daraz,” says Kunwar. “Five years from now, I'm hoping to make some impact here, in addition to taking Daraz to new heights with the team.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/holding-up-half-the-economy/">Holding up half the economy</a>, Ashutosh Tiwari

New Daraz MD seeks to make an impact in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cdb9c7e80680e0b7890jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/><figcaption>Photo: NAMRATA SHARMA</figcaption></figure>"I am who I am today because my father raised me as if he would a son and encouraged me to do what I wanted,” says Bimita Bhandari, one of the first women tour operators in the Chitwan National Park as she takes visitors around on a safari.The theme of International Women’s Day this year is #BreakTheBias, something Bhandari was already doing on her own, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hop-over-the-gender-gap/">breaking gender norms and stereotypes</a>. But every girl should be allowed the same and given the right kind of support, she says.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cde9c7e80680e0b7891jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="126" height="150">“Girls should not be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-the-climate-crisis-adds-to-child-marriage-in-nepal/">married off early</a> and allowed to pursue a career they want. Both recognition and money would help them to overcome discrimination,” adds 27-year-old Bhandari, who was one of the first three women to receive a jungle guide license at the Park.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cdf9c7e80680e0b7892jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption>Photo: NAMRATA SHARMA</figcaption></figure>A daughter of a forest guard herself, Bhandari grew up loving nature. She was adventurous from a young age, which also got her into a lot of trouble. One of her earliest memories is of a close encounter with a rhino that she managed to outrun.After this, she developed a sixth sense that has since helped her and her companions to steer clear of the wildlife in case of an encounter, something that would come in handy when she took tourists out on jungle safari.Early on she also saw how boys and men in her community were earning both money and respect as forest guides, instilling in her a desire to become one too. So when her classmates were being married off, her father encouraged her to pursue her dream, eventually allowing her to be a professional of her choice.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ce29c7e80680e0b7893jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">But it was not always so rosy for Bhandari, who was only 16 when she became a forest guide. She was initially not taken seriously and had to serve as an assistant guide. Her male colleagues constantly ridiculed her and doubted her ability to take tourists on jungle safari.But when they saw her skillfully handle tourists with her knowledge of the forest and the wildlife, and save them from dangerous situations in the wild, she gained their trust.Tourists were also impressed with her services, adding to her own confidence. Today, Bhandari is one of the most sought-after and recognised guides in the region. The fact that she can also speak Mandarin, English and Hindi helps.Bhandari does not much remember her mother who passed away while she was still a toddler. She was raised by a supportive father. But neighbours and relatives were against her taking up a career traditionally reserved for men.“But that did not bother me because my father was my strength and helped me to be the first woman in my community to take up such a career,” says Bhandari, who is also a promising wildlife photographer.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ce59c7e80680e0b7894jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption>Red panda in its habitat in Ilam. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ce89c7e80680e0b7895jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Bengal Tiger in Chitwan national park. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cec9c7e80680e0b7896jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Bengal tiger enjoying a swim in Bardia Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cef9c7e80680e0b7897jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>A pair of mugger crocodiles mating in Chitwan national park. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cf39c7e80680e0b7898jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Wild cat. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure>Initially, she used her phone to take pictures but she now has a Nikon G500 she bought with her savings. On a small scale, her photographs are sold in the local market and one even made it to the calendar of the Nepal Tourism Board.Much like many talented youths in rural Nepal, she does not have access to national and international platforms to showcase her wildlife photography. But for now, her pictures can be viewed in her Instagram account @bimitaphotography.Bhandari has made her dreams come true, she has both respect and money. But the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-reopening-for-tourists/">Covid-19 crisis</a> hit her family hard.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cf69c7e80680e0b7899jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="996" height="1500"><figcaption>Wild elephant pictured in Chitwan national park. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure>“I have used up all my savings,” she says, adding that she is in no hurry to marry. She trusts in her abilities to care for her family of her father, stepmother and brother once tourism is up and running.For women to break biases, discover new talents and provide them bigger platforms, Bhandari shows that it is not enough to mark just one day a year with token gestures. We must be committed to working for their welfare throughout the year.Read  also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/women-conservationists-brave-discrimination-and-the-wild/">Women conservationists brave discrimination, and the wild</a>, Nepali Times

Nepali safari guide breaks the bias

After celebrating World Wildlife Day which coincided with Global Day of Baristas on Thursday, the world as we know it is now getting ready to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD) on Tuesday.After fulfilling the onerous responsibility of holding up all the sky for most of human history, we men can now safely bequeath to the womenfolk the duty of holding up not just the rightful half of the sky, but our half as well.This will mean more free time for men so that we can indulge in various hygienic pursuits that we have previously neglected because of our busy schedules — like burping loudly in public and excavating our ear wax.IWD is a special occasion to celebrate the empowerment and self-reliance of women, and their rejection of expensive beauty products that were being foisted on them through clever advertising for the sole purpose of appealing to hunter gatherer men.The time has therefore come for us men and boys to take up the cudgels, and put in some effort ourselves to look fair and lovely. (Editor’s note: Google ‘cudgel’ to check if it is a rude word.)A recent survey showed that 80% of the men in the Subcontinent secretly break into the cosmetic drawers of their wives to steal beauty products. The other 20% dressed up as women and bought fairness cream from their neighbourhood drug store, according to unusually reliable sources.(This week's column is a Special Advertorial Supplement proudly sponsored by Pale FaceTM brand fairness cream for men. Registered TradeMark, Copy-cats Will Be Persecuted. Patent Pending.)Thankfully, it is the private sector that has come to the rescue by launching a risky and pioneering venture to announce new products designed for men. After achieving astounding KPI and sales in parts of the Turd World, the companies have discovered a vast untapped market in Nepal among male consumers for a range of fairness lotions and potions under the brand name White ElephantTM.The fact that cosmetics conglomerates these days do not discriminate between the needs of men and women is a sign that we are finally edging towards gender parity in everyday life. Card-carrying members of the male persuasion will now have the same access to beauty products that women have.This was not easy, since he-men like us tend to be more thick-skinned and hirsute. The new oinkment therefore had to be an industrial grade mixture of bleach, exfoliator, concentrated white enamel paint with a paraffin-based emulsion fixer. Directions for use: Apply liberally on the affected dark areas twice a day after meals. And, voila, within just two days you won't be dark and ugly anymore, you will be fair and handsome like Michael Jackson.The product range also has the popular Albino Crème de la CrèmeTM designed for high society men. So, this March 8 all men of drinking age and above should symbolically demonstrate their solidarity for gender equality by using products designed for women, and take up the cudgels to be fair to the unfair sex.

Ass s

Unfair sex

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c889c7e80680e0b7875jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1053" height="1012"/><figcaption>Photo: PRATIBHA TULADHAR</figcaption></figure>On nights when things got unbearable, Laxmi Maya always stepped out of the house in the quiet of the night. There was nowhere to go, really, but the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7121#.YiRUsy8w3u0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gully</a>. The gully or galli, as she said it, was the long tunnel that went from under the house on the main street into a courtyard where one of the four houses flanking the square, brick-paved space, was hers. Her husband’s family’s rather.The bickering over the house had gone on for so long. Every few weeks, government officials showed up at her threshold, and asked her innumerable questions. Where was the infamous husband? “I don’t know,” was Laxmi Maya’s consistent answer.As time went by, she had learned to say those words without at all batting an eyelid. And as she said it on repeat, the words became more believable to the government officials, as they did to her. She had started to believe she had no idea about his whereabouts.In her mind, Calcutta was a distant country of which she did not know anything. She did not know what its streets or nooks looked like or how the tram she had heard about operated. And so knowing that her husband was in Calcutta was tantamount to not knowing where he was. So, her statement was not entirely false.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/coping-with-the-patriarchy/">Coping with patriarchy</a>, Bhumi GhimiréThe government officials always appeared in a pair. Laxmi Maya would hurry upstairs to her baiga after asking them to sit down on the wicker mats and quickly poach two eggs and pour a dash of aeila into little copper kholas and present them before the men.“So you do not know where your husband is?” one of them would ask between taking a sip.“I don’t,” she would say quietly.“We are only letting you live in this house because you have three small children. By law, he is banished and so everything he owns is now government property, we hope you know.”“I know, Sarkar. But this house was given to me in dowry by my father,” Laxmi Maya would lie again. It had become a drill.Promptly, the officers would leave after polishing off their snack, setting in motion for Laxmi Maya, the wait for another such visit.Did she miss the husband? She could not say. His presence had been punctuated by his time spent with the dancers, or neighbourhood events from where he always came away as the feared. What was there to miss of such a man, besides moments of imagined intimacy when his limbs were hers to hold? She wondered, had she been a dancer, would it also have kept him from straying? Yes, they said he had strayed.Read also: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-unequal-marriages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's unequal marriages</a>, Anjana RajbhandaryBut the women in her clan did not dance. They had not been taught to. Dancing, they said, was for women who were “loose”. They had taught her to speak softly, tread softer and to hold her tongue and restrict her movements to grace. That was who she was-- all those things they said she should be.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c8a9c7e80680e0b7876jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="126" height="150">Standing in the darkness of the galli, Laxmi Maya often felt streams of hot tears soak her face. She had never learned to cry before others, so the quiet of the night was a good time. On one such night, she had seen rows of carriages go by, carrying large boxes. They were followed by rumours that the Ranas were getting their belongings removed to India because some kind of revolution was afoot to throw them off. They said that was why the king had left for India.Tonight, though, there was no such activity. It was quiet. As Laxmi Maya stood there, tears finding their way down her jaw, she thought she saw a light flicker near the Naradevi temple. It was followed by the clanking of a door and then of ghangala, the bunch of bells worn by the goddess. Wafting in with the sound was the goddess herself, stepping out of her temple, draped in a long red frock, a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/getting-behind-the-divine-mask/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mask</a> on her face. As the deity started doing the familiar dance, lilting her hands in the air, feet shuffling, Laxmi Maya froze, but her tears ran down in thick rivulets. She stared in awe and trembled.…“The wedding was fun?”“The ratyauli was fun.”“The what?”“Yes. Ratyauli. I had heard about it but never seen one before,” says Mamu.I ask her to explain, but she says she cannot because it would embarrass us both. She will not divulge any detail, but tells me how she felt a tinge of envy that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parodying-patriarchy-at-tij/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women had the liberty</a> to engage in that kind of lewd talk without being judged while singing and dancing and acting.Read also: <a style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/boys-will-be-boys-is-never-an-excuse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Boys will be boys is never an excuse</a>, Anjana Rajbhandary“How come women in our community don’t dance?” I ask.“We have the gods and the goddess, the masked dancers,” she says.“But they are all men wearing masks,” I remind her. Then Mamu goes on to explain how apart from the Jyapu community, women from other clans had never been given that kind of freedom.“Don’t you think that is so unfair? Taking the right from you to revel, to be in tune with your own body. When else do you explore the joy of being in your body as you do with dancing? It is so much to take away from a woman.”“I don’t know, I never thought about it. My movements don’t sync and so I don’t dance.”Mamu often sits in a corner watching others dance. When asked to dance, she will sometimes try, but her footwork never matches her hand gestures or the music: “I guess, I just watch people dance.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/patriarchy-in-an-oligarchy/">Patriarchy in an oligarchy</a>, Editorial…Dance! My senior, who is having a “ragging” session with me, orders. Do the twist, she says, and sings a Rafi number. What is a twist, I wonder. She says, if you do not obey your seniors, you measure the entire campus with a one rupee coin. In my heart, I wished I could just dance and get over it. But I can’t. Like Mamu, my feet are wooden, too. I just stand there, my face burning in shame and fury.Here, she says. Take this coin and now go measure the entire place with it.As I bend down at her feet and place the coin on the ground, I wish I could have told her I cannot dance because women in my community <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/letter-to-a-nepali-aunty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are not expected to dance</a>. But saying that, would also require a dance-- of the tongue. So, I bend down and start flipping the coin inch by inch across the campus.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/anger-management-for-nepali-women/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Feel angry? read this</a>, Anjana RajbhandarySuburban Tales is a monthly column in Nepali Times based on real people (with some names changed) in Pratibha’s life.

Pratibha Tuladhar

The light of feet

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111152/636cd7d99c7e80680e092e0ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>When the Immigration Department last month <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proposed travel restrictions</a> for women under 40, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-anti-government-rallies-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepalis took to the streets</a> wearing black, chanting slogans and holding placards.The rage on the streets was magnified as the proposal coincided with a series of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/republic-of-rape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unsolved rape cases</a>, and prolonged political stalemate due to feuding alpha males in the ruling NCP holding the country hostage.The proposed travel ban was only the latest in a long saga of restrictive policies against women in the past 20 years, as Upasana Khadka meticulously details in her column <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/two-decades-of-debate-on-female-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Labour Mobility</a>. Mostly, they were misguided attempts to curb trafficking.Last year, in a move to revise the long-debated Citizenship Bill, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-waits-for-an-unequal-citizenship-law/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NCP bungled the task</a>. Nepal is one of a few countries where citizenship laws are so discriminatory.Xenophobic politicians have long used nationalism to justify <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-citizenship-bill-is-a-hornets-nest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unequal citizenship for Nepali women</a>. For a state that acts as if it is so protective of women, it has spectacularly failed to prosecute perpetrators of sexual violence, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/daughter-slaughter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">acid attacks</a>, dowry, and domestic violence.The case of 17-year-old Bhagarathi Bhatta, murdered after rape in Baitadi in February became exceptional only because it was resolved by the police. Most other <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rape cases</a> are either unlawfully ‘settled’ through police mediation, or perpetrators are never caught, like in the Nirmala Pant case three years ago.However, with little or no help from an uncaring state and despite roadblocks and limitations, Nepali women have broken stereotypes, challenged gender roles and have achieved as much, if not more, than their privileged male counterparts. We have featured some of them in this International Women’s Day Special Issue of Nepali Times. <img width="126" height="150" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111152/636cd7dc9c7e80680e092e0bjpeg.jpg" alt="">And perhaps it is a sign of times that women, particularly in the urban centres <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-turn-their-backs-on-misogyny/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">do not accept discriminatory laws and archaic patriarchal values</a> anymore, they fight for their rights, advocate and speak out despite <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Online-violence-against-women,2915" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vicious online trolls</a>, attempts at character assassination and threats of abuse and death.At the same time, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/Nepal-land-of-our-daughters,2901" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women have transformed the landscape of rural Nepal</a>. Partly, this is because the men are missing: gone abroad for work. This is where women’s empowerment is most felt, they till the farms, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-hold-up-more-than-half-the-sky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">build highways</a>, lead community forestry groups, run schools.During the 2015 earthquakes, it was the women who kept the families together and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/mountains-without-men-sindhupalchok,3585" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rebuilt homes</a>. New studies show that women-headed households have fared far better during the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.Given the chance, Nepali women have also time and again proven their mettle in leadership positions. After the local elections in 2017, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/women-leaders-set-example-for-rest-of-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hupsekot in Nawalparasi</a> and Jumla became two municipalities in which <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/jumlas-great-leap-into-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women were voted both chair and deputy</a>. In most others, deputy mayors are required by law to be women if the mayor is a man.Mayor Kantika Sejuwal of the Nepali Congress and vice-mayor Apsara Devi Neupane of the NCP have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/holding-up-the-whole-sky-in-jumla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">together improved</a> education, farming, nature conservation, and now Covid-19 management in Jumla. The chest-thumping male leaders of the NCP in Kathmandu should be ashamed of themselves.Imagine what we could have achieved if the Jumla and Hupsekot model was replicated in more of Nepal’s 736 municipalities, 17 cities, and the Central Government. Only 3 in the 22-member Cabinet are women, and women in politics are still largely confined to the kind of ceremonial roles ascribed to President Bidya Devi Bhandari.We might boast of having one of the largest female representations in Parliament but few have a say in matters of importance. We need to encourage <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-leaders-seen-but-not-heard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">female politicians</a> who dare to stick to principles inctead of over-scrutinising them for just being women.Similarly, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/uneven-pandemic-impact-on-nepali-women/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">80% of Nepal’s labour force is female</a> but they continue to be restricted to the ‘informal sector’. We have to utilise their full potential and promote equality at home and in the workplace for women to gain economic independence.International Women’s Day on 8 March must not be limited to tokenism. We have to strive for gender equality in every sphere of life as if every day is women’s day. We must pay special heed to the doubly-discriminated women from Dalit and other excluded groups, as well as gender minorities who identify themselves as women.Nepal’s progress in public health, education, nutrition and poverty alleviation is directly proportional to increased female literacy. What needs to change now are laws, cultural norms and values that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/3-4th-of-the-sky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">still treat women as half-citizens</a>.Sonia Awale

Sonia Awale

Everyday as if it is Women’s Day

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811110/636a298d9c7e80680e0458d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"/><figcaption>Journalists and activists including Namrata Sharma met in Jakarta recently to discuss gender discrimination.</figcaption></figure>“My alcoholic father used to beat me and my mother, and I always protected my mother. After treatment my father is sober now, but my mother has started scolding me and makes me do all the household chores, giving me very little time to study,” says Sarita from a remote village in  Banke district of western Nepal. But Sarita may as well be in Indonesia, Europe or North America.Gender discrimination is pervasive and widespread, and the problem is the same all over the world, as we heard from activists and investigative journalists from 15 countries at a recent interaction in Jakarta.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/3-4th-of-the-sky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3/4th of the sky</a>, Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-better-halves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal’s better halves</a>, Anil ChitrakarAfter the end of the Suharto regime, an Indonesian participant said, the economy improved, but gender-based discrimination and violence were still prevalent in both urban and rural areas. Women still bore the brunt of patriarchal taboos, making it difficult for them to reach the top of their professions, earn better salaries, and upgrade living standards. Most agreed that there had been progress in amending existing laws and formulating new ones to end discrimination, but the violence itself had not abated.Cases of rape and incest are reported every day from all over the world, in both developed and developing countries. In Nepal, <a href="https://cijnepal.org.np/unsafe-homes-victimized-by-own/">20 cases were reported by Center for Investigative Journalism</a> (CIJ) Nepal during a 16-day campaign against Violence Against Women in 2018, majority of them involved rape of minor girls by relatives or neighbours.International Women’s Day draws attention worldwide to a global problem, in rich and poor, East and West. The women’s movement has achieved great progress when it comes to amending and promulgating laws and in creating mechanisms to hold countries accountable for injustice. In the last few years new movements have allowed women to speak out more boldly against sexual harassment in the workplace through the #Metoo movement.“For me International Women's Day (IWD) 2019 is a precious moment and a safe space where women are inspired to talk about their stories through protests and artwork,” says Meggy Katigbak of Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development. However, she acknowledges that there is discrimination even among women by race, class, colour, and other factors.“Liberal feminists who focus on identity politics do not fully understand or appreciate that it the intersects with the struggles of other women,” she adds.But ironically, despite the popularity of International Women's Day, the situation of most women is still the same as on the day women garment workers first gathered to protest in 1908 in New York. Many countries now have rules that allow women to assert their rights, but many like Sarita in Nepal do not have the means to raise their voice against discrimination they face on a daily basis.The 2019 campaign theme for International Women's Day is #BetterforBalance, with the message of improving gender balance for a better world. Though there are more women in different professions today, at least 33% is needed to make it a critical mass, and women have not reached that number in most professions and decision making positions.Nepal marks International Women's Day with a government holiday, but that is barely enough to address many gender issues prevalent here. According to the 2016 World Economic Forum report, Nepal ranks 110th out of 144 countries in gender parity, and UN Women ranks Nepal 110th out of 145 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index. According to the 2016 <a href="https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR336/FR336.pdf">Demographic and Health Survey report of Government of Nepal</a>, the number of employed women in 2016 is only 68% as compared to 83% in 2006, and 68% of these women are three times more likely than men to not to be paid for their labour. And Nepal ranks third highest in child marriage in Asia.In order for victims like Sarita to be able to communicate better and access education, safe shelter and better livelihood, a social revolution is required where the rights of all people are recognised and accepted by society. Having an institutional set-up with proactive laws help, but equally important is empowering women. It is important to recognise that inequality leads to more difficult lives for all. We need to move towards better gender balance for the wellbeing for all.Namrata Sharma is the Chair of the Centre for Investigative Journalism.

#BalanceforBetter

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141136/636515de9c7e80680e02c1e1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="368"/>Ford has announced a special offer for women drivers on the occasion of International Women’s Day by giving special discounts on booking a Ford car and gift hampers for every female visitor at its showrooms across Nepal.

international-womens-day