National
ICYMI: Here are our top stories from Saturday, September 21
Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (September 21, 2019).Post Report
Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (September 21, 2019).
Less than a year later, Nepal’s men of #MeToo are back to work
Earlier this year, when reports about sexual harassment in the Kathmandu theatre community became public, there was a flicker of hope that Nepal’s MeToo movement was finally taking off. Unlike MeToo stories from Nepali academia or politics, which had led to more counter-accusations than introspection, Nepal’s theatre fraternity publicly came out with statements condemning sexual harassment, and said they were in solidarity with the women who decided to speak out.
Even the men who were accused of harassment—Raj Kumar Pudasaini of One World Theatre and Rajan Khatiwada of Mandala—apologised and released remorseful statements. But Sunil Pokharel, the venerable founder of the now-defunct Gurukul Theatre, remained silent, despite also being accused of impropriety. Mandala and One World Theatre went a step ahead and suspended Pudasaini and Khatiwada from several of its projects for a year.
It was a rare instance of men being publicly held accountable by their own institutions. But just a few months later, Khatiwada and Pokharel had already found a stage and an audience at Mandala. According to at least half a dozen people who saw Khatiwada’s apology post on Facebook in April, the post is no longer available. Allies of the MeToo movement, who had initially cheered on the efforts made by the theatre fraternity to address sexual harassment, are now calling out double standards, saying the space being given to the accused is a huge blow to whatever little the movement had gained in the past year.
Inside the Oli administration’s culture of decision making
On August 28, when Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who was in Singapore for medical treatment, sent a message asking the Cabinet to hold a teleconference, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Ishwar Pokhrel immediately called on Nepal Communist Party General Secretary Bishnu Poudel.
According to several party insiders, Pokhrel, who was acting prime minister in Oli’s absence, had no idea about the teleconference, and had to ask Poudel whether he knew why the prime minister was calling a Cabinet meeting from Singapore.
Government celebrates Constitution Day while Madhesis and indigenous groups protest
On Friday, the government marked Constitution Day with pomp and ceremony, at Tundikhel, as members of the Nepal Army donned the garb of various ethnic groups and performed for officials. However, in Kathmandu and pockets across the country, many of those very ethnic groups were protesting the constitution as discriminatory, demanding amendments.
Four airlines poised to launch Kathmandu-Delhi flights,fares likely to drop
Competition for passengers on the Kathmandu-Delhi flight is likely to intensify as several airlines are getting ready to launch services between the two South Asian capitals this year.
Indian carriers Vistara, GoAir and Spice Jet, and Nepali carrier Shree Airlines are poised to operate flights between Kathmandu and Delhi. Currently, Nepal Airlines flies thrice daily and Air India flies twice daily on the sector. Indigo operates a daily flight while Bhutan Airlines conducts two weekly flights.