But a better indicator of gender equality is the real world, where women continue to suffer injustice. Although the woman today is much freer than her mother and grandmother, she is circumscribed in her freedom. Women try out new professions with diverse possibilities—socially, politically and economically— but also continue their traditional role as proactive mothers. Societies are not yet hospitable to their changing roles. The UN forecasts that onein three women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime.

According to Nepal police, there were 700 rapes reported in the year 2070 BS (2013-2014 AD); in 2071 BS ( 2014-2015 AD) 1,600 cases have been lodged so far. Most of the victims fall in the age group three-17 and belong to the lower castes, whose access to justice is already almost non-existent. No one knows the count of unrecorded violence across communities. Most reported rapes occur in the Tarai, the epicenter of which has recently been Bara and Parsa.

Women’s movement

Nepali women obtained their voting rights in 1950, as a byproduct of the democratic social movement that overthrew the Rana regime. Later, the Panchayat government mobilised the middle-class, high-caste women with agendas of education. When the Muliki Ain was amended numerous times during the Panchayat, women were gradually recognised before the law and provided certain privileges. The beneficiaries, however, were mostly party-affiliated high-caste women.

Although skewed, these changes, nonetheless, prepared women for political activism. In the 1970s, donor-funded activities sustained many of the women’s organisations and they became catalysts for social transformation. By 1990, women, mostly those affiliated with political parties, had started tackling women’s issues strategically. High-caste women were also no longer the champions of women’s rights; gender inequality was now challenged by different distinct groups, such as women’s labour organisation, mother’s group, indigenous women’s group, dalit women’s association, and single women’s association.

Women’s movements in Nepal were offshoots of global awareness programs. The women in development movement in 1970s was a neo-classical approach that sought to improve gender disparity by involving women in economic activities. The Development and Women movement, launched in the mid 1980s, on the other hand, sought to counter the capitalist approach and looked into social, political and economic advancement of women. The latter gave rise to what is called the Marxist Maoist feminism, with women willing to take a more aggressive role to define themselves. Since the 1990s, the discourse has shifted to Gender and Development, in which gender diversity is acknowledged and emphasis is laid on catering to different needs of different women.

Violent reality

It’s incredibly difficult for those who experience losses of dignity and injustices everyday to find the strength to glorify International Women’s Day. Recently, two young girls became victims of acid attack in Kathmandu. Kusumi Devi Chamar in Bara was murdered for protecting her right to land, home and family. And on the International Women’s Day itself, seven-year-old Pooja Sah, a Dalit girl who was raped in Bara, passed away at Kanti Children’s hospital after being declared clinically dead for days. How can one celebrate Women’s Day when the rapes of a 60-year-old grandmother, a 35-five year old wife and a 17-year-old girl are part of our reality? When myriad other issues of dowry, alcoholism, domestic violence, witchcraft allegations, women trafficking and insecurities faced by single women are left untackled?  

Constitutionally, Nepal ensures gender equality. But articles—such as 21 (1-2-3) which defines fundamental rights and justice for women—are being politically abused. Women cannot be treated just as voters in an open political culture; they should be made to feel secure enough to enjoy freedom in both public and private spaces. This starts with teaching sons to respect women and fight gender-based discriminations. Politically, delaying the promulgation of a new constitution, with unflinching commitment to gender equality, is an opportunity lost to right the wrongs women have endured over decades.

The silence

A casteist patriarchal perspective will delay women’s development and the nation’s growth. If more than half of the population is crippled, the nation stands disabled. The sponsors and supporters, domestic and international, must, therefore, fight to empower women. Failure to implement gender-friendly policies well have already affected families and society at large.

The long march of women to freedom has been interspersed with an acute rise in violations of their rights. Protest campaigns such as Dalit Women in Action in Bara, Occupy Baluwatar and One Billion Global Rising are strong consolidated voices of women to end caste-, class- and gender-based violence against women in Nepal. But the silence of the government and state authorities is unnerving. As we celebrate March as women’s month, we hope for a reformed nation, whose leaders and men will embrace women’s issues as their own.

Paswan is a lawmaker from Bahujan Shakti Party. Sherchand is with Civil Rights for Equanimity and Justice.