Abstract
This article argues that an adequately historicized and politicized understanding of the women's movement in Nepal (or elsewhere) requires a detailed examination of the construction of the gendered subject herself in the complex geo-political space of the emergent (Nepali) nation state. In turn, this unravelling of the gendered subject in Nepal serves to reinforce the premise that the representation of ‘the Nepali Woman’ as a single over-arching category is a contemporary construction, which has been achieved at the expense of consistently effacing the historically prior multiple and contested ethnic/caste identities taken by thrust upon women in what is now the new Nepal. The ‘natural’ goal of the women's movement since post-1990 Nepal to achieve a (single) feminist agenda has become part of the problem, as it can only be achieved at the expense of respecting the radical diversity and difference that is covered over by the ‘theoretical fiction’ of the unified nation of Nepal. The main important players, whether it be the women from mainstream political parties, or the women of the NGO world or the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), have all contributed to excluding and silencing radical diversity in the name of expediency and elite power brokering. Moreover, it is argued that the contours of this composite discourse continue to be shaped by the international aid industry in Nepal, where ‘development’ is not merely the epistemic link between Nepal and the ‘West’, it is also the locus classicus of generic apolitical consciousness-less Nepali woman whose cause is taken up by scholar and activist alike.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The definition of who constitutes the SPA has changed over time. Initially, the seven parties were made up of the mainstream political parties, including the two separate Nepali Congress factions.
These categories are problematic as are the population figures. Both are fiercely contested and in terms of categories, occlude as much as they reveal. In the simplest of terms, Janajatis are ‘indigenous nationalities’ of mainly non-Hindu groups, said to number 37.8 per cent of the population. Groups here include Sherpas, Gurungs and Limbus. Dalits form around 13 per cent of the population and are, according to the Hindu hierarchy, stated to be ‘untouchables’. Groups here include Biswakarma, Chamar and Musahar. Madhesis are inhabitants of the southeastern region of Nepal bordering India who share linguistic, social and cultural affinities with those across the border. Their population is estimated to be around 31.2 per cent and include Yadavs, Chamars and Muslims. The gendered norms of these different communities vary vastly as will be discussed later.
While officially categorized as Janajatis, Newars, who are indigenous to the Kathmandu valley, have historically been privileged in terms of access to state power, authority and benefits.
The Panchayat system was theoretically structured with directly elected village or town councils (Panchayats), who functioned as an electoral college to choose district level representatives, who in turn selected members among themselves to form the majority of the members of the national legislature (Rastriya Panchayat).
The 2001 census has also been widely questioned. In the absence of an alternative, I have retained it as a reference point.
This resulted in 40,533 women being elected, although few were in positions of decision-making power. The tenure of the bodies ended in 16 July 2002 and to date, local bodies remain without elected officials.
The inability of political parties to mobilize the general public against the autocratic rule of the king until the signing of the 12-point agreement with the CPN-M in November 2005, is widely seen as resulting from their 12 years of misrule.
It was not until the king's rule that another team was appointed in February 2006 amidst great controversy, only to be removed after the April 2006 movement when the re-instituted parliament annulled all laws, regulations and decisions undertaken by the royal regime.
The author was the lead author on the chapter on gender for this report.
A chapter on the Madhes and Madhesis has now been drafted, two years after the original draft report was completed.
http://www.unmin.org.np/?d=activities&p=arms (last accessed October 2008).
According to Yami, revolutionary women should not be branded as feminists; ‘Such labeling may stand valid if one is raising the banner of patriarchal oppression without primarily addressing the class oppression’ (Yami, 2007: 121).
Yami differentiates between two levels of women's involvement within the CPN-M, the women's front (ANWA-R), and the women's department. The latter is directly under the Central Party and is ‘basically a policy making body to develop leadership qualities of women in all the three fronts, the Party, military and the united fronts’. As a ‘think tank’, ‘if women's department represents theory then the women's front represents practice. It acts as a bridge between the front and the Party’ (Yami, 2007: 123–124). According to the needs of the party, women's departments can be created in other sections, as they have been in the PLA and student's fronts.
A mixed electoral system was adopted for the CA elections, with an FPTP system and a proportional electoral process (PR). Of 601 members of the CA, 240 were elected under the FPTP, 335 under the PR and an additional 26 were nominated.
According to a gender officer in the UNMIN, initial inquiries into the reasons for high turnout rates among women revealed such factors as mobilizations and awareness programmes by political parties and NGOs, as well as an overall absence of men, with women voting in their place.
References
Acharya, M. (1993) Feminist Movement in Nepal, Paper for regional Seminar-Cum-Workshop on Women and Media, Kathmandu, 9–15 August.
Ajit, A. (2008) Paricaya. Samavesikarana, Kathmandu: Martin Chautari.
Amnesty International (2004) Nepal: 20 steps to stop slide to human rights catastrophe. http://www.amnesty.org/fr/library/asset/ASA31/017/2004/en/dom-ASA310172004en.html, (last accessed September 2008).
Bhatta, S. (2006) ‘Kasto Samanta?’ Samay.
Chettri, A. (2003) ‘Yuddhako chatrachayama mahilale paeyka adhikar’ Kantipur.
Des Chene, M. (1997) ‘Nepali women's movement: experiences, critiques, commentaries’ Studies in Nepali History and Society Vol. 2, No. 2: 291–297.
DFID (Department for International Development) and The World Bank (2005) (Final Draft). ‘Citizens with(out) rights: Nepal Gender and Social Exclusion Assessment’.
Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD) (2000) Discriminatory Laws in Nepal and their Impact on Women, Kathmandu: Forum for Women, Law and Development.
Fujikura, T. (1996) ‘Technologies of improvement, locations of culture: American discourses of democracy and “Community Development” in Nepal’ Studies in Nepali History and Society, Vol. 1, No. 2: 271–311.
Fujikura, Y. (2003) ‘Borders and boundaries in the era of aids: trafficking in women and prostitution in Nepal’ Studies in Nepali History and Society, Vol. 8, No. 1: 1–35.
Goering, L. (2008) ‘Women put on hold in Nepal’ Chicago Tribune.
IDEA (2008) ‘Nepal: women's representation and violence against women in the April 2008 elections’ http://www.idea.int/asia_pacific/nepal/womens_representation.cfm, (last accessed September 2008).
International Crisis Group (ICG) (2003) Nepal Backgrounder: Ceasefire-Soft Landing or Strategic Pause? Kathmandu/Brussels: ICG.
Lama, T. (1997) ‘Remarks on the political within the Nepali Women's movement’ Studies in Nepali History and Society, Vol. 2, No. 2: 327–335.
Leve, L. (2007) ‘“Failed Development” and rural revolution in Nepal: rethinking subaltern consciousness and women's empowerment’ Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 80, No. 1: 127–172.
Manchanda, R. (2004) ‘Maoist insurgency in Nepal: radicalizing gendered narratives’ Cultural Dynamics, Vol. 16, No. 2/3: 237–258.
OHCHR (2008) ‘Constituent assembly elections of 10 April 2008: summary of human rights monitoring’ http://nepal.ohchr.org/en/resources/Documents/English/reports/HCR/2008_06_04_April%20elections_E.pdf, (last accessed September 2008).
Onta, P. 1996 ‘Ambivalence denied: the making of Rastriya Itihas in Panchayat era textbooks’ Contributions to Nepalese Studies, Vol. 23, No. 1: 213–254.
Pettigrew, J. and Shneiderman, S. (2004) ‘Ideology and agency in Nepal's Maoist movement’ Himal South Asian.
Pigg, S. (1992) ‘Inventing social categories through place: social representations and development in Nepal’ Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 34, No. 3: 491–513.
Rajbhandari, R. (2007) ‘Avasar banna sakchan cunauti’ Samay.
Sherchan, K. (1997) ‘Political divisions among women's groups’ Studies in Nepali History and Society, Vol. 2, No. 2: 335–339.
Sob, D. (1997) ‘Dalit women within oppression’ Studies in Nepali History and Society, Vol. 2, No. 2: 348–353.
Sperling, V. (1999) Organizing Women in Contemporary Russia: Engendering Transition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tamang, S. (2000) ‘Legalizing state patriarchy in Nepal’ Studies in Nepali History and Society, Vol. 2, No. 2: 127–156.
Tamang, S. (2002) ‘Dis-embedding the sexual/social contract: citizenship and gender in Nepal’ Citizenship Studies, Vol. 6, No. 3: 309–324.
Thapa, D. (2003) A Kingdom Under Siege, Kathmandu: The Print House.
Thapa, M. (2003) ‘Girls in the war’ http://www.countercurrents.org/gender.htm, (last accessed September 2008).
UNFPA (2007) ‘Gender equality and empowerment of women in Nepal’ http://www.unfpanepal.org/pdf/Gender%20Equality.pdf, (last accessed September 2008).
Yami, H. (2007) People's War and Women's Liberation in Nepal, Kathmandu: Janadhwani Publication.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tamang, S. the politics of conflict and difference or the difference of conflict in politics: the women's movement in Nepal. Fem Rev 91, 61–80 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.2008.50
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.2008.50