A case study
“DISCRIMINATION OF THE GIRL”
A report prepared for partial
fulfillment of Social
Justice education (529) in master level
(M.Ed.) second year of Tribhuvan
University
submitted by
Seema Kumari Yadav
Campus roll no. – 126
Exam roll no. –
150163
T.U
Regd no. -92151305-2004
T.R.M campus,
Birgunj
2068
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very
thankful to everyone who all supported me, for i have completed my project
effectively and moreover on time.
Any attempt
at any level can't be satisfactorily completed without the support and guidance
of MY teachers. I would like to express my immense gratitude to Mr. Matrika
Prasad Koirala, Mr. Rambabu Mandal, Mr. Tara Bahadur Tapa and Mr. Bhawani
Prasad Mainali for their constant support and motivation that have encouraged
me to come up with this project “The discrimination of girls or women in
Rautahat district.”
Secondly ,I
would like to thank my family member especially my life partner, Mr. Rajesh
Yadav who helped me a lot in gathering different information, collecting data
in making this project despite of their busy schedules.
Last but not the least, I would like to thank
my father Mr.Kashi Nath Yadav who computing, designing and guiding me by giving
different ideas in making this project unique.
I am making
this project not only for marks but also play a key role to eliminate all forms
of discrimination against girls and women from our society.
THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO HELPED ME…
Seema Kumari Yadav
ABSTRACT
The popular meaning of word equality means lack of
discrimination between the people on the
basis of color, caste, race, sex, and religion. Meting out equal treatment to
everybody without discrimination and without granting any privileges to anyone.
The
girl child is discriminated even before her birth in the form of foeticide and
after birth in the form of infanticide, and numerous other forms of violence
and parental neglect. The discrimination of girls or women in Rautahat district
(selected area) chiefly due to son preferences, Marriage-related traditional
practices(child marriage), cultural practices (dowry system and inter-cast
marriage) , Caste-based discrimination(untouchable), superstition and belief in
evil spirits i.e. witches and due to
poverty of family girl child always suffer from low literacy rates &
receive less health care comparatively. The impact of early marriage on the
health of young girls, including child-bearing before maturity, frequent
pregnancies and attendant risks of birth complications. Girls are taken out of
school to be given in marriage and are denied the opportunity to acquire the
knowledge and skills required for meaningful adulthood.
From
the study findings it is abundantly clear that efforts at gender quality and
gender justice must start with equality for the girl child. All barriers must
therefore be eliminated to enable girls without exception to develop their full
potential and skills through equal access to education and training, nutrition,
physical and mental health care and related information.
The findings of this study strongly
reinforce the need for well-focused affirmative action not merely on the part
of governmental agencies but equally and importantly also on nongovernmental
civil society organizations.
CONTENTS Page no.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1
Statement of the
case
1-3
1.2
Rationale of the
selection of the case
3-4
1.3
Objectives of the
study 4
1.4
Research Questions 4-5
1.5
Delimitation of
the case
5-6
CHAPTER
TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
2.1
Theoretical frame
work 7-8
2.2
Review of related
literature
8-13
CHAPTER
THREE: PROCEDURE OF CASE
STUDY
3.1
Designing the
case
14-15
3.2
Population & sampling 15
3.3
Instrument/tools 15-16
3.4
Data collection
procedure 16-18
CHAPTER
FOUR: ANALYSIS AND INTERP-
RETATION OF THE CASE
4.1 Analyze the
discrimination against the girl 19-21
4.2
Find out the causes of discrimination 21-22
CHAPTER
FIVE: FINDING, CONCLUSION AND
SUGGESTION
5.1
Finding
23-25
5.2
Conclusion 25-27
5.3
Suggestion 27-29
References
Annex I, II and III
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 statement of the case:
Forms of discrimination against girl are numerous and vary
depending on the traditions, history, and culture of a particular society. Several
research work and practices are still working to improve the condition and
right to survival of girls. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) defines a child as a person under the age of
18 unless national laws recognize the age of majority earlier. The age of 18 is
now accepted as the world standard, since every country has ratified the CRC except Somalia
and the United States. Although YAP International specifically advocates for
ending discrimination against girls, we realize efforts to curtail gender
discrimination must include strategies that continue to support women when they
reach and pass age 18.
Girl children in particular are subjected to multiple
forms of oppression, exploitation, and discrimination due to their gender.
Girls child are discriminated before their birth in the form of foeticide and
after birth in the form of infanticide letter on multiple form of social
discrimination.
The sex determination due to son preferences leads to
foeticide by abortion. After the birth of girl baby female infanticide, the
murder of a young girl child, often occurring as a deliberate murder of a girl
infant or young girl child or as the result of neglect. Selective abortion –
also called gender-selective abortion, sex-selective abortion, or female
foeticide – is the abortion of a fetus because it is female. Medical technology
has made it Possible for parents to discover the sex of a fetus at earlier and
earlier stages of pregnancy, so many women from communities with a preference
for boys practice selective abortion.
Our social structure is set as male dominated from
very ancient time. Although daughters are desired, sons are very highly prized
because they continue the family name, can perform funeral rituals and are
expected to provide support in old age. Son preference is an entrenched value
in Nepalese societies. Families are said to have recourse to religious rituals
such as prayers and fasting and to herbal medicines, as well as currently to
the sophisticated technologies of sonograms and amniocentesis to decide on sex
selective abortion, to ensure that the family name is preserved through the
male line. Sons must be available for religious funeral rites in Nepal’s
patriarchal social system. Only male descendants can inherit the throne (Constitution,
1990).
Although the sex ratio of 105 at birth in favour of
boys has not received much attention nor been perceived as a critical issue, as
it is point out that several research indicates that the sex ratio at the last
birth for women who have completed their families is 146 in favour of boys,
revealing a wide gender disparity. They conclude that stopping behaviour in
childbirth through use of contraceptives or other methods is dependent on the
birth of at least one son, thereby reflecting a strong son preference. An
earlier study (Karki, 1988) also found that preference for sons determined
family size. Most families in his study sample (90 per cent) wanted at least one
son and the preferred sex composition of a family was two sons and a daughter.
The consequences of a strong son preference could extend to the denial of
girls’ right to life or their vulnerability to discriminatory practices.
02
Environment in which they live. The Women’s Rehabilitation
Centre (WOREC) (1998) and the World Health Organization (WHO) (2000) have
stated that Nepal
has a long history of induced abortion, although abortion has been legal since
2002 and even now is permitted to only 12 weeks after conception. Traditional
birth attendants are said to perform abortions using unhygienic methods,
including the use of unsterilized knives, blades stone and soap,
1.2
Rationale of the selection of the case:
The main aim of this study is the reinforcement of
gender inequalities and the violation of the rights of girls and women that are
underscored in our society. Son preference has the potential to deny girls the
right to life from conception, although the available evidence of sex selective
abortions is not as strong as in our country and incest is tolerated within a
façade of family privacy. It has, however, clearly resulted in discrimination
against girls and women in the allocation of food within the family and in
access to education, as reflected in health, nutrition and education
indicators. Compounding this gender based discrimination is the impact of
concepts of virginity and purity and consequent early marriage on the health of
young girls, including child-bearing before maturity, frequent pregnancies and
attendant risks of birth complications. Girls are taken out of school to be
given in marriage and are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and
skills required for meaningful adulthood.
03
1.3
Objective of the study:
The
main objective in conducting this case study is to fill the knowledge gaps and
thereby assist in devising purposeful lines of action in order to:
1. Analyze the discrimination against the girl.
2. Find out the causes of discrimination.
1.4
Research questions:
Observation and different
questions related to the case study shows that more than 80% of the girls
denied they are made to feel that they are a burden to the family and were
discriminated against, which is more of an acceptance of their second class
status. The investigators observed the girl child was severely discriminated
and were burdened with household chores etc. Despite the fact that over 60% of
the respondents did not consider having a girl child an ill omen, but on
rephrasing the question over 75% of the rural women said that a family is
considered unlucky which has only daughters. This may be probably because of
the social and cultural pressure to bear sons and if the woman has only
daughters she is cursed for it and the husband’s family even goes to the extent
of threatening remarriage, not taking in account that both husband and wife are
responsible for the sex of the child. The results of the study revealed that
boys and girls are expected to exhibit different behavior, dress differently,
undertake different physical and emotional tasks, participate in and perform
different activities within and outside the family. On the girl child being
asked as to whether she was treated equal to her brother most said they were
treated equally, but when probed further results appeared different.
04
44 % of the rural girls said that their brother was
served food before them as against only 18% of the urban girls. 94% of the
rural girls and 50% of the urban girls said that unlike their brothers they had
to both go to school and also do domestic chores. Over 40% of the girls
admitted to getting tired by this. The rural girls unlike their brother
admitted to being made to clean the house, fill water, looking after children,
cook food, wash clothes, tend to animals and to sick family members, attend to
guests etc. While the urban girls had the burden of cleaning the house, make
the bed, attending to guests etc...
1.5 Delimitation of the case:
Rautahat district of Narayani
Nepal
is taken as target area (delimitation) of the case study. For the collection of this type of
information, sole municipality of the district, Gaur and three Village
Development Committees; Auraiya, Dumariya Paroha and Jatahara located in the
southern area of Rautahat district.
It
is situated in between 28º 44’ to 27º 14’North and 85º14’ to 85º30’
south on world map. Where as in map of Nepal the district is surrounded by
Sarlahi district in East, Makwanpur in the North, Bara in West and Indian border
facing Bihar in the South. The district,
with Gaur as its district headquarters, covers
an area of 1,126 km² (103709 hector) and has a population (2001) of
545,132(Male-282246 and Female- 262886).of which male population in rural area
268878, urban-13368h and female population in
rural-25871, urban 12015 living in total household 88162(rural-8426hh &
05
urban- 3956 with a ratio of 6.18
person/hh. The population growth ratio is calculated in past decade (2048-2058)
2.75% with population density of 484 person/km. The Rautahat district occupies
0.77% of total area of Nepal,
31% 0f Terai, 4.11% of Central Development Region and 13.55% of Narayani one.
Among 75 districts of Nepal,
It has placed on 9th position according to population density and 14th
position according to household’s number.
Total land
of Rautahat District is
divided into total forest area-29076 hec. Shrub 563 hec, agriculture land 78805
hec, water bodies 715 hec and bare land 3332 hec (source: Department of forest,
Tropical forest survey, March 2001). Rautahat District has 6 constituencies, a
Gaur municipality and 96 Village Development committees. Gaur municipality, an
urban, has 3589 household (hh) with male population-11083 and female
population-9836, and rural Auraiya VDC has 1297 hh, male-4640 &
female-4196, Dumariya-paroha has 580 hh male-1914 female-1734 and Jatahara VDC
has 1054 household with male-3605 & female-3409 population of which 30
female 20 hh in Gaur(urban) and 20 female of 15 hh from each vdc in rural area
for views of respondents from individual households.
06
Chapter Two: Review of related
literature
2.1
Theoretical frame work:
Every study
contains its related theory. This cause study is about the discrimination of
the girl child which is an acute and burning problem of our society. Therefore
this study is based on the theory of feminism (Karl Marx, 1840’s) i.e. Liberal
feminism, social feminism etc.
Feminist
theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical ground.
It encompasses work done in a broad variety of disciplines, prominently
including the approaches to women's roles and lives and feminist politics in
anthropology and sociology, economics, women's and gender studies, feminist
literary criticism, and philosophy (especially Continental philosophy). Feminist
theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender
politics, power relations and sexuality. While generally providing a critique
of social relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender
inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues. Themes
explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification
(especially sexual objectification), oppression, and patriarchy.
Liberal feminism:
Liberal feminism seeks no special
privileges for women and simply demands that everyone receive equal
consideration without discrimination on the basis of sex. Liberal feminists
would seek to remove
barriers that prevent equal access
for women to information technology jobs not only to provide economic equality
but to provide access to higher-paying jobs for women.
Socialist feminism:
Socialist
feminism rejects individualism and positivism. Social feminism believes that
technology and the social shaping of technology have often been conceptualized
in terms of men, excluding women at all levels. Socialist feminist reform
suggests that the allocation of resources for technology development should be
determined by greatest benefit for the common good. A growing use of cyber
protests to disrupt capitalist enterprises such as the World Bank might be seen
by socialists as an example of information technology use for the common good.
2.2 Review of related literature:
The concept of equality is recognition of the fact
that all human are equal in their ultimate value.(Tripathi, 2002) The doctrine
of equality is based on a principle of justice. There is close relationship between
equality and justice. Hence, the concept of equality prohibits all kinds of
unjust, undeserved and unjustified inequalities.
According to Professor Harold J. Laski, “ the absence
of equality means special privilege for some and not for others, of a special
privilege which is not, so to say, in nature, but in a deliberate contrivance
of the social environment and in absence of certain equalities, no freedom can
even hope for realization, and that the acute mind of Aristotle long ago saw that
the
08
craving for equality is one of the most profound roots
of revolution.”( Pathak & Sangroula,
2002)
"Short-changing girls is not only a matter of
gender discrimination; it is bad economics and bad societal policy. Experience
has shown, over and over again, that investment in girls' education translate
directly and quickly into better nutrition
for the whole family, better health care, declining fertility, poverty reduction
and better overall economic performance"
- Kofi Annan, United
Nations Secretary General
Hindu Orthodox value system (Laski, 1937). With the
existence of Licchavi dynasty in 4th century, Hindu rulers applied the customary
rules of their religion as laws to govern the behavior of their subjects. Caste
system, patriarchy type of society, right, recognition, treatment and
punishment as per the status, caste and sex of individual or community were
some major areas of inequalities vested in Hindu value system and the same were
practiced under various laws for a long period of time. The Code of Human
Justice (Manab Nyaya Shastra) of 14th century and Muluki Ain 1910 are major
examples of such practices in Nepal.(Constitution, 2011) On the other hand, Rana
Regime ruled over Nepal for 104 years till 2007 B.S. They applied same values
and laws to rule over the people of Nepal. There was no chance of equality on
any ground. Any one, who spoke for equality or opposed their system, was killed
or disappeared. However, at the end of Rana Regime, Prime Minister Padma
Smasher promulgated the Government of Nepal Act, 2004 the first ever written
constitutional document of Nepal.
This constitution was said to be democratic one as it
had guaranteed some fundamental rights. According to the constitution, “Subject
to the principles to public order and morality this constitution guarantees to
the
09
citizens
of Nepal freedom of a person, freedom of speech, liberty of the press, freedom
of assembly and discussion, freedom of worship, complete equality in the eye of
law, cheap and speedy justice, universal and equal suffrage for all adults…as
defined by the laws of the state at present existing and laws and rules to be
made hereunder”. Thus, the concept of equality in the eye of law was embodied
in this constitution for the first time in Nepalese legal system. However, this
constitution could not be applicable and the situation remained the same. In
the history of Nepalese constitution other three constitutions were promulgated
in different times till the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal
promulgated in 2047. The right to equality and non-discrimination on any basis
and equal protection of law were guaranteed under the articles 14, 15 and 16 of
the Interim Government of Nepal Act 2007. But there was no provision for
remedies in this constitution. Likewise, article 4 of the Constitution of
Kingdom of Nepal 2015 had also guaranteed the same rights and it had also
guaranteed the right to constitutional remedy. Again, the Constitution of Nepal
replaced this constitution in 2019. This constitution authorized king as the
sovereign power and recognized party less system of governance. However, this
constitution was also said to be democratic and protector of people’s rights.
Under part 3 of this constitution right to equality without discrimination and
equal protection of law were guaranteed as fundamental rights of people. This constitution was applied for about three
decades but as it had prohibited multi party system and was against the will of
Nepali people, it was also replaced by the Constitution of the kingdom of Nepal
2047.
As long as discrimination
and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - as long as girls and
women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled
and subjected to violence in and out of
10
their homes - the potential
of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be
realized. And let us heed the call so that we can create a world in which every
woman is treated with respect and dignity, every boy and girl is loved and
cared for equally, and every family has the hope of a strong and stable future. Women's
Rights Are Human Rights.
Famous
Speech by Hillary Clinton Beijing, China:
5 September 1995
An interaction programme on "Inclusive
Proportional Representation and Implementation of Women’s 33%
Representation" was organized in Center for Constitutional Dialogue (CCD)
on 28 July 2011. The programme was
attended by 95 participants including Constituent Assembly members and the
representatives of civil society organizations. Hon. Neelam Verma,
Coordinator of Women's Caucus described the role played by the Caucus in
championing the idea of fully proportional representation for women based on
population in the new Constitution. She also claimed that unless and until
there exists intra-party provision of proportional representation of women, not
much can be achieved at the national level. Describing the activities of the
Inter-Party Women’s Network Hon. Pratibha Rana stressed the need of women’s
unity in raising their concerns. Hon. Jaya Puri Gharti Magar said that much
progress has occurred in terms of women’s rights in the past 10-15 years. She
highlighted the need to ensure representation for different groups within the
category of women who have traditionally been left out of the political
spectrum. Hon. Kamala Pant opined that it would be impossible to construct a
stable society without ensuring women’s representation in government organs.
Hon. Tham Maya Thapa Magar argued that women must demand 50% representation in
all sectors of government, and the only way of ensuring this is by making sure
that political parties themselves are
11
structured
and organized based on the principle of proportional
representation.{http://www.ccd.org.np/new/index.php?action=news&conid=667} The constitution of Nepal; Adopted on: 9 Nov 1990,
Adopted by: Act No. 2047, issued 1990.
Part 3 Fundamental
Rights, Article 11 Right to Equality:
(1)
All citizens shall be equal before the law. No person shall be denied the equal
protection of the laws.
(2)
No discrimination shall be made against any citizen in the application of
general laws on grounds of religion (dharma), race (varya), sex (linga), caste
(jat), tribe (jati) or ideological conviction (vaicharik) or culture(sanscriti)
any of these.
(3) The State shall not discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction or any of these.
Provided that special provisions may be made by law for the protection and advancement of the interests of women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated or those who belong to a class which is economically, socially or educationally backward.
(3) The State shall not discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction or any of these.
Provided that special provisions may be made by law for the protection and advancement of the interests of women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated or those who belong to a class which is economically, socially or educationally backward.
(4)
No person shall, on the basis of caste, be discriminated against as
untouchable, be denied access to any public place, or be deprived of the use of
public utilities. Any contravention of this provision shall be punishable by
law.
(5)
No discrimination in regard to remuneration shall be made between men and women
for the same work.
12
In
the Preamble of the Interim Constitution, 2007 that the restructuring of the
state shall be progressively accomplished in order to solve the problems
existing in the country relating to class, ethnicity, region and gender,
mentioning that the sovereignty and state authority shall be vested inherently
in the people of Nepal. Article 20 of Part 3 of the Interim Constitution makes
provision for women’s rights, including the following four rights:
a. No discrimination of any kind shall be made against
women by virtue of gender.
b. Every woman shall have the right to reproductive
health and reproduction.
c. No woman shall be subjected to physical, mental or any
other kind of violence.
d. Sons and daughters shall have an equal right to
ancestral property.
For
the first time in the history of Nepal, women’s rights were
guaranteed constitutionally in separate headings under fundamental rights.
Women’s rights and agendas were also included in the provisions on the right to
equality, right to social justice, and on rights relating to employment and
social security. The Interim Constitution mentions, under ‘obligations of the
state’, the progressive restructuring of the state to address the problems of
backward classes and regions, including women.
"By joining efforts we can surpass the injustices
inflicted on the girl child and boy child alike. If left untreated, these
forces will permanently scar our children and threaten the healthy growth of
nations."
- Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
(Rising voice
on Discrimination against the Girl Child)
13
Chapter
Three: Procedure of the case study
3.1 Designing the case:
Two different sources of information were consulted
for this report, namely primary and secondary. The former consisted of the
experiences and views of scholars, schoolteachers, governmental officials, NGO
staff, and social volunteers by way of interview. In addition, the views of
respondents were incorporated through making direct contact with them in the selected
field sites. These ideas were used to supplement the secondary information.
The secondary information comprised research reports produced
on the issues of different form of discrimination of girls /women by various
types of governmental and nongovernmental organizations as well as the writings
published by individual scholars. The views of the various people were collated
by way of focus groups, key informant interviews, and the survey of views of
respondents from individual households (see Annex for questionnaires).
The discrimination of girls or women in Rautahat
district (selected area) chiefly due to son preferences, Marriage-related traditional practices(child
marriage), cultural practices (dowry system and inter-cast marriage) , Caste-based discrimination(untouchable),
superstition and belief in evil spirits
i.e. witches and due to poverty of
family girl child always suffer from low literacy rates & receive less
health care comparatively.
Depending
on these facts there were no more documentary evidence and no investigatory
works were done by any other person or governmental or non-governmental
organizations though several NGOs, INGOs and social volunteers are still working
but in discrete social disciplines, very less frequently references are
available in this concern i.e. only demographic or census report (2058 B.S)
which is also not up to date. That ‘why this case study is based on mostly
qualitative data taken directly from primary sources.
3.2 Population
and sampling:
This study covers the
population of the limited area of Rautahat District, Gaur municipality. The
selected areas are VDC Auraiya, VDC Dumariya Paroha and VDC Jatahara.
It would be very difficult to
study about all the areas of the Rautahat District so; some limited areas are
taken for population sample.
3.3 Instruments/tools:
The interviews, with various categories of informants,
were conducted at numerous points throughout the period covered by this study.
The fieldwork required for the collection of information from individual
households of targeted area.
Discussions were made by using both
primary and secondary types of data. Primary data was collected by way of
surveys of a sample of respondents from individual households and through
observation, key informant interviews, as well as focus group discussions. The
views of key informants from other institutions have also been taken into
consideration. For the collection of this type of information, sole
municipality of the district, Gaur and three Village Development Committees
Auraiya, Dumariya (p) and Jatahara… located in the southern area of Rautahat
district. ). Gaur
15
municipality, an urban, has 3589 household (hh) with male
population-11083 and female population-9836, and rural Auraiya VDC has 1297
hh,male-4640 & female-4196, Dumariya-Paroha has 580 hh male-1914
female-1734 and Jatahara vdc has 1054 household with male-3605 &
female-3409 population of which 20 female 20 hh in Gaur(urban) and 15 female of
15 hh from each VDC in rural area for views of respondents from individual
households.
3.4 Data collection procedure:
The
interview with girls and women of different age group, casts and social
volunteers were made to determine the victims of discrimination. During this
process female residents of above mentioned villages of rural areas and Gaur
municipality of urban area taken into account following are the name of respondents:-
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 5
Sonamati Baitha (28 yrs) wife of Ram Bahadur
Baitha.
Keshari Devi Baitha (58 yrs) wife of Gobari
Baitha.
Anita Devi Kushawaha (19 yrs) wife of Gouri
Shankar Kushawaha
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 7
Ghoghari Kumhain (31 yrs) wife of Lakhichand Kumhar.
Rajamatiya Devi (38 yrs) wife of Lalbabu Sah.
Sadrul khatun (35 yrs) wife of Shekh Miyan.
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 8
Tanna Telin (53yrs) wife of Ramchandra Sah Teli.
16
Lalita Devi Sah (21 yrs) wife of Rambabu Sah.
Keshari Telin (71 yrs) wife of Devi Sah Teli.
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 9
Chandani Jha (23 yrs) wife of Ashok Jha.
Bigani Das (36 yrs) wife of Hari Das.
Romana Devi Thakur (53 yrs) wife of Luxmi Thakur
Lohar.
Geeta Devi Mandal (29 yrs) wife of Laxman Mandal.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 3
Manawa Devi Lohar (42 yrs) wife of Dasharath Thakur
Lohar.
Prabha Devi Dushadhin (65 yrs) wife of Sikindar Hajara
Dusadh.
Neelam Kumari Khatri (23 yrs) wife of Manjay Kumar
Mehata.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 5
Gayatri Devi Tiwari (50 yrs) wife of Kanhai Tiwari.
Baby Kumari Bahun (25 yrs) wife of Ratnesh Bahun.
Gayatri Devi Sonar (30 yrs) wife of Sukhadi Sonar.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 8
Rubiya Devi Mahato (36 yrs) wife of Bigan Mahato.
Babita Kumari Koiri (25 yrs) wife of Shambhu Koiri.
Najama Khatun (31 yrs) wife of Salim Mohammed Ansari.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 9
Dhanmanti Devi Kanu (40 yrs) wife of Ishari Sah kanu.
17
Chiniya Miyaeen (46 yrs) wife of Farmud Miyan.
Noorjahan Khatun (23 yrs) wife of Ishlam Miyan.
VDC Jatahara,
ward no. 5
Rajmati Telin (28 yrs) wife of Mahendra Sah Teli.
Seeta Devi Pathak (52 yrs) Suresh Pathak.
Parbati Devi Malin (19 yrs) wife of Laddu Mali.
VDC Jatahara,
ward no. 9
Kalamoon Miyan Jolahin (38 yrs) wife of Mushlim Miyan
Jolaha.
Mumtaj Begam (24 yrs) wife of Wajul Miyan.
Heera Nuniyaeen (25 yrs) wife of Shankar Mahato
Nuniya.
18
Chapter
four: Analysis and interpretation of the case
4.1Analyze the discrimination against the girl:
Son
preference and early marriage are features of Nepali society, but female
foeticide and infanticide are much less visible. The dowry system as practiced
in Hindu society has replaced the more flexible marriage practices that had
prevailed and is pervasive in contemporary Nepal, but dowry deaths appear to be
less horrendous, sati was banned over a hundred years ago and there
appears to be some flexibility regarding widow re-marriage. The caste system
became a permanent feature, incorporating indigenous ethnic groups and tribes
and reproducing some of the most harmful practices such as violating the rights
of girls and women and consigning them to perpetual subordination and social
exclusion.
Son preference is the result of the traditional gender
roles ascribed to men such as responsibility for the economic support of
parents and families, preserving the family name and performing religious
funeral rites. Early marriage was favoured for girls to ensure culturally
valued virginity before marriage through control of female behavior and
sexuality, thereby safeguarding family honour. Widow re-marriage, too, was
discouraged if not prohibited based on the same belief that brides need to be
virgins. The cultural concepts of purity and pollution imposed limits to the
physical and social mobility of girls and women during menstruation.
The occupational divisions in the caste system were
overlaid by socio-cultural hierarchies cum discriminatory practices.
Socio-cultural transactions evolved into different forms, such as the transformation
of the traditional dowry system into a process of commercial bargaining. The
economic burdens of the poor and the consequent need to reduce the quantity of
dowry compelled them to arrange early marriages for their daughters.
The consequences of adhering to these practices have
been the reinforcement of gender inequalities and the violation of the rights
of girls and women that are underscored in international instruments, such as
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and in the Constitution.
Son preference has the potential to deny girls the
right to life from conception, although the available evidence of sex selective
abortions is not as strong and incest is tolerated within a façade of family
privacy. It has, however, clearly resulted in discrimination against girls and
women in the allocation of food within the family and in access to education,
as reflected in health, nutrition and education indicators. Compounding this
gender based discrimination is the impact of concepts of virginity and purity
and consequent early marriage on the health of young girls, including
child-bearing before maturity, frequent pregnancies and attendant risks of
birth complications. Girls are taken out of school to be given in marriage and
are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills required for
meaningful adulthood.
Girls and women in poverty groups and in “low or
untouchable
20
castes”
are especially vulnerable to the negative impact of traditional and cultural
practices. The social exclusion to which they are subjected denies them human
dignity as well as access to opportunities to achieve upward socio-economic
mobility. The abuse of human rights is seen clearly in the relegation of groups
of girls and women described earlier to lives of sexual servitude for
livelihood and to bonded labour tantamount to slavery.
Strategies to eliminate harmful practices therefore
need to be attuned to issues that surface from the prevailing amalgam of
cultures. These cultures and their traditions have not been static and have
incorporated positive and negative changes; they can therefore be transformed
and based on a universalistic framework of human rights which transcends
cultural perspectives that negate these rights.
4.2 Find out the causes of
discrimination:
Discrimination
against the girl child occurs in every strata of society -rich or poor - having
different forms of manifestation, but is more visible. especially in poverty
stricken families or in families under financial stress. One of the crudest
forms of discrimination is the one which takes place subtly and is sanctioned
in the name of culture. A girl is made to fit in a culturally defined role - be
it at home or outside. Traditions have portrayed girls as less important than
boys, less deserving of basic quality of life. Some of these retrograde
traditions have “become so deeply internalized that they have come to stand for
what is ‘right’ and ‘natural’, and the girls themselves have frequently come to
endorse their own second-class status”.
Such
deliberate discrimination of the girl child patently violates the
21
right to equality. the girl
child is discriminated against from the earliest stages of life, through her
childhood and into adulthood. The reasons for the discrepancy include, among
other things, harmful attitudes and practices, such as preferences for sons -
which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection - early
marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation,
sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food allocation and other
practices related to health and well-being.
22
Chapter Five: Finding, conclusion and suggestion
5.1 Finding:
The girl child is discriminated even before her birth
in the form of feticides and after birth in the form of infanticide, and
numerous other forms of violence and parental neglect. In each corner of
society, girls face discrimination, they often receive less food than boys,
have less access to schooling and unlike boys they are made to do long hours of
labour beginning at a tender age. Therefore, to assess the level of
discrimination, the questionnaire was divided into different parts. The
questions were repeated and asked in different ways to elicit the correct response
and also to be able to know when the respondents were not giving the correct
answer and are intentionally providing incorrect information. Often respondents
deliberately give the response that they feel is politically correct but they
may not hold the same view.
While
analyzing the data all efforts have been made to reduce bias caused by both
non-response and incorrect answers. While considerable care was taken to ensure
high standards throughout all collection and processing operations, the resulting
estimates could inevitably be subject to a certain degree of error.
The
study also revealed the following statistics:
- On
being asked as to whether girls should have a greater capacity to endure
hardship or inconvenience without complaint, in comparison to boys, over 80% of
the respondents both rural and urban answered in the affirmative.
- On being asked as to whether girls should be more
sombre in comparison to boys who can be naughty, over 80% of the rural men and
women and urban men answered in the affirmative, as compared to 50% of the
urban women.
- Interestingly enough on being asked as to whether
the girls/women should only follow men 60% rural men and 92% rural women
answered in the affirmative as compared to 1% urban men and 10% urban women.
- On being asked as to whether girls should have no
personal desires and she should only follow the desire of her parents and
husband, over 80% of the urban men and women and rural men answered in the
negative. It was 86% of the rural women who answered in the affirmative. The
results were similar on the respondents being asked as to whether the girl
child should not have any ambition and should follow whatever her family
desires for her. It was again the rural women who seemed to accord an inferior
status to the girl.
- On being asked as if the girl is given even a little
bit of freedom she will go out of control of her parents over 60% of the
respondents answered in the affirmative.
- On being asked as to whether girls are cowards as
compared to boys over 84% of the rural men and women and urban men answered in
the affirmative, while 70% of the urban women answered in the negative.
24
-
Over 90% of the male respondents felt that it is a right of the male to scold
(maybe hit) a woman if she makes a mistake However 68% of the urban women felt
that a man had no such right and a woman is not his personal property to treat
as he likes.
5.2 Conclusion:
In this study, we examine the extent, impact and determinants of sex
preference in society, by measuring levels of various forms of gender bias,
analyzing effects of sex preference and identifying factors associated with son
preference.
Marriage-related
traditional practices like Child mirage
and dowry system, The
giving and taking of dowry as a wedding ritual is said to have become a
cultural practice in our society in these days often a root cause of
discrimination of girl child .
The sex-specific child mortality Mothers are not the
only perpetrators of female infanticide and feticide, as more dominant members
of the immediate family, such as the husband or mother-in-law, often encourage
or carry out the deed. In addition, women may experience pressure from members
of their community, possibly facing physical abuse, disownment from their
husband or parents, and homelessness if they choose to keep a child against the
direction of others. Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide have had
consequences beyond the loss of many females' lives. From the study findings it
is abundantly clear that effort at gender quality and gender justice must start
with equality for the girl child. All barriers must therefore be eliminated to
enable girls without exception to develop
25
their full potential and skills through equal access
to education and training, nutrition, physical and mental health care and
related information. The patriarchal form of Our society has sanctified the
persona of the boy or man as being of greater importance than that of the girl.
That makes it all the more imperative to provide extra protection and support
to ensure that girls' rights are acknowledged and protected and that the best interests
of the girl child must be the primary consideration in all decisions or actions
that affect the child or children as a group. It is also abundantly clear that
despite the constitutional provisions on equal legal status for the girl child
and the numerous enactments that have been placed on the Statute book in
pursuance of that, very little progress seems to have been made so far in
making any marked dent in the situation. Though undoubtedly centuries old traditions
and cultural attitudes do take time to change, yet it is more than apparent
that there has also been a considerable lack of seriousness in pursuing the
prescribed measures of change. For example, even a straightforward and
easy-to-oversee enactment that places a prohibition on pre-natal sex
determination test remains virtually unimplemented, leading to female feticide
on a scale alarming enough to seriously impact the gender ratio. All said and done,
therefore, severe and widely prevalent gender discrimination continues to be an
ugly fact of life, pervading all castes and communities, on all human
development indices, be it in rural or urban.
The findings of this study strongly reinforce
the need for well focused affirmative action not merely on the part of governmental
agencies but equally importantly also on Non-governmental civil society
organizations to secure the following desired objectives:
26
- To eliminate all forms of discrimination against the
girl child and the root causes of son preference, that result in harmful and unethical
practices like female infanticide and sex selection before birth;
- To increase public awareness of the value of the
girl child and at the same time strengthen the self-image, self-esteem and status
of the girl child, because girls too have the right to have their views heard
and be taken seriously in all matters affecting their lives and to improve the
welfare of the girl child, especially in regards to health, nutrition and
education.
5.3 Suggestion:
a.
Promote changes in negative attitudes and practices towards girls by
encouraging and supporting NGOs and other organizations that are engaged in
such a mission;
b.
Educational programmes and teaching material to be developed that sensitize and
inform students about the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices
on girl children, so that the new generation does not perpetuate stereotypes;
c. Include
in the syllabi, teaching materials and textbooks, stories of successful women
in areas that have traditionally been under represented, such as mathematics,
science and technology. This will not only help improve the self-image of girls
but also raise their esteem in the male eyes encouraging them to work towards
mutual respect and equal partnership between girls and boys.
27
d.
Training programs and materials to be developed for teachers so that their
awareness is enhanced and they get better equipped to impart and formulate
effective strategies for gender-sensitive teaching;
e.
Include religious leaders in this process so that they actively promote and
endorse equality of the girl child.
f.
Develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans of action and programs for
the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child, to
promote and protect full enjoyment of her human rights, and to ensure equal
opportunities for girls; these plans should form an integral part of the total
development process;
g.
Ensure dis-aggregation by sex and age of all data related to children in the
health, education and other sectors in order to include a gender perspective in
planning, implementation and monitoring of such programs;
h.Strictly
enforce laws regarding marriage specially concerning the minimum age for
marriage;
i.
Educate the girl child about the rights guaranteed to her under the
Constitution and under international human rights instruments, including the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
j. To
increase awareness in the society one week program should be done
in
school student by producing short badges, leaflets, essay competition, poster
competition and short drama related to form of discrimination of girls and its
effect on society/nation.
28
k. Publishing
the history and biography of world leading and famous women personalities in
the form of pocket books and their distribution among students that will
enhance the moral base of the girl child to be like the idol women.
l.
Promotion of equal participation of girls in extracurricular activities, such
as sports, drama and cultural activities. Integration of human rights education
in educational programs.
m.
Protect the girl child from economic exploitation and from performing any work
that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with her education, or to be
harmful to her health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development.
n.
Enact and enforce legislation protecting girls from all forms of violence,
including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, sexual abuse, sexual
exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and develop age appropriate
safe and confidential programmes as well as medical, social and psychological
support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence.
AND, FINALLY….
We recommend that a few pilot
projects may be taken up in different parts of the country, more particularly
in those regions where the level of
gender
discrimination is more acute.
29
Annex: I
The name of Teachers
involved in group discussion:
Shri Janta
Madhaymic Vidyalay Auraiya;
1. Babulal
Gupta
2. Kamalesh
Prasad singh
3. Smt.
Madhu Shrivastav.
4. Smt. Bindu
Devi (primary teacher)
5. Smt.Savita
Devi Yadav
Shri nimna madhyamic vidyalay Dumaria paroha
1. Bilashi
ray Yadav
2. Mani
Prasad Mehta
3. Lalbabu
Tewari
4. Shanker
Prathamic Vidyalay
5. Ramayodya
ram
6. Smt.Sakina
Khtun
7. RamAutar Prasad Yadav
Annex: II
The questions which where asked to the the villagers while
doing research upon “discrimination of the girl child” are as follow.
Question/Answer
1. What was
the age of women during the period of marriage?
Ans……………………………………………………………
2. Have they
felt any kind of force from family members to do abortion in case of girl
infant in the womb?
Ans……………………………………………………………
3. How many
children do you want to have?
Ans……………………………………………………………
4. What do
you want to get either son or daughter and why?
Ans……………………………………………………………
5. Do your
daughter are going to school for study?
Ans……………………………………………………………
6. Why you
people neglect your daughter to do or participate in any kind of cultural
program, creative works and society events?
Ans……………………………………………………………
7. Have you
got rights to participate in family policy decision?
Ans……………………………………………………………
Annex: III
Multiple
choice Question
1.
Which infant do you want?
a.
Son b. Daughter c. None
2.
Do you think girls and boys are equal?
a.
Yes b. Might be c. No
3.
Girls should be given chance to study in their life?
a.
Given b. never c. should’t be given
4.
Discrimination of the girl child is right?
a.
Yes b. No c. don’t know
5.
Girls child are not good?
a.
Comparatively good b. Good c. Not good
6.
What do you think about child marriage?
a.
Should be done b.
Shouldn’t be done c. keep as tradition
7.
Girls are only for the household works?
a.
yes b. no c. May be
8.
Girls should be given equal emphasis like boys?
a.
Yes b. No c. Little bit
References:
“Social Classess and Stratification"(1991),
Nepal: Library of Congress
Federal
Research Division (1991). This article
incorporates text from
this
source, which is in the public domain.
Nussbaum, Martha and
Glover, Jonathan (1995). Women, Culture
and
Development.
Tripathi, Dr. Hari
Bansh(2002}. Fundamental Rights and
Judicial Review in
Nepal, Evolution and Experiments.
Kathmandu:
Pairavi Prakashan.
Ibid
Pg.6-11 & 131
Evolution and Experiments, Pairavi
Prakashan, Kathmandu, 2002, Pg. 130
Sangroula, Yubraj and
Pathak, Geeta. (2002). Gender and Laws: Nepalese
Perspective. Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan.
Laski,
Harold J. (1937). Liberty
in the Modern State. London. Pg. 52 as
cited in ibid
Section 4 of the Nepal Government Act 2004 cited from
Shastradutta Pant,
Comparative
Constitution of Nepal, Research Center
for South Asia,
Kathmandu, 2052 Page 170
Article 10 of the
Constitution of Nepal 2019
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A case study
“DISCRIMINATION OF THE GIRL”
A report prepared for partial
fulfillment of Social
Justice education (529) in master level
(M.Ed.) second year of Tribhuvan
University
submitted by
Seema Kumari Yadav
Campus roll no. – 126
Exam roll no. –
150163
T.U
Regd no. -92151305-2004
T.R.M campus,
Birgunj
2068
A case study on
“DISCRIMINATION OF THE GIRL”
A report prepared for partial
fulfillment of social
Justice education (529) in master level
(M.Ed.) second year of Tribhuvan
University
submitted by
Seema Kumari Yadav
Campus roll no. – 126
Exam roll no. –
150163
T.U. Regd no. -92151305-2004
T.R.M campus,
Birgunj
2068
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very
thankful to everyone who all supported me, for i have completed my project
effectively and moreover on time.
Any attempt
at any level can't be satisfactorily completed without the support and guidance
of MY teachers. I would like to express my immense gratitude to Mr. Matrika
Prasad Koirala, Mr. Rambabu Mandal, Mr. Tara Bahadur Tapa and Mr. Bhawani
Prasad Mainali for their constant support and motivation that have encouraged
me to come up with this project “The discrimination of girls or women in
Rautahat district.”
Secondly ,I
would like to thank my family member especially my life partner, Mr. Rajesh
Yadav who helped me a lot in gathering different information, collecting data
in making this project despite of their busy schedules.
Last but not the least, I would like to thank
my father Mr.Kashi Nath Yadav who computing, designing and guiding me by giving
different ideas in making this project unique.
I am making
this project not only for marks but also play a key role to eliminate all forms
of discrimination against girls and women from our society.
THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO HELPED ME…
Seema Kumari Yadav
ABSTRACT
The popular meaning of word equality means lack of
discrimination between the people on the
basis of color, caste, race, sex, and religion. Meting out equal treatment to
everybody without discrimination and without granting any privileges to anyone.
The
girl child is discriminated even before her birth in the form of foeticide and
after birth in the form of infanticide, and numerous other forms of violence
and parental neglect. The discrimination of girls or women in Rautahat district
(selected area) chiefly due to son preferences, Marriage-related traditional
practices(child marriage), cultural practices (dowry system and inter-cast
marriage) , Caste-based discrimination(untouchable), superstition and belief in
evil spirits i.e. witches and due to
poverty of family girl child always suffer from low literacy rates &
receive less health care comparatively. The impact of early marriage on the
health of young girls, including child-bearing before maturity, frequent
pregnancies and attendant risks of birth complications. Girls are taken out of
school to be given in marriage and are denied the opportunity to acquire the
knowledge and skills required for meaningful adulthood.
From
the study findings it is abundantly clear that efforts at gender quality and
gender justice must start with equality for the girl child. All barriers must
therefore be eliminated to enable girls without exception to develop their full
potential and skills through equal access to education and training, nutrition,
physical and mental health care and related information.
The findings of this study strongly
reinforce the need for well-focused affirmative action not merely on the part
of governmental agencies but equally and importantly also on nongovernmental
civil society organizations.
CONTENTS Page no.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1
Statement of the
case
1-3
1.2
Rationale of the
selection of the case
3-4
1.3
Objectives of the
study 4
1.4
Research Questions 4-5
1.5
Delimitation of
the case
5-6
CHAPTER
TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
2.1
Theoretical frame
work 7-8
2.2
Review of related
literature
8-13
CHAPTER
THREE: PROCEDURE OF CASE
STUDY
3.1
Designing the
case
14-15
3.2
Population & sampling 15
3.3
Instrument/tools 15-16
3.4
Data collection
procedure 16-18
CHAPTER
FOUR: ANALYSIS AND INTERP-
RETATION OF THE CASE
4.1 Analyze the
discrimination against the girl 19-21
4.2
Find out the causes of discrimination 21-22
CHAPTER
FIVE: FINDING, CONCLUSION AND
SUGGESTION
5.1
Finding
23-25
5.2
Conclusion 25-27
5.3
Suggestion 27-29
References
Annex I, II and III
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 statement of the case:
Forms of discrimination against girl are numerous and vary
depending on the traditions, history, and culture of a particular society. Several
research work and practices are still working to improve the condition and
right to survival of girls. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) defines a child as a person under the age of
18 unless national laws recognize the age of majority earlier. The age of 18 is
now accepted as the world standard, since every country has ratified the CRC except Somalia
and the United States. Although YAP International specifically advocates for
ending discrimination against girls, we realize efforts to curtail gender
discrimination must include strategies that continue to support women when they
reach and pass age 18.
Girl children in particular are subjected to multiple
forms of oppression, exploitation, and discrimination due to their gender.
Girls child are discriminated before their birth in the form of foeticide and
after birth in the form of infanticide letter on multiple form of social
discrimination.
The sex determination due to son preferences leads to
foeticide by abortion. After the birth of girl baby female infanticide, the
murder of a young girl child, often occurring as a deliberate murder of a girl
infant or young girl child or as the result of neglect. Selective abortion –
also called gender-selective abortion, sex-selective abortion, or female
foeticide – is the abortion of a fetus because it is female. Medical technology
has made it Possible for parents to discover the sex of a fetus at earlier and
earlier stages of pregnancy, so many women from communities with a preference
for boys practice selective abortion.
Our social structure is set as male dominated from
very ancient time. Although daughters are desired, sons are very highly prized
because they continue the family name, can perform funeral rituals and are
expected to provide support in old age. Son preference is an entrenched value
in Nepalese societies. Families are said to have recourse to religious rituals
such as prayers and fasting and to herbal medicines, as well as currently to
the sophisticated technologies of sonograms and amniocentesis to decide on sex
selective abortion, to ensure that the family name is preserved through the
male line. Sons must be available for religious funeral rites in Nepal’s
patriarchal social system. Only male descendants can inherit the throne (Constitution,
1990).
Although the sex ratio of 105 at birth in favour of
boys has not received much attention nor been perceived as a critical issue, as
it is point out that several research indicates that the sex ratio at the last
birth for women who have completed their families is 146 in favour of boys,
revealing a wide gender disparity. They conclude that stopping behaviour in
childbirth through use of contraceptives or other methods is dependent on the
birth of at least one son, thereby reflecting a strong son preference. An
earlier study (Karki, 1988) also found that preference for sons determined
family size. Most families in his study sample (90 per cent) wanted at least one
son and the preferred sex composition of a family was two sons and a daughter.
The consequences of a strong son preference could extend to the denial of
girls’ right to life or their vulnerability to discriminatory practices.
02
Environment in which they live. The Women’s Rehabilitation
Centre (WOREC) (1998) and the World Health Organization (WHO) (2000) have
stated that Nepal
has a long history of induced abortion, although abortion has been legal since
2002 and even now is permitted to only 12 weeks after conception. Traditional
birth attendants are said to perform abortions using unhygienic methods,
including the use of unsterilized knives, blades stone and soap,
1.2
Rationale of the selection of the case:
The main aim of this study is the reinforcement of
gender inequalities and the violation of the rights of girls and women that are
underscored in our society. Son preference has the potential to deny girls the
right to life from conception, although the available evidence of sex selective
abortions is not as strong as in our country and incest is tolerated within a
façade of family privacy. It has, however, clearly resulted in discrimination
against girls and women in the allocation of food within the family and in
access to education, as reflected in health, nutrition and education
indicators. Compounding this gender based discrimination is the impact of
concepts of virginity and purity and consequent early marriage on the health of
young girls, including child-bearing before maturity, frequent pregnancies and
attendant risks of birth complications. Girls are taken out of school to be
given in marriage and are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and
skills required for meaningful adulthood.
03
1.3
Objective of the study:
The
main objective in conducting this case study is to fill the knowledge gaps and
thereby assist in devising purposeful lines of action in order to:
1. Analyze the discrimination against the girl.
2. Find out the causes of discrimination.
1.4
Research questions:
Observation and different
questions related to the case study shows that more than 80% of the girls
denied they are made to feel that they are a burden to the family and were
discriminated against, which is more of an acceptance of their second class
status. The investigators observed the girl child was severely discriminated
and were burdened with household chores etc. Despite the fact that over 60% of
the respondents did not consider having a girl child an ill omen, but on
rephrasing the question over 75% of the rural women said that a family is
considered unlucky which has only daughters. This may be probably because of
the social and cultural pressure to bear sons and if the woman has only
daughters she is cursed for it and the husband’s family even goes to the extent
of threatening remarriage, not taking in account that both husband and wife are
responsible for the sex of the child. The results of the study revealed that
boys and girls are expected to exhibit different behavior, dress differently,
undertake different physical and emotional tasks, participate in and perform
different activities within and outside the family. On the girl child being
asked as to whether she was treated equal to her brother most said they were
treated equally, but when probed further results appeared different.
04
44 % of the rural girls said that their brother was
served food before them as against only 18% of the urban girls. 94% of the
rural girls and 50% of the urban girls said that unlike their brothers they had
to both go to school and also do domestic chores. Over 40% of the girls
admitted to getting tired by this. The rural girls unlike their brother
admitted to being made to clean the house, fill water, looking after children,
cook food, wash clothes, tend to animals and to sick family members, attend to
guests etc. While the urban girls had the burden of cleaning the house, make
the bed, attending to guests etc...
1.5 Delimitation of the case:
Rautahat district of Narayani
Nepal
is taken as target area (delimitation) of the case study. For the collection of this type of
information, sole municipality of the district, Gaur and three Village
Development Committees; Auraiya, Dumariya Paroha and Jatahara located in the
southern area of Rautahat district.
It
is situated in between 28º 44’ to 27º 14’North and 85º14’ to 85º30’
south on world map. Where as in map of Nepal the district is surrounded by
Sarlahi district in East, Makwanpur in the North, Bara in West and Indian border
facing Bihar in the South. The district,
with Gaur as its district headquarters, covers
an area of 1,126 km² (103709 hector) and has a population (2001) of
545,132(Male-282246 and Female- 262886).of which male population in rural area
268878, urban-13368h and female population in
rural-25871, urban 12015 living in total household 88162(rural-8426hh &
05
urban- 3956 with a ratio of 6.18
person/hh. The population growth ratio is calculated in past decade (2048-2058)
2.75% with population density of 484 person/km. The Rautahat district occupies
0.77% of total area of Nepal,
31% 0f Terai, 4.11% of Central Development Region and 13.55% of Narayani one.
Among 75 districts of Nepal,
It has placed on 9th position according to population density and 14th
position according to household’s number.
Total land
of Rautahat District is
divided into total forest area-29076 hec. Shrub 563 hec, agriculture land 78805
hec, water bodies 715 hec and bare land 3332 hec (source: Department of forest,
Tropical forest survey, March 2001). Rautahat District has 6 constituencies, a
Gaur municipality and 96 Village Development committees. Gaur municipality, an
urban, has 3589 household (hh) with male population-11083 and female
population-9836, and rural Auraiya VDC has 1297 hh, male-4640 &
female-4196, Dumariya-paroha has 580 hh male-1914 female-1734 and Jatahara VDC
has 1054 household with male-3605 & female-3409 population of which 30
female 20 hh in Gaur(urban) and 20 female of 15 hh from each vdc in rural area
for views of respondents from individual households.
06
Chapter Two: Review of related
literature
2.1
Theoretical frame work:
Every study
contains its related theory. This cause study is about the discrimination of
the girl child which is an acute and burning problem of our society. Therefore
this study is based on the theory of feminism (Karl Marx, 1840’s) i.e. Liberal
feminism, social feminism etc.
Feminist
theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical ground.
It encompasses work done in a broad variety of disciplines, prominently
including the approaches to women's roles and lives and feminist politics in
anthropology and sociology, economics, women's and gender studies, feminist
literary criticism, and philosophy (especially Continental philosophy). Feminist
theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender
politics, power relations and sexuality. While generally providing a critique
of social relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender
inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues. Themes
explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification
(especially sexual objectification), oppression, and patriarchy.
Liberal feminism:
Liberal feminism seeks no special
privileges for women and simply demands that everyone receive equal
consideration without discrimination on the basis of sex. Liberal feminists
would seek to remove
barriers that prevent equal access
for women to information technology jobs not only to provide economic equality
but to provide access to higher-paying jobs for women.
Socialist feminism:
Socialist
feminism rejects individualism and positivism. Social feminism believes that
technology and the social shaping of technology have often been conceptualized
in terms of men, excluding women at all levels. Socialist feminist reform
suggests that the allocation of resources for technology development should be
determined by greatest benefit for the common good. A growing use of cyber
protests to disrupt capitalist enterprises such as the World Bank might be seen
by socialists as an example of information technology use for the common good.
2.2 Review of related literature:
The concept of equality is recognition of the fact
that all human are equal in their ultimate value.(Tripathi, 2002) The doctrine
of equality is based on a principle of justice. There is close relationship between
equality and justice. Hence, the concept of equality prohibits all kinds of
unjust, undeserved and unjustified inequalities.
According to Professor Harold J. Laski, “ the absence
of equality means special privilege for some and not for others, of a special
privilege which is not, so to say, in nature, but in a deliberate contrivance
of the social environment and in absence of certain equalities, no freedom can
even hope for realization, and that the acute mind of Aristotle long ago saw that
the
08
craving for equality is one of the most profound roots
of revolution.”( Pathak & Sangroula,
2002)
"Short-changing girls is not only a matter of
gender discrimination; it is bad economics and bad societal policy. Experience
has shown, over and over again, that investment in girls' education translate
directly and quickly into better nutrition
for the whole family, better health care, declining fertility, poverty reduction
and better overall economic performance"
- Kofi Annan, United
Nations Secretary General
Hindu Orthodox value system (Laski, 1937). With the
existence of Licchavi dynasty in 4th century, Hindu rulers applied the customary
rules of their religion as laws to govern the behavior of their subjects. Caste
system, patriarchy type of society, right, recognition, treatment and
punishment as per the status, caste and sex of individual or community were
some major areas of inequalities vested in Hindu value system and the same were
practiced under various laws for a long period of time. The Code of Human
Justice (Manab Nyaya Shastra) of 14th century and Muluki Ain 1910 are major
examples of such practices in Nepal.(Constitution, 2011) On the other hand, Rana
Regime ruled over Nepal for 104 years till 2007 B.S. They applied same values
and laws to rule over the people of Nepal. There was no chance of equality on
any ground. Any one, who spoke for equality or opposed their system, was killed
or disappeared. However, at the end of Rana Regime, Prime Minister Padma
Smasher promulgated the Government of Nepal Act, 2004 the first ever written
constitutional document of Nepal.
This constitution was said to be democratic one as it
had guaranteed some fundamental rights. According to the constitution, “Subject
to the principles to public order and morality this constitution guarantees to
the
09
citizens
of Nepal freedom of a person, freedom of speech, liberty of the press, freedom
of assembly and discussion, freedom of worship, complete equality in the eye of
law, cheap and speedy justice, universal and equal suffrage for all adults…as
defined by the laws of the state at present existing and laws and rules to be
made hereunder”. Thus, the concept of equality in the eye of law was embodied
in this constitution for the first time in Nepalese legal system. However, this
constitution could not be applicable and the situation remained the same. In
the history of Nepalese constitution other three constitutions were promulgated
in different times till the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal
promulgated in 2047. The right to equality and non-discrimination on any basis
and equal protection of law were guaranteed under the articles 14, 15 and 16 of
the Interim Government of Nepal Act 2007. But there was no provision for
remedies in this constitution. Likewise, article 4 of the Constitution of
Kingdom of Nepal 2015 had also guaranteed the same rights and it had also
guaranteed the right to constitutional remedy. Again, the Constitution of Nepal
replaced this constitution in 2019. This constitution authorized king as the
sovereign power and recognized party less system of governance. However, this
constitution was also said to be democratic and protector of people’s rights.
Under part 3 of this constitution right to equality without discrimination and
equal protection of law were guaranteed as fundamental rights of people. This constitution was applied for about three
decades but as it had prohibited multi party system and was against the will of
Nepali people, it was also replaced by the Constitution of the kingdom of Nepal
2047.
As long as discrimination
and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - as long as girls and
women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled
and subjected to violence in and out of
10
their homes - the potential
of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be
realized. And let us heed the call so that we can create a world in which every
woman is treated with respect and dignity, every boy and girl is loved and
cared for equally, and every family has the hope of a strong and stable future. Women's
Rights Are Human Rights.
Famous
Speech by Hillary Clinton Beijing, China:
5 September 1995
An interaction programme on "Inclusive
Proportional Representation and Implementation of Women’s 33%
Representation" was organized in Center for Constitutional Dialogue (CCD)
on 28 July 2011. The programme was
attended by 95 participants including Constituent Assembly members and the
representatives of civil society organizations. Hon. Neelam Verma,
Coordinator of Women's Caucus described the role played by the Caucus in
championing the idea of fully proportional representation for women based on
population in the new Constitution. She also claimed that unless and until
there exists intra-party provision of proportional representation of women, not
much can be achieved at the national level. Describing the activities of the
Inter-Party Women’s Network Hon. Pratibha Rana stressed the need of women’s
unity in raising their concerns. Hon. Jaya Puri Gharti Magar said that much
progress has occurred in terms of women’s rights in the past 10-15 years. She
highlighted the need to ensure representation for different groups within the
category of women who have traditionally been left out of the political
spectrum. Hon. Kamala Pant opined that it would be impossible to construct a
stable society without ensuring women’s representation in government organs.
Hon. Tham Maya Thapa Magar argued that women must demand 50% representation in
all sectors of government, and the only way of ensuring this is by making sure
that political parties themselves are
11
structured
and organized based on the principle of proportional
representation.{http://www.ccd.org.np/new/index.php?action=news&conid=667} The constitution of Nepal; Adopted on: 9 Nov 1990,
Adopted by: Act No. 2047, issued 1990.
Part 3 Fundamental
Rights, Article 11 Right to Equality:
(1)
All citizens shall be equal before the law. No person shall be denied the equal
protection of the laws.
(2)
No discrimination shall be made against any citizen in the application of
general laws on grounds of religion (dharma), race (varya), sex (linga), caste
(jat), tribe (jati) or ideological conviction (vaicharik) or culture(sanscriti)
any of these.
(3) The State shall not discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction or any of these.
Provided that special provisions may be made by law for the protection and advancement of the interests of women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated or those who belong to a class which is economically, socially or educationally backward.
(3) The State shall not discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction or any of these.
Provided that special provisions may be made by law for the protection and advancement of the interests of women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated or those who belong to a class which is economically, socially or educationally backward.
(4)
No person shall, on the basis of caste, be discriminated against as
untouchable, be denied access to any public place, or be deprived of the use of
public utilities. Any contravention of this provision shall be punishable by
law.
(5)
No discrimination in regard to remuneration shall be made between men and women
for the same work.
12
In
the Preamble of the Interim Constitution, 2007 that the restructuring of the
state shall be progressively accomplished in order to solve the problems
existing in the country relating to class, ethnicity, region and gender,
mentioning that the sovereignty and state authority shall be vested inherently
in the people of Nepal. Article 20 of Part 3 of the Interim Constitution makes
provision for women’s rights, including the following four rights:
a. No discrimination of any kind shall be made against
women by virtue of gender.
b. Every woman shall have the right to reproductive
health and reproduction.
c. No woman shall be subjected to physical, mental or any
other kind of violence.
d. Sons and daughters shall have an equal right to
ancestral property.
For
the first time in the history of Nepal, women’s rights were
guaranteed constitutionally in separate headings under fundamental rights.
Women’s rights and agendas were also included in the provisions on the right to
equality, right to social justice, and on rights relating to employment and
social security. The Interim Constitution mentions, under ‘obligations of the
state’, the progressive restructuring of the state to address the problems of
backward classes and regions, including women.
"By joining efforts we can surpass the injustices
inflicted on the girl child and boy child alike. If left untreated, these
forces will permanently scar our children and threaten the healthy growth of
nations."
- Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
(Rising voice
on Discrimination against the Girl Child)
13
Chapter
Three: Procedure of the case study
3.1 Designing the case:
Two different sources of information were consulted
for this report, namely primary and secondary. The former consisted of the
experiences and views of scholars, schoolteachers, governmental officials, NGO
staff, and social volunteers by way of interview. In addition, the views of
respondents were incorporated through making direct contact with them in the selected
field sites. These ideas were used to supplement the secondary information.
The secondary information comprised research reports produced
on the issues of different form of discrimination of girls /women by various
types of governmental and nongovernmental organizations as well as the writings
published by individual scholars. The views of the various people were collated
by way of focus groups, key informant interviews, and the survey of views of
respondents from individual households (see Annex for questionnaires).
The discrimination of girls or women in Rautahat
district (selected area) chiefly due to son preferences, Marriage-related traditional practices(child
marriage), cultural practices (dowry system and inter-cast marriage) , Caste-based discrimination(untouchable),
superstition and belief in evil spirits
i.e. witches and due to poverty of
family girl child always suffer from low literacy rates & receive less
health care comparatively.
Depending
on these facts there were no more documentary evidence and no investigatory
works were done by any other person or governmental or non-governmental
organizations though several NGOs, INGOs and social volunteers are still working
but in discrete social disciplines, very less frequently references are
available in this concern i.e. only demographic or census report (2058 B.S)
which is also not up to date. That ‘why this case study is based on mostly
qualitative data taken directly from primary sources.
3.2 Population
and sampling:
This study covers the
population of the limited area of Rautahat District, Gaur municipality. The
selected areas are VDC Auraiya, VDC Dumariya Paroha and VDC Jatahara.
It would be very difficult to
study about all the areas of the Rautahat District so; some limited areas are
taken for population sample.
3.3 Instruments/tools:
The interviews, with various categories of informants,
were conducted at numerous points throughout the period covered by this study.
The fieldwork required for the collection of information from individual
households of targeted area.
Discussions were made by using both
primary and secondary types of data. Primary data was collected by way of
surveys of a sample of respondents from individual households and through
observation, key informant interviews, as well as focus group discussions. The
views of key informants from other institutions have also been taken into
consideration. For the collection of this type of information, sole
municipality of the district, Gaur and three Village Development Committees
Auraiya, Dumariya (p) and Jatahara… located in the southern area of Rautahat
district. ). Gaur
15
municipality, an urban, has 3589 household (hh) with male
population-11083 and female population-9836, and rural Auraiya VDC has 1297
hh,male-4640 & female-4196, Dumariya-Paroha has 580 hh male-1914
female-1734 and Jatahara vdc has 1054 household with male-3605 &
female-3409 population of which 20 female 20 hh in Gaur(urban) and 15 female of
15 hh from each VDC in rural area for views of respondents from individual
households.
3.4 Data collection procedure:
The
interview with girls and women of different age group, casts and social
volunteers were made to determine the victims of discrimination. During this
process female residents of above mentioned villages of rural areas and Gaur
municipality of urban area taken into account following are the name of respondents:-
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 5
Sonamati Baitha (28 yrs) wife of Ram Bahadur
Baitha.
Keshari Devi Baitha (58 yrs) wife of Gobari
Baitha.
Anita Devi Kushawaha (19 yrs) wife of Gouri
Shankar Kushawaha
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 7
Ghoghari Kumhain (31 yrs) wife of Lakhichand Kumhar.
Rajamatiya Devi (38 yrs) wife of Lalbabu Sah.
Sadrul khatun (35 yrs) wife of Shekh Miyan.
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 8
Tanna Telin (53yrs) wife of Ramchandra Sah Teli.
16
Lalita Devi Sah (21 yrs) wife of Rambabu Sah.
Keshari Telin (71 yrs) wife of Devi Sah Teli.
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 9
Chandani Jha (23 yrs) wife of Ashok Jha.
Bigani Das (36 yrs) wife of Hari Das.
Romana Devi Thakur (53 yrs) wife of Luxmi Thakur
Lohar.
Geeta Devi Mandal (29 yrs) wife of Laxman Mandal.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 3
Manawa Devi Lohar (42 yrs) wife of Dasharath Thakur
Lohar.
Prabha Devi Dushadhin (65 yrs) wife of Sikindar Hajara
Dusadh.
Neelam Kumari Khatri (23 yrs) wife of Manjay Kumar
Mehata.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 5
Gayatri Devi Tiwari (50 yrs) wife of Kanhai Tiwari.
Baby Kumari Bahun (25 yrs) wife of Ratnesh Bahun.
Gayatri Devi Sonar (30 yrs) wife of Sukhadi Sonar.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 8
Rubiya Devi Mahato (36 yrs) wife of Bigan Mahato.
Babita Kumari Koiri (25 yrs) wife of Shambhu Koiri.
Najama Khatun (31 yrs) wife of Salim Mohammed Ansari.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 9
Dhanmanti Devi Kanu (40 yrs) wife of Ishari Sah kanu.
17
Chiniya Miyaeen (46 yrs) wife of Farmud Miyan.
Noorjahan Khatun (23 yrs) wife of Ishlam Miyan.
VDC Jatahara,
ward no. 5
Rajmati Telin (28 yrs) wife of Mahendra Sah Teli.
Seeta Devi Pathak (52 yrs) Suresh Pathak.
Parbati Devi Malin (19 yrs) wife of Laddu Mali.
VDC Jatahara,
ward no. 9
Kalamoon Miyan Jolahin (38 yrs) wife of Mushlim Miyan
Jolaha.
Mumtaj Begam (24 yrs) wife of Wajul Miyan.
Heera Nuniyaeen (25 yrs) wife of Shankar Mahato
Nuniya.
18
Chapter
four: Analysis and interpretation of the case
4.1Analyze the discrimination against the girl:
Son
preference and early marriage are features of Nepali society, but female
foeticide and infanticide are much less visible. The dowry system as practiced
in Hindu society has replaced the more flexible marriage practices that had
prevailed and is pervasive in contemporary Nepal, but dowry deaths appear to be
less horrendous, sati was banned over a hundred years ago and there
appears to be some flexibility regarding widow re-marriage. The caste system
became a permanent feature, incorporating indigenous ethnic groups and tribes
and reproducing some of the most harmful practices such as violating the rights
of girls and women and consigning them to perpetual subordination and social
exclusion.
Son preference is the result of the traditional gender
roles ascribed to men such as responsibility for the economic support of
parents and families, preserving the family name and performing religious
funeral rites. Early marriage was favoured for girls to ensure culturally
valued virginity before marriage through control of female behavior and
sexuality, thereby safeguarding family honour. Widow re-marriage, too, was
discouraged if not prohibited based on the same belief that brides need to be
virgins. The cultural concepts of purity and pollution imposed limits to the
physical and social mobility of girls and women during menstruation.
The occupational divisions in the caste system were
overlaid by socio-cultural hierarchies cum discriminatory practices.
Socio-cultural transactions evolved into different forms, such as the transformation
of the traditional dowry system into a process of commercial bargaining. The
economic burdens of the poor and the consequent need to reduce the quantity of
dowry compelled them to arrange early marriages for their daughters.
The consequences of adhering to these practices have
been the reinforcement of gender inequalities and the violation of the rights
of girls and women that are underscored in international instruments, such as
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and in the Constitution.
Son preference has the potential to deny girls the
right to life from conception, although the available evidence of sex selective
abortions is not as strong and incest is tolerated within a façade of family
privacy. It has, however, clearly resulted in discrimination against girls and
women in the allocation of food within the family and in access to education,
as reflected in health, nutrition and education indicators. Compounding this
gender based discrimination is the impact of concepts of virginity and purity
and consequent early marriage on the health of young girls, including
child-bearing before maturity, frequent pregnancies and attendant risks of
birth complications. Girls are taken out of school to be given in marriage and
are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills required for
meaningful adulthood.
Girls and women in poverty groups and in “low or
untouchable
20
castes”
are especially vulnerable to the negative impact of traditional and cultural
practices. The social exclusion to which they are subjected denies them human
dignity as well as access to opportunities to achieve upward socio-economic
mobility. The abuse of human rights is seen clearly in the relegation of groups
of girls and women described earlier to lives of sexual servitude for
livelihood and to bonded labour tantamount to slavery.
Strategies to eliminate harmful practices therefore
need to be attuned to issues that surface from the prevailing amalgam of
cultures. These cultures and their traditions have not been static and have
incorporated positive and negative changes; they can therefore be transformed
and based on a universalistic framework of human rights which transcends
cultural perspectives that negate these rights.
4.2 Find out the causes of
discrimination:
Discrimination
against the girl child occurs in every strata of society -rich or poor - having
different forms of manifestation, but is more visible. especially in poverty
stricken families or in families under financial stress. One of the crudest
forms of discrimination is the one which takes place subtly and is sanctioned
in the name of culture. A girl is made to fit in a culturally defined role - be
it at home or outside. Traditions have portrayed girls as less important than
boys, less deserving of basic quality of life. Some of these retrograde
traditions have “become so deeply internalized that they have come to stand for
what is ‘right’ and ‘natural’, and the girls themselves have frequently come to
endorse their own second-class status”.
Such
deliberate discrimination of the girl child patently violates the
21
right to equality. the girl
child is discriminated against from the earliest stages of life, through her
childhood and into adulthood. The reasons for the discrepancy include, among
other things, harmful attitudes and practices, such as preferences for sons -
which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection - early
marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation,
sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food allocation and other
practices related to health and well-being.
22
Chapter Five: Finding, conclusion and suggestion
5.1 Finding:
The girl child is discriminated even before her birth
in the form of feticides and after birth in the form of infanticide, and
numerous other forms of violence and parental neglect. In each corner of
society, girls face discrimination, they often receive less food than boys,
have less access to schooling and unlike boys they are made to do long hours of
labour beginning at a tender age. Therefore, to assess the level of
discrimination, the questionnaire was divided into different parts. The
questions were repeated and asked in different ways to elicit the correct response
and also to be able to know when the respondents were not giving the correct
answer and are intentionally providing incorrect information. Often respondents
deliberately give the response that they feel is politically correct but they
may not hold the same view.
While
analyzing the data all efforts have been made to reduce bias caused by both
non-response and incorrect answers. While considerable care was taken to ensure
high standards throughout all collection and processing operations, the resulting
estimates could inevitably be subject to a certain degree of error.
The
study also revealed the following statistics:
- On
being asked as to whether girls should have a greater capacity to endure
hardship or inconvenience without complaint, in comparison to boys, over 80% of
the respondents both rural and urban answered in the affirmative.
- On being asked as to whether girls should be more
sombre in comparison to boys who can be naughty, over 80% of the rural men and
women and urban men answered in the affirmative, as compared to 50% of the
urban women.
- Interestingly enough on being asked as to whether
the girls/women should only follow men 60% rural men and 92% rural women
answered in the affirmative as compared to 1% urban men and 10% urban women.
- On being asked as to whether girls should have no
personal desires and she should only follow the desire of her parents and
husband, over 80% of the urban men and women and rural men answered in the
negative. It was 86% of the rural women who answered in the affirmative. The
results were similar on the respondents being asked as to whether the girl
child should not have any ambition and should follow whatever her family
desires for her. It was again the rural women who seemed to accord an inferior
status to the girl.
- On being asked as if the girl is given even a little
bit of freedom she will go out of control of her parents over 60% of the
respondents answered in the affirmative.
- On being asked as to whether girls are cowards as
compared to boys over 84% of the rural men and women and urban men answered in
the affirmative, while 70% of the urban women answered in the negative.
24
-
Over 90% of the male respondents felt that it is a right of the male to scold
(maybe hit) a woman if she makes a mistake However 68% of the urban women felt
that a man had no such right and a woman is not his personal property to treat
as he likes.
5.2 Conclusion:
In this study, we examine the extent, impact and determinants of sex
preference in society, by measuring levels of various forms of gender bias,
analyzing effects of sex preference and identifying factors associated with son
preference.
Marriage-related
traditional practices like Child mirage
and dowry system, The
giving and taking of dowry as a wedding ritual is said to have become a
cultural practice in our society in these days often a root cause of
discrimination of girl child .
The sex-specific child mortality Mothers are not the
only perpetrators of female infanticide and feticide, as more dominant members
of the immediate family, such as the husband or mother-in-law, often encourage
or carry out the deed. In addition, women may experience pressure from members
of their community, possibly facing physical abuse, disownment from their
husband or parents, and homelessness if they choose to keep a child against the
direction of others. Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide have had
consequences beyond the loss of many females' lives. From the study findings it
is abundantly clear that effort at gender quality and gender justice must start
with equality for the girl child. All barriers must therefore be eliminated to
enable girls without exception to develop
25
their full potential and skills through equal access
to education and training, nutrition, physical and mental health care and
related information. The patriarchal form of Our society has sanctified the
persona of the boy or man as being of greater importance than that of the girl.
That makes it all the more imperative to provide extra protection and support
to ensure that girls' rights are acknowledged and protected and that the best interests
of the girl child must be the primary consideration in all decisions or actions
that affect the child or children as a group. It is also abundantly clear that
despite the constitutional provisions on equal legal status for the girl child
and the numerous enactments that have been placed on the Statute book in
pursuance of that, very little progress seems to have been made so far in
making any marked dent in the situation. Though undoubtedly centuries old traditions
and cultural attitudes do take time to change, yet it is more than apparent
that there has also been a considerable lack of seriousness in pursuing the
prescribed measures of change. For example, even a straightforward and
easy-to-oversee enactment that places a prohibition on pre-natal sex
determination test remains virtually unimplemented, leading to female feticide
on a scale alarming enough to seriously impact the gender ratio. All said and done,
therefore, severe and widely prevalent gender discrimination continues to be an
ugly fact of life, pervading all castes and communities, on all human
development indices, be it in rural or urban.
The findings of this study strongly reinforce
the need for well focused affirmative action not merely on the part of governmental
agencies but equally importantly also on Non-governmental civil society
organizations to secure the following desired objectives:
26
- To eliminate all forms of discrimination against the
girl child and the root causes of son preference, that result in harmful and unethical
practices like female infanticide and sex selection before birth;
- To increase public awareness of the value of the
girl child and at the same time strengthen the self-image, self-esteem and status
of the girl child, because girls too have the right to have their views heard
and be taken seriously in all matters affecting their lives and to improve the
welfare of the girl child, especially in regards to health, nutrition and
education.
5.3 Suggestion:
a.
Promote changes in negative attitudes and practices towards girls by
encouraging and supporting NGOs and other organizations that are engaged in
such a mission;
b.
Educational programmes and teaching material to be developed that sensitize and
inform students about the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices
on girl children, so that the new generation does not perpetuate stereotypes;
c. Include
in the syllabi, teaching materials and textbooks, stories of successful women
in areas that have traditionally been under represented, such as mathematics,
science and technology. This will not only help improve the self-image of girls
but also raise their esteem in the male eyes encouraging them to work towards
mutual respect and equal partnership between girls and boys.
27
d.
Training programs and materials to be developed for teachers so that their
awareness is enhanced and they get better equipped to impart and formulate
effective strategies for gender-sensitive teaching;
e.
Include religious leaders in this process so that they actively promote and
endorse equality of the girl child.
f.
Develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans of action and programs for
the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child, to
promote and protect full enjoyment of her human rights, and to ensure equal
opportunities for girls; these plans should form an integral part of the total
development process;
g.
Ensure dis-aggregation by sex and age of all data related to children in the
health, education and other sectors in order to include a gender perspective in
planning, implementation and monitoring of such programs;
h.Strictly
enforce laws regarding marriage specially concerning the minimum age for
marriage;
i.
Educate the girl child about the rights guaranteed to her under the
Constitution and under international human rights instruments, including the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
j. To
increase awareness in the society one week program should be done
in
school student by producing short badges, leaflets, essay competition, poster
competition and short drama related to form of discrimination of girls and its
effect on society/nation.
28
k. Publishing
the history and biography of world leading and famous women personalities in
the form of pocket books and their distribution among students that will
enhance the moral base of the girl child to be like the idol women.
l.
Promotion of equal participation of girls in extracurricular activities, such
as sports, drama and cultural activities. Integration of human rights education
in educational programs.
m.
Protect the girl child from economic exploitation and from performing any work
that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with her education, or to be
harmful to her health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development.
n.
Enact and enforce legislation protecting girls from all forms of violence,
including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, sexual abuse, sexual
exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and develop age appropriate
safe and confidential programmes as well as medical, social and psychological
support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence.
AND, FINALLY….
We recommend that a few pilot
projects may be taken up in different parts of the country, more particularly
in those regions where the level of
gender
discrimination is more acute.
29
Annex: I
The name of Teachers
involved in group discussion:
Shri Janta
Madhaymic Vidyalay Auraiya;
1. Babulal
Gupta
2. Kamalesh
Prasad singh
3. Smt.
Madhu Shrivastav.
4. Smt. Bindu
Devi (primary teacher)
5. Smt.Savita
Devi Yadav
Shri nimna madhyamic vidyalay Dumaria paroha
1. Bilashi
ray Yadav
2. Mani
Prasad Mehta
3. Lalbabu
Tewari
4. Shanker
Prathamic Vidyalay
5. Ramayodya
ram
6. Smt.Sakina
Khtun
7. RamAutar Prasad Yadav
Annex: II
The questions which where asked to the the villagers while
doing research upon “discrimination of the girl child” are as follow.
Question/Answer
1. What was
the age of women during the period of marriage?
Ans……………………………………………………………
2. Have they
felt any kind of force from family members to do abortion in case of girl
infant in the womb?
Ans……………………………………………………………
3. How many
children do you want to have?
Ans……………………………………………………………
4. What do
you want to get either son or daughter and why?
Ans……………………………………………………………
5. Do your
daughter are going to school for study?
Ans……………………………………………………………
6. Why you
people neglect your daughter to do or participate in any kind of cultural
program, creative works and society events?
Ans……………………………………………………………
7. Have you
got rights to participate in family policy decision?
Ans……………………………………………………………
Annex: III
Multiple
choice Question
1.
Which infant do you want?
a.
Son b. Daughter c. None
2.
Do you think girls and boys are equal?
a.
Yes b. Might be c. No
3.
Girls should be given chance to study in their life?
a.
Given b. never c. should’t be given
4.
Discrimination of the girl child is right?
a.
Yes b. No c. don’t know
5.
Girls child are not good?
a.
Comparatively good b. Good c. Not good
6.
What do you think about child marriage?
a.
Should be done b.
Shouldn’t be done c. keep as tradition
7.
Girls are only for the household works?
a.
yes b. no c. May be
8.
Girls should be given equal emphasis like boys?
a.
Yes b. No c. Little bit
References:
“Social Classess and Stratification"(1991),
Nepal: Library of Congress
Federal
Research Division (1991). This article
incorporates text from
this
source, which is in the public domain.
Nussbaum, Martha and
Glover, Jonathan (1995). Women, Culture
and
Development.
Tripathi, Dr. Hari
Bansh(2002}. Fundamental Rights and
Judicial Review in
Nepal, Evolution and Experiments.
Kathmandu:
Pairavi Prakashan.
Ibid
Pg.6-11 & 131
Evolution and Experiments, Pairavi
Prakashan, Kathmandu, 2002, Pg. 130
Sangroula, Yubraj and
Pathak, Geeta. (2002). Gender and Laws: Nepalese
Perspective. Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan.
Laski,
Harold J. (1937). Liberty
in the Modern State. London. Pg. 52 as
cited in ibid
Section 4 of the Nepal Government Act 2004 cited from
Shastradutta Pant,
Comparative
Constitution of Nepal, Research Center
for South Asia,
Kathmandu, 2052 Page 170
Article 10 of the
Constitution of Nepal 2019
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A case study
“DISCRIMINATION OF THE GIRL”
A report prepared for partial
fulfillment of Social
Justice education (529) in master level
(M.Ed.) second year of Tribhuvan
University
submitted by
Seema Kumari Yadav
Campus roll no. – 126
Exam roll no. –
150163
T.U
Regd no. -92151305-2004
T.R.M campus,
Birgunj
2068
A case study on
“DISCRIMINATION OF THE GIRL”
A report prepared for partial
fulfillment of social
Justice education (529) in master level
(M.Ed.) second year of Tribhuvan
University
submitted by
Seema Kumari Yadav
Campus roll no. – 126
Exam roll no. –
150163
T.U. Regd no. -92151305-2004
T.R.M campus,
Birgunj
2068
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very
thankful to everyone who all supported me, for i have completed my project
effectively and moreover on time.
Any attempt
at any level can't be satisfactorily completed without the support and guidance
of MY teachers. I would like to express my immense gratitude to Mr. Matrika
Prasad Koirala, Mr. Rambabu Mandal, Mr. Tara Bahadur Tapa and Mr. Bhawani
Prasad Mainali for their constant support and motivation that have encouraged
me to come up with this project “The discrimination of girls or women in
Rautahat district.”
Secondly ,I
would like to thank my family member especially my life partner, Mr. Rajesh
Yadav who helped me a lot in gathering different information, collecting data
in making this project despite of their busy schedules.
Last but not the least, I would like to thank
my father Mr.Kashi Nath Yadav who computing, designing and guiding me by giving
different ideas in making this project unique.
I am making
this project not only for marks but also play a key role to eliminate all forms
of discrimination against girls and women from our society.
THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO HELPED ME…
Seema Kumari Yadav
ABSTRACT
The popular meaning of word equality means lack of
discrimination between the people on the
basis of color, caste, race, sex, and religion. Meting out equal treatment to
everybody without discrimination and without granting any privileges to anyone.
The
girl child is discriminated even before her birth in the form of foeticide and
after birth in the form of infanticide, and numerous other forms of violence
and parental neglect. The discrimination of girls or women in Rautahat district
(selected area) chiefly due to son preferences, Marriage-related traditional
practices(child marriage), cultural practices (dowry system and inter-cast
marriage) , Caste-based discrimination(untouchable), superstition and belief in
evil spirits i.e. witches and due to
poverty of family girl child always suffer from low literacy rates &
receive less health care comparatively. The impact of early marriage on the
health of young girls, including child-bearing before maturity, frequent
pregnancies and attendant risks of birth complications. Girls are taken out of
school to be given in marriage and are denied the opportunity to acquire the
knowledge and skills required for meaningful adulthood.
From
the study findings it is abundantly clear that efforts at gender quality and
gender justice must start with equality for the girl child. All barriers must
therefore be eliminated to enable girls without exception to develop their full
potential and skills through equal access to education and training, nutrition,
physical and mental health care and related information.
The findings of this study strongly
reinforce the need for well-focused affirmative action not merely on the part
of governmental agencies but equally and importantly also on nongovernmental
civil society organizations.
CONTENTS Page no.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1
Statement of the
case
1-3
1.2
Rationale of the
selection of the case
3-4
1.3
Objectives of the
study 4
1.4
Research Questions 4-5
1.5
Delimitation of
the case
5-6
CHAPTER
TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
2.1
Theoretical frame
work 7-8
2.2
Review of related
literature
8-13
CHAPTER
THREE: PROCEDURE OF CASE
STUDY
3.1
Designing the
case
14-15
3.2
Population & sampling 15
3.3
Instrument/tools 15-16
3.4
Data collection
procedure 16-18
CHAPTER
FOUR: ANALYSIS AND INTERP-
RETATION OF THE CASE
4.1 Analyze the
discrimination against the girl 19-21
4.2
Find out the causes of discrimination 21-22
CHAPTER
FIVE: FINDING, CONCLUSION AND
SUGGESTION
5.1
Finding
23-25
5.2
Conclusion 25-27
5.3
Suggestion 27-29
References
Annex I, II and III
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 statement of the case:
Forms of discrimination against girl are numerous and vary
depending on the traditions, history, and culture of a particular society. Several
research work and practices are still working to improve the condition and
right to survival of girls. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) defines a child as a person under the age of
18 unless national laws recognize the age of majority earlier. The age of 18 is
now accepted as the world standard, since every country has ratified the CRC except Somalia
and the United States. Although YAP International specifically advocates for
ending discrimination against girls, we realize efforts to curtail gender
discrimination must include strategies that continue to support women when they
reach and pass age 18.
Girl children in particular are subjected to multiple
forms of oppression, exploitation, and discrimination due to their gender.
Girls child are discriminated before their birth in the form of foeticide and
after birth in the form of infanticide letter on multiple form of social
discrimination.
The sex determination due to son preferences leads to
foeticide by abortion. After the birth of girl baby female infanticide, the
murder of a young girl child, often occurring as a deliberate murder of a girl
infant or young girl child or as the result of neglect. Selective abortion –
also called gender-selective abortion, sex-selective abortion, or female
foeticide – is the abortion of a fetus because it is female. Medical technology
has made it Possible for parents to discover the sex of a fetus at earlier and
earlier stages of pregnancy, so many women from communities with a preference
for boys practice selective abortion.
Our social structure is set as male dominated from
very ancient time. Although daughters are desired, sons are very highly prized
because they continue the family name, can perform funeral rituals and are
expected to provide support in old age. Son preference is an entrenched value
in Nepalese societies. Families are said to have recourse to religious rituals
such as prayers and fasting and to herbal medicines, as well as currently to
the sophisticated technologies of sonograms and amniocentesis to decide on sex
selective abortion, to ensure that the family name is preserved through the
male line. Sons must be available for religious funeral rites in Nepal’s
patriarchal social system. Only male descendants can inherit the throne (Constitution,
1990).
Although the sex ratio of 105 at birth in favour of
boys has not received much attention nor been perceived as a critical issue, as
it is point out that several research indicates that the sex ratio at the last
birth for women who have completed their families is 146 in favour of boys,
revealing a wide gender disparity. They conclude that stopping behaviour in
childbirth through use of contraceptives or other methods is dependent on the
birth of at least one son, thereby reflecting a strong son preference. An
earlier study (Karki, 1988) also found that preference for sons determined
family size. Most families in his study sample (90 per cent) wanted at least one
son and the preferred sex composition of a family was two sons and a daughter.
The consequences of a strong son preference could extend to the denial of
girls’ right to life or their vulnerability to discriminatory practices.
02
Environment in which they live. The Women’s Rehabilitation
Centre (WOREC) (1998) and the World Health Organization (WHO) (2000) have
stated that Nepal
has a long history of induced abortion, although abortion has been legal since
2002 and even now is permitted to only 12 weeks after conception. Traditional
birth attendants are said to perform abortions using unhygienic methods,
including the use of unsterilized knives, blades stone and soap,
1.2
Rationale of the selection of the case:
The main aim of this study is the reinforcement of
gender inequalities and the violation of the rights of girls and women that are
underscored in our society. Son preference has the potential to deny girls the
right to life from conception, although the available evidence of sex selective
abortions is not as strong as in our country and incest is tolerated within a
façade of family privacy. It has, however, clearly resulted in discrimination
against girls and women in the allocation of food within the family and in
access to education, as reflected in health, nutrition and education
indicators. Compounding this gender based discrimination is the impact of
concepts of virginity and purity and consequent early marriage on the health of
young girls, including child-bearing before maturity, frequent pregnancies and
attendant risks of birth complications. Girls are taken out of school to be
given in marriage and are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and
skills required for meaningful adulthood.
03
1.3
Objective of the study:
The
main objective in conducting this case study is to fill the knowledge gaps and
thereby assist in devising purposeful lines of action in order to:
1. Analyze the discrimination against the girl.
2. Find out the causes of discrimination.
1.4
Research questions:
Observation and different
questions related to the case study shows that more than 80% of the girls
denied they are made to feel that they are a burden to the family and were
discriminated against, which is more of an acceptance of their second class
status. The investigators observed the girl child was severely discriminated
and were burdened with household chores etc. Despite the fact that over 60% of
the respondents did not consider having a girl child an ill omen, but on
rephrasing the question over 75% of the rural women said that a family is
considered unlucky which has only daughters. This may be probably because of
the social and cultural pressure to bear sons and if the woman has only
daughters she is cursed for it and the husband’s family even goes to the extent
of threatening remarriage, not taking in account that both husband and wife are
responsible for the sex of the child. The results of the study revealed that
boys and girls are expected to exhibit different behavior, dress differently,
undertake different physical and emotional tasks, participate in and perform
different activities within and outside the family. On the girl child being
asked as to whether she was treated equal to her brother most said they were
treated equally, but when probed further results appeared different.
04
44 % of the rural girls said that their brother was
served food before them as against only 18% of the urban girls. 94% of the
rural girls and 50% of the urban girls said that unlike their brothers they had
to both go to school and also do domestic chores. Over 40% of the girls
admitted to getting tired by this. The rural girls unlike their brother
admitted to being made to clean the house, fill water, looking after children,
cook food, wash clothes, tend to animals and to sick family members, attend to
guests etc. While the urban girls had the burden of cleaning the house, make
the bed, attending to guests etc...
1.5 Delimitation of the case:
Rautahat district of Narayani
Nepal
is taken as target area (delimitation) of the case study. For the collection of this type of
information, sole municipality of the district, Gaur and three Village
Development Committees; Auraiya, Dumariya Paroha and Jatahara located in the
southern area of Rautahat district.
It
is situated in between 28º 44’ to 27º 14’North and 85º14’ to 85º30’
south on world map. Where as in map of Nepal the district is surrounded by
Sarlahi district in East, Makwanpur in the North, Bara in West and Indian border
facing Bihar in the South. The district,
with Gaur as its district headquarters, covers
an area of 1,126 km² (103709 hector) and has a population (2001) of
545,132(Male-282246 and Female- 262886).of which male population in rural area
268878, urban-13368h and female population in
rural-25871, urban 12015 living in total household 88162(rural-8426hh &
05
urban- 3956 with a ratio of 6.18
person/hh. The population growth ratio is calculated in past decade (2048-2058)
2.75% with population density of 484 person/km. The Rautahat district occupies
0.77% of total area of Nepal,
31% 0f Terai, 4.11% of Central Development Region and 13.55% of Narayani one.
Among 75 districts of Nepal,
It has placed on 9th position according to population density and 14th
position according to household’s number.
Total land
of Rautahat District is
divided into total forest area-29076 hec. Shrub 563 hec, agriculture land 78805
hec, water bodies 715 hec and bare land 3332 hec (source: Department of forest,
Tropical forest survey, March 2001). Rautahat District has 6 constituencies, a
Gaur municipality and 96 Village Development committees. Gaur municipality, an
urban, has 3589 household (hh) with male population-11083 and female
population-9836, and rural Auraiya VDC has 1297 hh, male-4640 &
female-4196, Dumariya-paroha has 580 hh male-1914 female-1734 and Jatahara VDC
has 1054 household with male-3605 & female-3409 population of which 30
female 20 hh in Gaur(urban) and 20 female of 15 hh from each vdc in rural area
for views of respondents from individual households.
06
Chapter Two: Review of related
literature
2.1
Theoretical frame work:
Every study
contains its related theory. This cause study is about the discrimination of
the girl child which is an acute and burning problem of our society. Therefore
this study is based on the theory of feminism (Karl Marx, 1840’s) i.e. Liberal
feminism, social feminism etc.
Feminist
theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical ground.
It encompasses work done in a broad variety of disciplines, prominently
including the approaches to women's roles and lives and feminist politics in
anthropology and sociology, economics, women's and gender studies, feminist
literary criticism, and philosophy (especially Continental philosophy). Feminist
theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender
politics, power relations and sexuality. While generally providing a critique
of social relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender
inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues. Themes
explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification
(especially sexual objectification), oppression, and patriarchy.
Liberal feminism:
Liberal feminism seeks no special
privileges for women and simply demands that everyone receive equal
consideration without discrimination on the basis of sex. Liberal feminists
would seek to remove
barriers that prevent equal access
for women to information technology jobs not only to provide economic equality
but to provide access to higher-paying jobs for women.
Socialist feminism:
Socialist
feminism rejects individualism and positivism. Social feminism believes that
technology and the social shaping of technology have often been conceptualized
in terms of men, excluding women at all levels. Socialist feminist reform
suggests that the allocation of resources for technology development should be
determined by greatest benefit for the common good. A growing use of cyber
protests to disrupt capitalist enterprises such as the World Bank might be seen
by socialists as an example of information technology use for the common good.
2.2 Review of related literature:
The concept of equality is recognition of the fact
that all human are equal in their ultimate value.(Tripathi, 2002) The doctrine
of equality is based on a principle of justice. There is close relationship between
equality and justice. Hence, the concept of equality prohibits all kinds of
unjust, undeserved and unjustified inequalities.
According to Professor Harold J. Laski, “ the absence
of equality means special privilege for some and not for others, of a special
privilege which is not, so to say, in nature, but in a deliberate contrivance
of the social environment and in absence of certain equalities, no freedom can
even hope for realization, and that the acute mind of Aristotle long ago saw that
the
08
craving for equality is one of the most profound roots
of revolution.”( Pathak & Sangroula,
2002)
"Short-changing girls is not only a matter of
gender discrimination; it is bad economics and bad societal policy. Experience
has shown, over and over again, that investment in girls' education translate
directly and quickly into better nutrition
for the whole family, better health care, declining fertility, poverty reduction
and better overall economic performance"
- Kofi Annan, United
Nations Secretary General
Hindu Orthodox value system (Laski, 1937). With the
existence of Licchavi dynasty in 4th century, Hindu rulers applied the customary
rules of their religion as laws to govern the behavior of their subjects. Caste
system, patriarchy type of society, right, recognition, treatment and
punishment as per the status, caste and sex of individual or community were
some major areas of inequalities vested in Hindu value system and the same were
practiced under various laws for a long period of time. The Code of Human
Justice (Manab Nyaya Shastra) of 14th century and Muluki Ain 1910 are major
examples of such practices in Nepal.(Constitution, 2011) On the other hand, Rana
Regime ruled over Nepal for 104 years till 2007 B.S. They applied same values
and laws to rule over the people of Nepal. There was no chance of equality on
any ground. Any one, who spoke for equality or opposed their system, was killed
or disappeared. However, at the end of Rana Regime, Prime Minister Padma
Smasher promulgated the Government of Nepal Act, 2004 the first ever written
constitutional document of Nepal.
This constitution was said to be democratic one as it
had guaranteed some fundamental rights. According to the constitution, “Subject
to the principles to public order and morality this constitution guarantees to
the
09
citizens
of Nepal freedom of a person, freedom of speech, liberty of the press, freedom
of assembly and discussion, freedom of worship, complete equality in the eye of
law, cheap and speedy justice, universal and equal suffrage for all adults…as
defined by the laws of the state at present existing and laws and rules to be
made hereunder”. Thus, the concept of equality in the eye of law was embodied
in this constitution for the first time in Nepalese legal system. However, this
constitution could not be applicable and the situation remained the same. In
the history of Nepalese constitution other three constitutions were promulgated
in different times till the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal
promulgated in 2047. The right to equality and non-discrimination on any basis
and equal protection of law were guaranteed under the articles 14, 15 and 16 of
the Interim Government of Nepal Act 2007. But there was no provision for
remedies in this constitution. Likewise, article 4 of the Constitution of
Kingdom of Nepal 2015 had also guaranteed the same rights and it had also
guaranteed the right to constitutional remedy. Again, the Constitution of Nepal
replaced this constitution in 2019. This constitution authorized king as the
sovereign power and recognized party less system of governance. However, this
constitution was also said to be democratic and protector of people’s rights.
Under part 3 of this constitution right to equality without discrimination and
equal protection of law were guaranteed as fundamental rights of people. This constitution was applied for about three
decades but as it had prohibited multi party system and was against the will of
Nepali people, it was also replaced by the Constitution of the kingdom of Nepal
2047.
As long as discrimination
and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - as long as girls and
women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled
and subjected to violence in and out of
10
their homes - the potential
of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be
realized. And let us heed the call so that we can create a world in which every
woman is treated with respect and dignity, every boy and girl is loved and
cared for equally, and every family has the hope of a strong and stable future. Women's
Rights Are Human Rights.
Famous
Speech by Hillary Clinton Beijing, China:
5 September 1995
An interaction programme on "Inclusive
Proportional Representation and Implementation of Women’s 33%
Representation" was organized in Center for Constitutional Dialogue (CCD)
on 28 July 2011. The programme was
attended by 95 participants including Constituent Assembly members and the
representatives of civil society organizations. Hon. Neelam Verma,
Coordinator of Women's Caucus described the role played by the Caucus in
championing the idea of fully proportional representation for women based on
population in the new Constitution. She also claimed that unless and until
there exists intra-party provision of proportional representation of women, not
much can be achieved at the national level. Describing the activities of the
Inter-Party Women’s Network Hon. Pratibha Rana stressed the need of women’s
unity in raising their concerns. Hon. Jaya Puri Gharti Magar said that much
progress has occurred in terms of women’s rights in the past 10-15 years. She
highlighted the need to ensure representation for different groups within the
category of women who have traditionally been left out of the political
spectrum. Hon. Kamala Pant opined that it would be impossible to construct a
stable society without ensuring women’s representation in government organs.
Hon. Tham Maya Thapa Magar argued that women must demand 50% representation in
all sectors of government, and the only way of ensuring this is by making sure
that political parties themselves are
11
structured
and organized based on the principle of proportional
representation.{http://www.ccd.org.np/new/index.php?action=news&conid=667} The constitution of Nepal; Adopted on: 9 Nov 1990,
Adopted by: Act No. 2047, issued 1990.
Part 3 Fundamental
Rights, Article 11 Right to Equality:
(1)
All citizens shall be equal before the law. No person shall be denied the equal
protection of the laws.
(2)
No discrimination shall be made against any citizen in the application of
general laws on grounds of religion (dharma), race (varya), sex (linga), caste
(jat), tribe (jati) or ideological conviction (vaicharik) or culture(sanscriti)
any of these.
(3) The State shall not discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction or any of these.
Provided that special provisions may be made by law for the protection and advancement of the interests of women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated or those who belong to a class which is economically, socially or educationally backward.
(3) The State shall not discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction or any of these.
Provided that special provisions may be made by law for the protection and advancement of the interests of women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated or those who belong to a class which is economically, socially or educationally backward.
(4)
No person shall, on the basis of caste, be discriminated against as
untouchable, be denied access to any public place, or be deprived of the use of
public utilities. Any contravention of this provision shall be punishable by
law.
(5)
No discrimination in regard to remuneration shall be made between men and women
for the same work.
12
In
the Preamble of the Interim Constitution, 2007 that the restructuring of the
state shall be progressively accomplished in order to solve the problems
existing in the country relating to class, ethnicity, region and gender,
mentioning that the sovereignty and state authority shall be vested inherently
in the people of Nepal. Article 20 of Part 3 of the Interim Constitution makes
provision for women’s rights, including the following four rights:
a. No discrimination of any kind shall be made against
women by virtue of gender.
b. Every woman shall have the right to reproductive
health and reproduction.
c. No woman shall be subjected to physical, mental or any
other kind of violence.
d. Sons and daughters shall have an equal right to
ancestral property.
For
the first time in the history of Nepal, women’s rights were
guaranteed constitutionally in separate headings under fundamental rights.
Women’s rights and agendas were also included in the provisions on the right to
equality, right to social justice, and on rights relating to employment and
social security. The Interim Constitution mentions, under ‘obligations of the
state’, the progressive restructuring of the state to address the problems of
backward classes and regions, including women.
"By joining efforts we can surpass the injustices
inflicted on the girl child and boy child alike. If left untreated, these
forces will permanently scar our children and threaten the healthy growth of
nations."
- Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
(Rising voice
on Discrimination against the Girl Child)
13
Chapter
Three: Procedure of the case study
3.1 Designing the case:
Two different sources of information were consulted
for this report, namely primary and secondary. The former consisted of the
experiences and views of scholars, schoolteachers, governmental officials, NGO
staff, and social volunteers by way of interview. In addition, the views of
respondents were incorporated through making direct contact with them in the selected
field sites. These ideas were used to supplement the secondary information.
The secondary information comprised research reports produced
on the issues of different form of discrimination of girls /women by various
types of governmental and nongovernmental organizations as well as the writings
published by individual scholars. The views of the various people were collated
by way of focus groups, key informant interviews, and the survey of views of
respondents from individual households (see Annex for questionnaires).
The discrimination of girls or women in Rautahat
district (selected area) chiefly due to son preferences, Marriage-related traditional practices(child
marriage), cultural practices (dowry system and inter-cast marriage) , Caste-based discrimination(untouchable),
superstition and belief in evil spirits
i.e. witches and due to poverty of
family girl child always suffer from low literacy rates & receive less
health care comparatively.
Depending
on these facts there were no more documentary evidence and no investigatory
works were done by any other person or governmental or non-governmental
organizations though several NGOs, INGOs and social volunteers are still working
but in discrete social disciplines, very less frequently references are
available in this concern i.e. only demographic or census report (2058 B.S)
which is also not up to date. That ‘why this case study is based on mostly
qualitative data taken directly from primary sources.
3.2 Population
and sampling:
This study covers the
population of the limited area of Rautahat District, Gaur municipality. The
selected areas are VDC Auraiya, VDC Dumariya Paroha and VDC Jatahara.
It would be very difficult to
study about all the areas of the Rautahat District so; some limited areas are
taken for population sample.
3.3 Instruments/tools:
The interviews, with various categories of informants,
were conducted at numerous points throughout the period covered by this study.
The fieldwork required for the collection of information from individual
households of targeted area.
Discussions were made by using both
primary and secondary types of data. Primary data was collected by way of
surveys of a sample of respondents from individual households and through
observation, key informant interviews, as well as focus group discussions. The
views of key informants from other institutions have also been taken into
consideration. For the collection of this type of information, sole
municipality of the district, Gaur and three Village Development Committees
Auraiya, Dumariya (p) and Jatahara… located in the southern area of Rautahat
district. ). Gaur
15
municipality, an urban, has 3589 household (hh) with male
population-11083 and female population-9836, and rural Auraiya VDC has 1297
hh,male-4640 & female-4196, Dumariya-Paroha has 580 hh male-1914
female-1734 and Jatahara vdc has 1054 household with male-3605 &
female-3409 population of which 20 female 20 hh in Gaur(urban) and 15 female of
15 hh from each VDC in rural area for views of respondents from individual
households.
3.4 Data collection procedure:
The
interview with girls and women of different age group, casts and social
volunteers were made to determine the victims of discrimination. During this
process female residents of above mentioned villages of rural areas and Gaur
municipality of urban area taken into account following are the name of respondents:-
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 5
Sonamati Baitha (28 yrs) wife of Ram Bahadur
Baitha.
Keshari Devi Baitha (58 yrs) wife of Gobari
Baitha.
Anita Devi Kushawaha (19 yrs) wife of Gouri
Shankar Kushawaha
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 7
Ghoghari Kumhain (31 yrs) wife of Lakhichand Kumhar.
Rajamatiya Devi (38 yrs) wife of Lalbabu Sah.
Sadrul khatun (35 yrs) wife of Shekh Miyan.
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 8
Tanna Telin (53yrs) wife of Ramchandra Sah Teli.
16
Lalita Devi Sah (21 yrs) wife of Rambabu Sah.
Keshari Telin (71 yrs) wife of Devi Sah Teli.
VDC Auraiya ward
no. 9
Chandani Jha (23 yrs) wife of Ashok Jha.
Bigani Das (36 yrs) wife of Hari Das.
Romana Devi Thakur (53 yrs) wife of Luxmi Thakur
Lohar.
Geeta Devi Mandal (29 yrs) wife of Laxman Mandal.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 3
Manawa Devi Lohar (42 yrs) wife of Dasharath Thakur
Lohar.
Prabha Devi Dushadhin (65 yrs) wife of Sikindar Hajara
Dusadh.
Neelam Kumari Khatri (23 yrs) wife of Manjay Kumar
Mehata.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 5
Gayatri Devi Tiwari (50 yrs) wife of Kanhai Tiwari.
Baby Kumari Bahun (25 yrs) wife of Ratnesh Bahun.
Gayatri Devi Sonar (30 yrs) wife of Sukhadi Sonar.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 8
Rubiya Devi Mahato (36 yrs) wife of Bigan Mahato.
Babita Kumari Koiri (25 yrs) wife of Shambhu Koiri.
Najama Khatun (31 yrs) wife of Salim Mohammed Ansari.
VDC Dumariya
Paroha, ward no. 9
Dhanmanti Devi Kanu (40 yrs) wife of Ishari Sah kanu.
17
Chiniya Miyaeen (46 yrs) wife of Farmud Miyan.
Noorjahan Khatun (23 yrs) wife of Ishlam Miyan.
VDC Jatahara,
ward no. 5
Rajmati Telin (28 yrs) wife of Mahendra Sah Teli.
Seeta Devi Pathak (52 yrs) Suresh Pathak.
Parbati Devi Malin (19 yrs) wife of Laddu Mali.
VDC Jatahara,
ward no. 9
Kalamoon Miyan Jolahin (38 yrs) wife of Mushlim Miyan
Jolaha.
Mumtaj Begam (24 yrs) wife of Wajul Miyan.
Heera Nuniyaeen (25 yrs) wife of Shankar Mahato
Nuniya.
18
Chapter
four: Analysis and interpretation of the case
4.1Analyze the discrimination against the girl:
Son
preference and early marriage are features of Nepali society, but female
foeticide and infanticide are much less visible. The dowry system as practiced
in Hindu society has replaced the more flexible marriage practices that had
prevailed and is pervasive in contemporary Nepal, but dowry deaths appear to be
less horrendous, sati was banned over a hundred years ago and there
appears to be some flexibility regarding widow re-marriage. The caste system
became a permanent feature, incorporating indigenous ethnic groups and tribes
and reproducing some of the most harmful practices such as violating the rights
of girls and women and consigning them to perpetual subordination and social
exclusion.
Son preference is the result of the traditional gender
roles ascribed to men such as responsibility for the economic support of
parents and families, preserving the family name and performing religious
funeral rites. Early marriage was favoured for girls to ensure culturally
valued virginity before marriage through control of female behavior and
sexuality, thereby safeguarding family honour. Widow re-marriage, too, was
discouraged if not prohibited based on the same belief that brides need to be
virgins. The cultural concepts of purity and pollution imposed limits to the
physical and social mobility of girls and women during menstruation.
The occupational divisions in the caste system were
overlaid by socio-cultural hierarchies cum discriminatory practices.
Socio-cultural transactions evolved into different forms, such as the transformation
of the traditional dowry system into a process of commercial bargaining. The
economic burdens of the poor and the consequent need to reduce the quantity of
dowry compelled them to arrange early marriages for their daughters.
The consequences of adhering to these practices have
been the reinforcement of gender inequalities and the violation of the rights
of girls and women that are underscored in international instruments, such as
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and in the Constitution.
Son preference has the potential to deny girls the
right to life from conception, although the available evidence of sex selective
abortions is not as strong and incest is tolerated within a façade of family
privacy. It has, however, clearly resulted in discrimination against girls and
women in the allocation of food within the family and in access to education,
as reflected in health, nutrition and education indicators. Compounding this
gender based discrimination is the impact of concepts of virginity and purity
and consequent early marriage on the health of young girls, including
child-bearing before maturity, frequent pregnancies and attendant risks of
birth complications. Girls are taken out of school to be given in marriage and
are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills required for
meaningful adulthood.
Girls and women in poverty groups and in “low or
untouchable
20
castes”
are especially vulnerable to the negative impact of traditional and cultural
practices. The social exclusion to which they are subjected denies them human
dignity as well as access to opportunities to achieve upward socio-economic
mobility. The abuse of human rights is seen clearly in the relegation of groups
of girls and women described earlier to lives of sexual servitude for
livelihood and to bonded labour tantamount to slavery.
Strategies to eliminate harmful practices therefore
need to be attuned to issues that surface from the prevailing amalgam of
cultures. These cultures and their traditions have not been static and have
incorporated positive and negative changes; they can therefore be transformed
and based on a universalistic framework of human rights which transcends
cultural perspectives that negate these rights.
4.2 Find out the causes of
discrimination:
Discrimination
against the girl child occurs in every strata of society -rich or poor - having
different forms of manifestation, but is more visible. especially in poverty
stricken families or in families under financial stress. One of the crudest
forms of discrimination is the one which takes place subtly and is sanctioned
in the name of culture. A girl is made to fit in a culturally defined role - be
it at home or outside. Traditions have portrayed girls as less important than
boys, less deserving of basic quality of life. Some of these retrograde
traditions have “become so deeply internalized that they have come to stand for
what is ‘right’ and ‘natural’, and the girls themselves have frequently come to
endorse their own second-class status”.
Such
deliberate discrimination of the girl child patently violates the
21
right to equality. the girl
child is discriminated against from the earliest stages of life, through her
childhood and into adulthood. The reasons for the discrepancy include, among
other things, harmful attitudes and practices, such as preferences for sons -
which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection - early
marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation,
sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food allocation and other
practices related to health and well-being.
22
Chapter Five: Finding, conclusion and suggestion
5.1 Finding:
The girl child is discriminated even before her birth
in the form of feticides and after birth in the form of infanticide, and
numerous other forms of violence and parental neglect. In each corner of
society, girls face discrimination, they often receive less food than boys,
have less access to schooling and unlike boys they are made to do long hours of
labour beginning at a tender age. Therefore, to assess the level of
discrimination, the questionnaire was divided into different parts. The
questions were repeated and asked in different ways to elicit the correct response
and also to be able to know when the respondents were not giving the correct
answer and are intentionally providing incorrect information. Often respondents
deliberately give the response that they feel is politically correct but they
may not hold the same view.
While
analyzing the data all efforts have been made to reduce bias caused by both
non-response and incorrect answers. While considerable care was taken to ensure
high standards throughout all collection and processing operations, the resulting
estimates could inevitably be subject to a certain degree of error.
The
study also revealed the following statistics:
- On
being asked as to whether girls should have a greater capacity to endure
hardship or inconvenience without complaint, in comparison to boys, over 80% of
the respondents both rural and urban answered in the affirmative.
- On being asked as to whether girls should be more
sombre in comparison to boys who can be naughty, over 80% of the rural men and
women and urban men answered in the affirmative, as compared to 50% of the
urban women.
- Interestingly enough on being asked as to whether
the girls/women should only follow men 60% rural men and 92% rural women
answered in the affirmative as compared to 1% urban men and 10% urban women.
- On being asked as to whether girls should have no
personal desires and she should only follow the desire of her parents and
husband, over 80% of the urban men and women and rural men answered in the
negative. It was 86% of the rural women who answered in the affirmative. The
results were similar on the respondents being asked as to whether the girl
child should not have any ambition and should follow whatever her family
desires for her. It was again the rural women who seemed to accord an inferior
status to the girl.
- On being asked as if the girl is given even a little
bit of freedom she will go out of control of her parents over 60% of the
respondents answered in the affirmative.
- On being asked as to whether girls are cowards as
compared to boys over 84% of the rural men and women and urban men answered in
the affirmative, while 70% of the urban women answered in the negative.
24
-
Over 90% of the male respondents felt that it is a right of the male to scold
(maybe hit) a woman if she makes a mistake However 68% of the urban women felt
that a man had no such right and a woman is not his personal property to treat
as he likes.
5.2 Conclusion:
In this study, we examine the extent, impact and determinants of sex
preference in society, by measuring levels of various forms of gender bias,
analyzing effects of sex preference and identifying factors associated with son
preference.
Marriage-related
traditional practices like Child mirage
and dowry system, The
giving and taking of dowry as a wedding ritual is said to have become a
cultural practice in our society in these days often a root cause of
discrimination of girl child .
The sex-specific child mortality Mothers are not the
only perpetrators of female infanticide and feticide, as more dominant members
of the immediate family, such as the husband or mother-in-law, often encourage
or carry out the deed. In addition, women may experience pressure from members
of their community, possibly facing physical abuse, disownment from their
husband or parents, and homelessness if they choose to keep a child against the
direction of others. Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide have had
consequences beyond the loss of many females' lives. From the study findings it
is abundantly clear that effort at gender quality and gender justice must start
with equality for the girl child. All barriers must therefore be eliminated to
enable girls without exception to develop
25
their full potential and skills through equal access
to education and training, nutrition, physical and mental health care and
related information. The patriarchal form of Our society has sanctified the
persona of the boy or man as being of greater importance than that of the girl.
That makes it all the more imperative to provide extra protection and support
to ensure that girls' rights are acknowledged and protected and that the best interests
of the girl child must be the primary consideration in all decisions or actions
that affect the child or children as a group. It is also abundantly clear that
despite the constitutional provisions on equal legal status for the girl child
and the numerous enactments that have been placed on the Statute book in
pursuance of that, very little progress seems to have been made so far in
making any marked dent in the situation. Though undoubtedly centuries old traditions
and cultural attitudes do take time to change, yet it is more than apparent
that there has also been a considerable lack of seriousness in pursuing the
prescribed measures of change. For example, even a straightforward and
easy-to-oversee enactment that places a prohibition on pre-natal sex
determination test remains virtually unimplemented, leading to female feticide
on a scale alarming enough to seriously impact the gender ratio. All said and done,
therefore, severe and widely prevalent gender discrimination continues to be an
ugly fact of life, pervading all castes and communities, on all human
development indices, be it in rural or urban.
The findings of this study strongly reinforce
the need for well focused affirmative action not merely on the part of governmental
agencies but equally importantly also on Non-governmental civil society
organizations to secure the following desired objectives:
26
- To eliminate all forms of discrimination against the
girl child and the root causes of son preference, that result in harmful and unethical
practices like female infanticide and sex selection before birth;
- To increase public awareness of the value of the
girl child and at the same time strengthen the self-image, self-esteem and status
of the girl child, because girls too have the right to have their views heard
and be taken seriously in all matters affecting their lives and to improve the
welfare of the girl child, especially in regards to health, nutrition and
education.
5.3 Suggestion:
a.
Promote changes in negative attitudes and practices towards girls by
encouraging and supporting NGOs and other organizations that are engaged in
such a mission;
b.
Educational programmes and teaching material to be developed that sensitize and
inform students about the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices
on girl children, so that the new generation does not perpetuate stereotypes;
c. Include
in the syllabi, teaching materials and textbooks, stories of successful women
in areas that have traditionally been under represented, such as mathematics,
science and technology. This will not only help improve the self-image of girls
but also raise their esteem in the male eyes encouraging them to work towards
mutual respect and equal partnership between girls and boys.
27
d.
Training programs and materials to be developed for teachers so that their
awareness is enhanced and they get better equipped to impart and formulate
effective strategies for gender-sensitive teaching;
e.
Include religious leaders in this process so that they actively promote and
endorse equality of the girl child.
f.
Develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans of action and programs for
the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child, to
promote and protect full enjoyment of her human rights, and to ensure equal
opportunities for girls; these plans should form an integral part of the total
development process;
g.
Ensure dis-aggregation by sex and age of all data related to children in the
health, education and other sectors in order to include a gender perspective in
planning, implementation and monitoring of such programs;
h.Strictly
enforce laws regarding marriage specially concerning the minimum age for
marriage;
i.
Educate the girl child about the rights guaranteed to her under the
Constitution and under international human rights instruments, including the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
j. To
increase awareness in the society one week program should be done
in
school student by producing short badges, leaflets, essay competition, poster
competition and short drama related to form of discrimination of girls and its
effect on society/nation.
28
k. Publishing
the history and biography of world leading and famous women personalities in
the form of pocket books and their distribution among students that will
enhance the moral base of the girl child to be like the idol women.
l.
Promotion of equal participation of girls in extracurricular activities, such
as sports, drama and cultural activities. Integration of human rights education
in educational programs.
m.
Protect the girl child from economic exploitation and from performing any work
that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with her education, or to be
harmful to her health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development.
n.
Enact and enforce legislation protecting girls from all forms of violence,
including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, sexual abuse, sexual
exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and develop age appropriate
safe and confidential programmes as well as medical, social and psychological
support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence.
AND, FINALLY….
We recommend that a few pilot
projects may be taken up in different parts of the country, more particularly
in those regions where the level of
gender
discrimination is more acute.
29
Annex: I
The name of Teachers
involved in group discussion:
Shri Janta
Madhaymic Vidyalay Auraiya;
1. Babulal
Gupta
2. Kamalesh
Prasad singh
3. Smt.
Madhu Shrivastav.
4. Smt. Bindu
Devi (primary teacher)
5. Smt.Savita
Devi Yadav
Shri nimna madhyamic vidyalay Dumaria paroha
1. Bilashi
ray Yadav
2. Mani
Prasad Mehta
3. Lalbabu
Tewari
4. Shanker
Prathamic Vidyalay
5. Ramayodya
ram
6. Smt.Sakina
Khtun
7. RamAutar Prasad Yadav
Annex: II
The questions which where asked to the the villagers while
doing research upon “discrimination of the girl child” are as follow.
Question/Answer
1. What was
the age of women during the period of marriage?
Ans……………………………………………………………
2. Have they
felt any kind of force from family members to do abortion in case of girl
infant in the womb?
Ans……………………………………………………………
3. How many
children do you want to have?
Ans……………………………………………………………
4. What do
you want to get either son or daughter and why?
Ans……………………………………………………………
5. Do your
daughter are going to school for study?
Ans……………………………………………………………
6. Why you
people neglect your daughter to do or participate in any kind of cultural
program, creative works and society events?
Ans……………………………………………………………
7. Have you
got rights to participate in family policy decision?
Ans……………………………………………………………
Annex: III
Multiple
choice Question
1.
Which infant do you want?
a.
Son b. Daughter c. None
2.
Do you think girls and boys are equal?
a.
Yes b. Might be c. No
3.
Girls should be given chance to study in their life?
a.
Given b. never c. should’t be given
4.
Discrimination of the girl child is right?
a.
Yes b. No c. don’t know
5.
Girls child are not good?
a.
Comparatively good b. Good c. Not good
6.
What do you think about child marriage?
a.
Should be done b.
Shouldn’t be done c. keep as tradition
7.
Girls are only for the household works?
a.
yes b. no c. May be
8.
Girls should be given equal emphasis like boys?
a.
Yes b. No c. Little bit
References:
“Social Classess and Stratification"(1991),
Nepal: Library of Congress
Federal
Research Division (1991). This article
incorporates text from
this
source, which is in the public domain.
Nussbaum, Martha and
Glover, Jonathan (1995). Women, Culture
and
Development.
Tripathi, Dr. Hari
Bansh(2002}. Fundamental Rights and
Judicial Review in
Nepal, Evolution and Experiments.
Kathmandu:
Pairavi Prakashan.
Ibid
Pg.6-11 & 131
Evolution and Experiments, Pairavi
Prakashan, Kathmandu, 2002, Pg. 130
Sangroula, Yubraj and
Pathak, Geeta. (2002). Gender and Laws: Nepalese
Perspective. Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan.
Laski,
Harold J. (1937). Liberty
in the Modern State. London. Pg. 52 as
cited in ibid
Section 4 of the Nepal Government Act 2004 cited from
Shastradutta Pant,
Comparative
Constitution of Nepal, Research Center
for South Asia,
Kathmandu, 2052 Page 170
Article 10 of the
Constitution of Nepal 2019
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