Polyandry In The Himalayas

From the China Post:

In ancient times, the sons of almost every family in the region of Upper Dolpa would jointly marry one woman but the practice of polyandry is dying out as the region begins to open up to modern life.

But polyandry prevents the practice of each generation of a family dividing their holdings, and food supplies just manage to cover the locals' basic needs.

Marriages are typically arranged, with a family picking a wife for their oldest son and giving the younger brothers the chance to wed her later.

In some cases the wives will even help raise their future husbands, entering into sexual relationships with them when they are considered mature enough.

Nepal Clinic For Women

From the Star:

The frail young woman looked too exhausted to nod her head when the counsellor explained the procedure to her. Behind her, perched on a slope in Nepal's high Himalayas, the medical tent beckoned. She followed a nurse inside, and was quickly scrubbed and draped for the operation that would change her life.

Waiting patiently under a tree was an emaciated elderly man cradling in his arms a year-old child. After his granddaughter's sixth baby, produced by the age of 26, he had watched her become weaker, sicker and more anemic from malnutrition and constant bleeding.

When the woman's husband refused to help, the grandfather quietly shouldered the youngest child, took the young woman's hand, and walked with her for two days over mountain passes to the internationally funded rural clinic that provided family planning, women's health care and the sterilization procedure that ensured she would not endure another debilitating birth. For Nepal's impoverished village women, with one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates and no access to birth control, it was a life-saving operation.

Nepal: V-Day

From Republica:

In V-day ´V´ stands for Valentine, Victory and Vagina. V-day is a renowned global movement to stop violence against women and girls including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sexual slavery.

To support this movement Eve Ensler´s award-winning play ´The Vagina Monologues´ is going to be staged by V-day Nepal at Nepal Academy Hall, Kamaladi on March 7, from 6 p.m. onward.

The event is a not-for-profit charity show. The funds generated by the event will be contributed to Biswas Nepal, a strong local group working against women and girls trafficking and abuse.

Nepal: Women & Witchcraft

From the Nepali Times:

In November Jug Chaudhary, a 30-year-old mother of four children, was beaten up by her family members and paraded naked around a village in Kailali. They dragged her out from her home, beat her mercilessly and then forced her to eat human excreta. Her mother-in-law's brother had just passed away. She had been accused of putting a spell on him that caused his death.

When Chaudhary's husband, a labourer in India, returned the couple went to the police station but could not file a complaint. "They said it was a personal matter, it should be solved in the community."

Five other women from Dalit and other minority communities in Lalitpur, Saptari, Siraha, Kailali, Sunsari and Makwanpur also speak at the forum. Each was branded a witch and humiliated in front of their communities. In each case the perpetrators have been let off the hook. Noone has come to apologise to the women for treating them like animals. They are awaiting justice, but living in fear of being targeted again.

Nepal's legal system does not have provisions to punish those involved in witch-hunts. If a complaint is filed and the guilty apprehended they are imprisoned for a short duration and slapped with a fine.

Witch-hunting is an extreme form of gender violence and the reason it is not taken seriously is because the victims are usually from marginalised communities. Nepal's gender movement has made amazing strides, but it has done little for this community of victims.

Activists in Kathmandu can push for laws against witch-hunting while those in the field can work to spread awareness against the medieval superstitions that target these women. The Nepal Police, too, needs to include a chapter on how to address crimes related to superstition in their training manuals.

Nepal: Women Priests

From China View:

As Nepal celebrates its biggest Hindu festival Dashain with devotees worshipping the goddesses of power, there is an additional cause for women to rejoice.

Traditionally, only men from the Brahmin community -- who were regarded to be at the top of Nepal's caste society -- were appointed as priests at Hindu temples.

But now, in a sign of the changing times, at least two temples in the former Hindu kingdom have now opened their doors to women priests -- and that too, from the Dalit community, is regarded to be at the bottom of the social hierarchy and still treated as untouchables in some villages.

Nepal: Human Trafficking

From Sindh Today:

Four Nepali women, three of whom were being trafficked to Muscat, have been arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district, officials said here Sunday.

One of the four women was part of a human trafficking gang and she was taking the other three to Muscat. They were nabbed by the anti-human trafficking cell of the police from the railway station Saturday evening while they were headed to New Delhi, from where they were to take a flight to Muscat, an official said.

They were caught with the help of NGO Manav Seva Sansthan, which aids the police in curbing human trafficking.

A couple of months ago, police in Gorakhpur had arrested five Nepali women along with a pimp who was trying to send them to the Middle East.

Uma Singh

A story from Ghana News on the murder of Nepali journalist and womens' right activist, Uma Singh:

"The first two weeks of the New Year brought the news of killing of a young woman journalist, suspectedly by the supporters of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which is in power at Kathmandu now. The coalition government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) faced serious criticism from the political parties following the murder of Uma Singh, on January 12. She worked for a private radio was hacked to death at her house in Janakpur area of southern Nepal by a group of unidentified armed men.

Known for her strong point of views on women's rights, caste and dowry systems and also for various political issues, the brave journalist was attacked by around 15 men armed with traditional Nepali curved knives (known as Khukhri). Uma, who was below 30 and the first female journalist to be killed in Nepal, was taken to the hospital, but soon she succumbed to injuries.

"Working in the most lawless part of Nepal, Uma Singh was fearless with her written and spoken word. She reported in particular against violence and discrimination against women. She did this with a sense of immediacy and professionalism in radio and print, and in three languages," said Kanak Mani Dixit, a veteran Nepali journalist. Uma's murder must push us to oppose the infrastructure of violence and impunity in Nepal, which has put innocent citizens in the line of fire. By extinguishing a journalist, the criminals have violated the public's right to know, Dixit commented.

The Federation of Nepali Journalists, an umbrella organisation of Nepal based journalists, claimed that Maoists were involved in the brutal murder of the journalist cum women rights activist. The federation president Dharmendra Jha spoke in clear voice that Maoists hands in the killing was suspected as her father (Ranjit Singh) and elder brother (Sanjay Singh) were also abducted and killed by them three years back."

Pushpa Chandra

From the Vancouver Sun:
"Running on Mount Everest last year, Pushpa Chandra couldn't help but notice little girls watching her when they should have been in school. The sight inspired Chandra to create a three-year plan to open a girls' school in Kathmandu. She's interested in hearing from people in the nursing, teaching and construction trades, among others, who may be eager to join her in building the school."

Potential donors can contact Pushpa Chandra at info@drpushpa.com.