Ganga Prasad Subedi

In 2003, IHEU supported a Dalit Empowerment project implemented by the Humanist Association of Nepal (HUMAN). Ganga Prasad Subedi, the project's coordinator writes about the work carried out.

Background

Nepal is the only Hindu State in the world. Nepal's society is caste-based, and the ideological superstructure for this is provided by Hinduism - the caste system is reinforced by the Code of Manu, who was the chief architect and custodian of Hindu religious laws. Broadly, the various castes in the country can be grouped into the upper castes and the lower castes. The Brahmin, and the Chettri are the upper castes; the rest are the lower castes, viz. the Sudras. Then there are the communities of people known today as the Dalits. The Dalits are treated as untouchables, and it is estimated that the total Dalit population in Nepal is about 15 percent of the total national population of 25.2 million.

The social and economic condition of the Dalit communities is very bad, even by the lowest standards of socio-economic indicators. The condition of women within the community is even more pathetic. Male literacy rate is about 7%, while that of women is about 3%. Most of the Dalit men and women are not familiar with, and have no access to, basic health care services. Infant and child mortality rate is more than double the national average. Knowledge of the existing law and their basic legal rights is almost non-existent in the community. Even after the advent of democracy, the condition of the untouchable castes in Nepal has not changed.

How to Empower

Unless a change in the social behaviour of the so-called upper caste Hindus, and a corresponding attempt on the part of the so-called untouchables to organize themselves is effected through Humanist and right- based education campaigns, it would be impossible to integrate the socially marginalized untouchable castes into the socio-economic and political processes. Dalit castes have been the victims, and will continue to be the victims of irrational and superstitious practices unless a strong awareness raising campaign is initiated. It is for this reason that HUMAN proposed to use humanist education, and legal training as instruments in the process of Dalit community empowerment. Such activities would be the first steps in empowering the socio-economically marginalized and deprived Dalit communities in general and Dalits women and children in particular.

The Project

Since its inception in 1997, the Humanist Association of Nepal (HUMAN) has been active in the area of literacy and legal training of marginalized communities both at the grass roots and at advocacy levels. In the past, with IHEU's help, HUMAN had conducted a community development project for the Satar community, one of the critically marginalized communities of Nepal. In the light of this experience, IHEU helped HUMAN implement a Dalit Women and Children project in 2003, in the Jhapa district.

Jhapa district is inhabited by a number of Dalit indigenous communities, particularly the Biswakarma (Kami), Damai/Dholi, Chamar, Sarki, Harijan/Ram and Dom castes. The project was envisaged as an integrated approach to address the needs and the problems of these communities, especially the needs of Dalit women and children. Rights-based awareness raising non- formal education, income generating and skill development activities, and reproductive health & sanitary education campaigns were seen as the urgent need. We therefore conducted 4 Humanist educational campaigns and 4 Dalit empowerment training (legal awareness and Dalit rights) workshops. In addition 8 literacy promotion events, health education activities and 3 income generation training programmes were also organised.

Beneficiaries and Outcome

Approximately about 1000 Dalit women and children have directly benefited through the activities conducted. Indirectly, there was a heightened awareness in the community as a whole as regards the need to improve their own lot. The purpose of this project was to help the process of social integration of the socially oppressed castes. The project created a socially enabling environment for the untouchables, an indication of which is the fact that some Dalits are able to sell milk and milk products as well as other food - one of the most important taboos of high-caste Hindu society had thus been broken.