Nepal, the land of Buddha and Mt. Everest, is a small country sandwiched between two intimidating giants – India in the south and China in the north. This nation of about 25 million depends primarily on agriculture. Politically speaking, Nepal remained a sovereign kingdom throughout history. However, the sword of Damocles is hanging over the future of the monarchy at present, as major political parties are aiming at a republican Nepal. The elections to the Constituent Assembly election in November 2007 will decide the future of the king of Nepal. As I write, the country is running under a transitional constitution.

Religion

More than 80 per cent of Nepalese are Hindu. Most of the people in southern Nepal are Hindu, while there is a considerable number of Buddhists in the North. There are also minority groups of Christians, Muslim and Sikhs. Nepali society is hugely influenced by Hindu religious practices. Hinduism permeates Nepali culture, festivals, feasts and traditions.

Until 2006, Nepal was renowned as "the world's only Hindu country". Hinduism was imposed on the people during the unification of Nepal (mid 17th century). Before that, Nepal had been a land of various ethnic religions (Hindu politicians argue that ethnic religions were part of Hinduism). Also, different constitutions enforced Hinduism. Whilst the Nepali Constitution of 1959 was silent about religion, the state was always under the control of a few Hindu rulers. Then the Constitution of 1963 ruled "Nepal is a Hindu Country". From then until the recent historic people’s revolution of 2006, Nepal was constitutionally Hindu. With the restoration of the parliament in 2006, Nepal has been declared a secular country.

Now Nepal is secular in theory, but not yet in practice.

Current political environment

A coalition Government of eight parties (the Communist Party of Nepal, United Marxist and Leninist; the Nepali Congress; the Nepali Congress Democratic; Janamorcha Nepal; the Nepal Sadbhawana Party; the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist and Leninist); the United Leftist Front; and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)) is currently ruling Nepal. This government will continue until the Constituent Assembly election on 22 November 2007. It was formed in the aftermath of the April Revolution 2006, when King Gyanendra, under intense national and international pressure, stepped down as the executive head of the government. Remarkably, the previously underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is part of this coalition Government.

As might be expected, extremist religious elements are hatching conspiracies against the Government. Many caste-based organizations are joining hands to establish a regime based on the caste system. And, against these odds, we are of course lobbying for a Humanist approach to building the future of the new Nepal.

Humanism: past and present

The term “Humanism” is not widely known in Nepal. But the idea has a long history in the country. It was in Nepal (the country of his birth) that the Buddha started his movement. The late Jay Prithivi Bahadur Singh (born in 1879) contributed much to the promotion of a Humanist life stance. He also initiated many Humanist clubs in India. There are still some audio records of his speeches in different formal programmes. The Government did not tolerate his scientific ideas, and antagonism finally compelled him to leave Nepal. He used the term Humanism to mean social development.

Most people confuse Humanism with humanity. Even worse, many take Humanism as a religious movement.

After I was elected an IHEYO board member, I tried to reach out to more and more organizations and individuals in Nepal. Some are well aware of the Humanist life stance, but unfortunately there is an acute dearth of effective Humanist organizations in this country. There are, of course, people who believe in science and reason, but they are not yet well organized. I have also found some political leaders who accept the Humanist life stance but do not want to admit it publicly, for fear of losing votes. On our part, we have been trying to convince them and organize them to help promote Humanism.

I have found that today's youths tend to be more rational than their predecessors. Few of them believe in supernatural forces, which gives hope for the future. But many of them support traditional cultures against modern civilization.

Many communist parties exist in Nepal. Ideologically they are non-believers but their members continue to sacrifice animals in temples in the hope of gaining power. As a Humanist activist, I can say that we can change the people who are really not enlightened but it is really challenging to change people who are acting as though unaware – after being aware. This is the main challenge for us. Some malpractice is being accepted by youth politicians as well. It is because of the lack of Humanist and scientific education. We have moral education but it is influenced by religious norms.

Superstition

Some unpleasant superstitious beliefs and practices still exist in modern Nepal. All are related to religion. Some NGOs are trying to eradicate them, but they are deep-rooted in Nepali society. I list some of them below.

Witchcraft

Witchcraft is one of the main superstitions in Nepal, and has very bad consequences. One small survey found that about 25 women accused of witchcraft are being tortured every day. Women believed to be witches are forced to live like animals, fed faeces, or even killed. Most of the victims are helpless, physically ugly, widows. Our Government has no specific law against witchcraft.

Menstruation

When a girl menstruates for the first time, she is prohibited from seeing a male face. Parents put her in a dark room or cow shed or in a relative's house for 22 days without much care about food and proper sanitation. It is believed that menstrual blood is evil and the menstruating girl should not see any faces, especially those of her brothers and father.

Similarly, in the far west of Nepal, menstruating women have to live in a cow shed or a very small room for four days every month. A very tiny room is constructed in a field far away from the house for this very purpose.

Living Goddess

A ritual called Kumari Pratha (Kumari = a pre-pubertal virgin girl) is widely accepted in Kathmandu. A kumari is taken to be a living goddess, who is worshipped with a belief that all desires will be fulfilled by worshipping her. The girl who is worshipped is not allowed to go out of the temple where she is worshipped. A kumari who reaches puberty is replaced by another. It is said that kumaries should not marry; they should remain alone for their whole life. Nobody has raised their voice against such rituals and the violation of human rights of small girls. Even the Government has provided funds for the institution. We are speaking out strongly against this practice, but we get little support, and certainly not from politicians.

This practice occurs in the heart of the capital city. We have asked many politicians to speak about the rights of the child. But they do not want to talk about the issue, because it relates to culture and tradition. Politicians believe that change means political change, but no-one talks about the modernization of culture and tradition. So, I say firmly that we need a cultural revolution for real change.

Polyandry

In the far west of Nepal, people still practise polyandry (Bahupati pratha). A single girl has to marry all the brothers of a family. She may well marry up to eight brothers at the same time. It is quite common for women to have as many as six husbands. Again, it is mostly young girls under the age of 15 who are married in this way.

Untouchability

An integral part of the caste system is untouchability. Around 15 percent of the Nepali population consists of Dalits, or untouchables, and they are always subject to discrimination and exclusion.

Despite the superstitious practices listed above, Nepal can seem very liberal and tolerant. I have seen many Humanists from developed countries fighting for gay and lesbian rights. But in Nepal, homosexual marriages are allowed. This religious country, with an ocean of superstitions, allows homosexual marriage to occur without anyone's disagreement!

My existence in my society

Many people think that human survival is impossible without worship of a supernatural power. Sometimes people think that I am ridiculous. Some intellectuals have asked me, "Can you survive in this society?"

Sometimes I need to think carefully before saying, "I do not believe in God." There are many religious extremists in my society. On occasion, if I discuss religious questions, I find myself in hot water even with my close friends. At a campus seminar or conference, I slowly start to explain that I do not believe in God. Some listeners react by describing me as full of sin, because I do not believe in any supernatural power. It should not be forgotten that our king was worshipped as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The older generation still worship him.

It is not easy to be a Humanist in Nepal. Recently I went to the eastern part of Nepal for campus seminars on Humanism. Many students disagreed violently with my ideas and accused me of trying to make them out to be immoral and anti-social. They called for a federal constitution based upon the caste system. I told them that on the contrary we needed a federal system based on equal opportunities for all. It was really hard to convince them of the benefits of a casteless society. Many political parties are still supporting the idea of a federal constitution based upon the caste system and this has encouraged support for the idea among the youth. But we believe that we can eventually succeed in restructuring Nepal as a Humanistic society. It may take many years. But, with the support of global Humanism, we have planted the seeds.

Uttam Niraula is Executive Member, IHEYO, Nepal