Nepali Women Invisible Force to Reckon With, Learning Route Nepal, Dec. 2014
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The document highlights the progress of Nepali women over the past decade regarding literacy, employment, and leadership, yet emphasizes that significant disparities remain, particularly for marginalized groups and in remote areas. Despite increased opportunities for income generation and political representation, women still face challenges such as unequal income distribution, underrepresentation in decision-making, and increased workloads due to climate change impacts. The document underscores a concerning trend of backsliding in women's social, economic, and political empowerment, necessitating further attention and action.
Nepali Women Invisible Force to Reckon With, Learning Route Nepal, Dec. 2014
- 1. Nepali Women Invisible Force to Reckon With
- 2. Context - Overall Women in Nepal - far more advanced than 10 years ago – Women’s Literacy rate: 34.9% in 2001 to 57.4% in 2011 – Women’s Employment to population ratio : 52.2% in 1990 to 62% in 2009 – Women Labor participation: 52.4% in 1990 to 80.4% in 2011
- 3. Context continued…….. – Women (grassroots) in Leadership positions - more than 26% in Community Forestry User Groups – More Organized – strong user groups, networks, cooperatives etc. (forestry, agriculture, saving and credit; irrigation etc) .
- 4. Context continued…….. – Increased Representation: political, formal and informal institutions (favorable policies). – Progressive Policies – 50% in CFUGs; reservations; subsidies
- 5. Context continued……. Increased opportunities and engagement in income generation Provision for loans (saving groups – though small)
- 6. Context continued……. More opportunities – to develop, gain new skills, awareness; Access to technologies – e.g. biogas, mobile phones
- 7. But - what does a deeper analysis show? Progress has been uneven across – Gender, Socially excluded groups, geographically remote areas; These groups still lag behind in terms of Access - Resources; Timely information Opportunities Representation; Voice and Influence Decisions; Interpretation and implementation of policies………
- 8. Gaps: In Nepal: • More than 75% women engaged in Agriculture • Women’s share of earned income is only 1/3rd of that of men • E.g. among Terai Janajati 43% women work without pay (Value & Visibility) • Only 10 percent cultivable land registered with women; Women and Men Engaged in Agriculture by Caste/Ethnicity and Regional Identity Source: DHS 2006 Survey Data
- 10. Literacy rates (6 years and over) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Poorest Second Third Fourth Richest economic catagory percentage men women Literacy: Nepal (male 75%; female 53%); Dalit women 35%: Dalit men 50%; Secondary education: Only 1.1 % Dalit women compared to 13% BC women
- 11. Gaps in Decision Making • Household levels - 10% cultivatable land registered with women • Community levels e.g. Community Forestry - Women in executive committee positions -26 percent ; Institutionally: • Agriculture : gazetted level = 6.21% are women (with none in the Special Class) and in non-gazetted level = 16.95% • Forestry: gazetted level = 3.6 % are women (with none in the Special Class) and in non-gazetted level = 7% • Addressing Gender (Sector-wise) – largely limited to gender focal points Implications: decisions, prioritization, developing agendas etc.
- 12. Recent Scoping Study Findings on Gender and Climate Change show: Reduced - quality and quantity of drinking and irrigation water • Increased women’s workload: Most critical and overarching issue - drudgery • Access to drinking water: poor and dalits (untouchability in Terai) most hit.
- 13. • Hardening of agricultural soil: additional work after ploughing; more water & manure; long hrs. physical labour; Frustrates – hard labor wasted. • Low harvest and low family nutrition: selling cereals at higher price & purchasing low quality cheaper rice from terai or India; sharp change – diet pattern and food diversity
- 14. Agriculture and Food Security • Increase in weed and outbreak of pests: additional back-breaking work; loss of fodder - not edible/preferred by livestock; off the shelf chemical herbicides; hire extra labor; • Early ripening of crops and vegetables and storage issues • Decrease in larger and smaller livestock: From 4 -5 to 1 -3 cows/buffalos - less fertilizers and manure for the biogas. Increased dependency on chemicals
- 15. • Decrease and disappearance of women ‘pewa’ crops and vegetables: e.g. Beans and lentils are high value crops particularly for women – personal income with full control. • Backsliding - agro-based enterprise and income: time, alienation from information, resources, networks • Increase in loans: repayment suffers, more debt, Change in use of saving and credit loans.
- 16. • Migration: Food security issues have further triggered migration both seasonal and for foreign employment – e.g. brick kilns • Increased Drudgery: With the absence of economically active men, critical mass of rural work-force is borne by the rural women • Financial crunch – dealing with the gap period when the male members are either late or cannot send money - although easy access to loans for women whose male have migrated to foreign countries
- 17. • Violence against women: It has manifested itself in several forms of example: mental violence having to deal with new responsibilities and decision making; hindrance in mobility and character assassination (esp. in Terai) Broken families – infidelity , divorce
- 18. Access to timely information and new knowledge: Women’s new (disadvantaged) situation not understood – further alienated
- 19. Reinforcing exclusion: • Political influence on decision-making and benefit distribution; • Decreased quantity and quality of participation in mixed forest user groups; • More active and powerful women are being increasingly sidelined;
- 20. Interesting developments • Vertical empowerment and growth
- 21. Men supporting women’s leadership – mostly among young generation/young husbands
- 22. Slip Sliding away of Women’s Social Economic and Political Empowerment
- 23. [email protected] [email protected] Mob: 977-9841261339 www.wocan.org