सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Kathmandu. It is seen that Dalit women have low participation in the policy-making level of the state.
Although Dalit women, who are economically, socially and politically backward, have been struggling for the past eight decades, the participation of Dalit women in the executive (government), legislature (parliament) and judiciary (courts) has been very low.
Dalit women, who have been victims of double discrimination, have been continuously struggling for their rights since 2003 BS. Only after about six decades, in 2063 BS, six Dalit women became members of the Interim Legislative Assembly for the first time.
After that, 25 Dalit women became members of the Constituent Assembly in 2064 BS. Similarly, when it came to the Constituent Assembly of 2070 BS, it decreased to 22. Similarly, in the House of Representatives of 2074 BS, that number decreased further to 14. There are only eight Dalit women represented in the current House of Representatives.
Despite the proportional representation system for Dalits, women, Madhesis and other oppressed communities, Durga Sob, Vice President of Nepal Samajwadi Party (New Power), says that the representation of Dalit women in parliament is decreasing as economically wealthy and politically accessible people sit in proportional quotas.
The representation of Dalit women in the National Assembly is zero. Looking at the provincial assemblies from seven provinces, 24 Dalit women were elected as provincial parliamentarians in 2074 BS. 27 Dalit women MPs have become MPs in the Provincial Assembly 2079 BS.
So far, Dalit women have not been able to become cabinet ministers in the federal government. Looking at the participation of Dalit women in the government, Kalawati Paswan became the Assistant Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Construction for the first time in 2066 BS.
After that, in 2068 BS, Rajani Ram (Minister of State), Dhanmaya BK (Minister of State), Bimala BK (Minister of State), Asha BK (Minister of State), Sushila Shripali Thakuri (Minister of State) and Rupa BK (Minister of State) became ministers.
Looking at the provincial government, Sita Nepali became the Minister of Internal Affairs and Law for the first time in 2078 BS. Similarly, in 2079 BS, Sita Kumari Sundas became the Minister of Economic Affairs. So far, four Dalit women have become provincial ministers of state.
In 2074 BS, the local level was limited to Dalit women as deputy chiefs or vice-chairmen. At that time, 21 women became deputy chiefs or vice-chairmen.
However, by 2079 BS, that number had decreased to 12. In the District Coordination Committee, five Dalit women became deputy chiefs in 2079 BS, while 89 Dalit women became members.
Similarly, in the same year, 6,630 Dalit women became ward members. In 2079 BS, 13 Dalit women were elected as mayors of municipalities.
Twelve women have become rural municipality presidents. Two hundred and twenty-nine have become deputy mayors of municipalities. Three hundred and thirty-five have become vice-presidents. Seventy-nine women have become ward presidents. Six thousand five hundred and ninety-four Dalit women have become ward members.
If we look at the participation of Dalit women in political parties, four are in the Nepali Congress, five in the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), 18 in the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center), two in the National Independent Party, one from the National Prajatantra Party, and six from the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) in the Central Working Committee. Nepal Samajwadi Party (New Power) has only one central office bearer (Durga Sob).
Member of Parliament Laxmi Pariyar said that Dalit women, who are also subject to double discrimination within the Dalit community, are the most discriminated against and have to face discrimination.
According to a study conducted by Orec Nepal, in the recent increase in rape cases in the country, seven percent of the total population of the country is Dalit women. The study shows that non-Dalits are more likely to be rapists. The representation of the Dalit community in the civil service is 2.8 percent.
Even there, the representation of Dalit women is very weak. Sixty-six years after the Civil Service Act was enacted to organize the administrative machinery, Sita Pariyar, a Dalit woman, became the Chief District Officer of Humla.
According to the 2078 BS census, about 14 percent of Nepal’s population is Dalit. Overall, the participation of Dalit women in the legal sector (judiciary) is also very weak.
The participation of Dalit women in the executive, legislature and judiciary of the federal, provincial and local levels, constitutional bodies, institutions, institutes, departments, commissions, authorities, corporations, committees and other structures seems to be very weak.
Bindu Pariyar, President of the Nepal Dalit Women’s Upliftment Association, opined that the state should formulate a policy to increase the participation of Dalit women in the policy-making levels of the state and implement it practically.
She argues that the representation of Dalit women is decreasing due to the fact that the Preamble of the Constitution, Articles 24 and 40 have not been implemented by making laws.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्