'Will I ever get justice?' Nepal accused of failing trafficking survivors

 

'Will I ever get justice?' Nepal accused of failing trafficking survivors

The Guardian, May 26, 2017

Rights groups claim no one has received compensation since law entitling survivors of human trafficking was introduced a decade ago

Rights groups in Nepal say they do not know of a single survivor of human trafficking who has received compensation under a law introduced a decade ago.

An act that came into force in 2007 guarantees compensation for trafficking victims, but only after the perpetrator has been convicted, a caveat that has left survivors facing years of traumatic court proceedings and threats from their traffickers.

A new report in which 125 trafficking cases were reviewed found that, while courts awarded compensation in more than half the cases, no one has so far received it.

Sabin Shrestha, executive director of the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), which produced the study, said: “The biggest tragedy for us is that the conviction rate is good. The perpetrators are being punished … but not a single survivor has benefited.”

Four other experts, with decades of experience in the field, also said they were unaware of any case where a survivor had received compensation.

The government initially rebutted the claims. Radhika Aryal, a senior civil servant at the women, children and social welfare ministry, said: “The government agencies provide compensation to the survivor, according to the court’s verdict. We have been doing so in many cases … without delay.”

Aryal later admitted, however, that she knew of only two cases of trafficking victims receiving compensation.

More typical are the stories of women like Shanti, who was trafficked to India at the age of 13. Shanti (not her real name) waited nine years for her case to go through the courts, but is yet to receive any payment.

“I have faced threats from the traffickers … I couldn’t spend a single day in peace as I always felt insecure before the verdict,” she said. “I couldn’t develop as a person, as I had to keep visiting my past through the courts.”

The law states that compensation should be paid out of the fine levied on the perpetrators, leaving survivors in limbo until the legal process is complete. If the trafficker cannot pay, the government must do so. Proving that the perpetrator does not have the funds is itself a lengthy and difficult process, however.

“Though the court verdict says I should be getting compensation, as far as I understand … I will have to prove that the culprit is not rich enough to pay compensation; only then will the government give me the amount,” said Shanti.

Even if Shanti eventually secures the payment, it is unlikely to reflect the ordeal she has been through. Research by the FWLD found that, in almost two-thirds of cases, courts ordered compensation of just 50,000 Nepalese rupees (£380).

The funds awarded are typically only 50% of the trafficker’s fine, with the remainder going to the government.

“How can the government keep half of any compensation given to survivors?” said Benu Gurung, executive director of the Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and Children in Nepal. “We demand all of the fine is given to the victim.”

Gurung added that some people find it is easier, and more lucrative, to accept hush money from the traffickers than go through the courts.

“From a survivor’s perspective, rather than face threats from traffickers, or risk being exposed as a victim of trafficking, it is better to accept a payoff, especially when you have no confidence that you will ever receive compensation,” said Gurung.

Rights groups are calling for immediate interim financial support for survivors, higher rates of reparations and greater efforts to make survivors aware of their right to recompense.

“We survivors demand the government compensate us first and later get the money from the culprit,” said Shanti. “How long will it take? Will I ever get justice?”

 

Discrimination against Dalits still rife

Discrimination against Dalits still rife, continue to be left out of decision-making processes

Marginalisation of members of Dalit communities still persists even though several laws and constitution bar discrimination.
Chandan Kumar Mandal

Published at : September 8, 2019,  Kathmandu

Family members of Maya Bishwokarma, who was brutally murdered after being gang-raped, are slowly losing hopes of getting justice. Maya, who was involved in collecting household data from Gauriganga Municipality, Kailali, was gang-raped by five of her co-workers last year.

“She had repeatedly refused sexual advances of her co-workers, and they raped her and killed her. They must have thought that they were entitled to her body,” said Kamal Bishwokarma, her uncle in Kathmandu on Saturday.

Ajit Mijar, 18, originally from Pachkhal, Kavre was reportedly murdered after he married a woman from another caste. Within a week of their wedding, his dead body was found buried by the riverbank of Furke Khola in Dhading district. Even after three years of his death, the dead body still lies at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. According to his family members, Ajit did not commit suicide. They say it was a staged-murder.

The two cases are isolated. But what is common between these two cases are the victims are from the Dalit community.

“The culprits have been arrested, but conspiracies are going around to protect those arrested. The court hearing has already been postponed six times,” said Bishwokarma. “How long can we wait for justice? How long should her soul suffer? Is it just because she was a Dalit that the central government has maintained silence in Maya’s case?

Narrating similar pain and struggles for the justice for his son, Hari Bhakta Dhakal Mijar, father of Ajit, said: “Everyone seems unaffected because the son of a Dalit died.”

Despite strong legal protection against any discrimination based on caste, class, religion, region, and any other grounds, Dalit families like that of Maya and Ajit continue to face subjugation and discrimination—in society and also by the state— across the country, according to rights activists, Dalit leaders, political party leaders and civil society members.

According to Pradeep Pariyar, executive chairperson of Samta Foundation, at least 16 deaths have been reported in which victims were killed only because of their caste since the new Caste Based Discriminations and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act 2011 came into force.

“Dalits were at the forefront of the People’s War. They have died for various democratic movements of the country. They are discriminated and left aside by those in power,” said Pariyar. “Even after seven decades of Dalit’s struggle history, the Dalit movement has not yet gained the expected momentum although the democratic movement in the country has flourished in the same period.”

Participants at the event organised by Samata Foundation, who had assembled to discuss mainstreaming of Dalits in the state and their quest for dignity, said plights of Dalits have not yet improved the way it should have with the arrival of the new constitution in 2015.

According to Ramprit Paswan, a National Assembly member, Dalit’s marginalisation has been falsely blamed with their fate.

“Now, we have the best political system, but Dalit’s struggle continues to be same,” said Paswan. “Dalits are protected in the Constitution and other laws. If these laws are not followed, then that’s a crime. But the protector of the constitution—the state—itself practises discrimination.”

Jagat Bahadur Sunar Bishwokarma, Minister for Youth and Sports, admitted that the socio-cultural transformation of the country has not happened along the lines of the new constitution. However, the condition of the Dalits has improved in comparison to the past.

“The Dalit liberation movement is not in a disappointing phase now. But there are still incidents of caste-based discriminations and violence against Dalits, which is shameful for all of us,” said Minister Bishwokarma.

“The caste system has victimised other groups as well. Therefore, the whole Nepali society should come together to eliminate this system.”

Braj Ranjan Mani, an Indian scholar and writer on Dalit communities and their struggles, said educating people is the tool that will liberate Dalits, and they have started sharing their stories of struggles.

“History has not been written from the perspective of Dalits,” said Mani. “Breaking the imposed culture of silence, they have started sharing their stories which animate Dalit literature and have sprung up in all languages of the sub-continent.”

The country adopting the federal system has also not yielded expected results in terms of placing Dalits at the leadership level, say Dalit activists. Even those in power are unable to fully exercise their rights.

They pointed out that there is not a single Dalit minister in all the seven provincial governments and not a single appointment at the 13 different commissions. At the local level, only one Dalit mayor has been elected at a rural municipality and six at the municipality level.

According to Nira Devi Jairu, head of the joint parliamentary committee titled State Directives, Policy and Liability Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, political parties should give significant representations to Dalit and marginalised groups.

“Now, we don’t need yet another revolution to improve the condition. But improvement is required inside the political system and political party,” said Jairu.

According to Mani, the spread of education and political consciousness has been changing the structure of public discourse and public space.

“Despite these welcome changes, Dalits are still struggling to enter the crucial areas of knowledge production and policymaking,” said Mani. “More recently, Dalits are resisting the newer forms of caste hegemony, cultural tokenism and political co-option. Dalits are not merely an identity marker but also a metaphor for human suffering, human resilience and human resistance against the inhuman system. This metaphor signifies Dalit’s undying spirit to fight back and regain their stolen rights, dignity, liberty and property.”  

Chandan Kumar Mandal

Chandan Kumar Mandal is the environment and migration reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering labour migration and governance, as well as climate change, natural disasters, and wildlife.

https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/09/08/discrimination-against-dalits-still-rife-continue-to-be-left-out-of-decision-making-processes

बदलिन बाँकी समाज

बदलिन बाँकी समाज

पुरुष नेताले संवैधानिक प्रक्रिया पूरा गर्न महिलाको नाम प्रस्ताव गर्छन् । तर महिला नेतृत्वमा स्थापित भएको हेर्न चाहँदैनन् ।

चैत्र १, २०७६मन्‍जु यादव

मधेसमा एउटा भनाइ छ, ‘बेटी माटीय तर कि स्वामीय तर’ अर्थात् छोरीको मुक्तिको माध्यम माटोमुनि वा श्रीमानको अधीनमा मात्र हुन्छ । यो भनाइलाई चुनौती दिने र परिवर्तन गर्ने हिम्मत महिला अधिकारको आन्दोलनले अहिलेसम्म गर्न सकेको छैन । मधेशमा मात्र होइन, यो भनाइ हिमाल र पहाडका महिलाका हकमा पनि सान्दर्भिक हुन्छ ।

महिलाले जिन्स पाइन्ट लगाउन हुँदैन, मोटरसाइकल चढ्दा दुईपट्टि खुट्टा राख्नु हुँदैन जस्ता सोच पुरुषमा हुँदोरहेछ । दाइजो, यौनहिंसा र बालविवाहका मुद्दा सर्वत्र भेटिन्छन् । त्यस्तै मुस्लिम समुदायमा महिलाको मुहार र शरीर हेर्दा अरूलाई यौन भावना जागृत हुन्छ भनेर बुर्का लगाउने चलन अझै छ । नाटक वा फिल्ममा महिलाले अभिनय गर्नु हुँदैन भन्ने मान्यता पनि समाजमा कायम छ ।

महिलामाथि हुने अन्यायलाई हटाई महिलामैत्री समाजको परिकल्पना हामीले कहिले गर्ने ? हामी चाहन्छौं, पुरुष र महिला सामान हुन् । हामीले राणाशासन हटायौं, तर त्यसबेलाका परम्परागत सोच, व्यवहार, प्रचलन र प्रवृत्ति हटाउन सकेनौं । हामीले राजा पनि हटायौं, तर प्रधानमन्त्री, मुख्यमन्त्री र स्थानीय तह प्रमुखलाई नयाँ राजा बनायौं । समय अनुकूल रक्सीको बोतल फरक पर्‍यो, तर स्वाद उस्तै रह्यो ।

नेपालमा लगभग ५१ प्रतिशत जनसंख्या महिलाको छ, तर ती अझै भेदभाव र उत्पीडनमा छन् । संविधानमा महिला र पुरुष दुवैलाई बराबरी अधिकार दिइयो, तैपनि व्यवहारमा महिला, दार्शनिक फ्रेडरिक नित्सेले भनेझैं ‘महिला पुरुषको लागि र पुरुष युद्ध (राजनीति) का लागि’ भएको छ । हालसालै उपसभामुख शिवमाया तुम्बाहाङ्फेलाई सभामुखमा नियुक्त गरिएन । पीएचडीसम्मको उच्चशिक्षा प्राप्त गरेकी जनजाति पृष्ठभूमिकी महिला सभामुख बन्न योग्य थिइन् । स्थानीय तहको उपप्रमुखमा महिला छुट्याइएको छ । निर्णय पुरुष प्रमुखकै हुने हो । यहाँ पनि नेत्सेको भनाइ सान्दर्भिक छ । आखिर राजनीति पुरुषले नै त गर्ने हो ।

पुरुष नेताले संवैधानिक प्रक्रिया पूरा गर्न महिलाको नाम प्रस्ताव गर्छन् । तर महिला नेतृत्वमा स्थापित भएको हेर्न चाहँदैनन् । आफूले उपभोग गरेको भाग खोसिने डरले पुरुष नेतृत्व त्रसित छ । महिलालाई कार्यकर्ता वा अनुयायीबाट माथि नेतृत्वमा आएको हेर्न सक्दैनन् । मानव सूचकांक र विकासका दृष्टिकोणमा हिमाल र पहाडभन्दा मधेश तल छ । मधेशमा महिलाको स्थिति मजबुत बनाउन राजनीतिमा महिला नेतृत्वको विकास आवश्यक छ । नेतृत्व त्यहाँ चाहिन्छ, जहाँ उत्पीडन हुन्छ । मधेशको हकमा भित्रभित्रै महिला उत्पीडन भयंकर छ । संविधानले जति नै अधिकार दिए पनि व्यवहारमा लागू भएको छैन ।

संघीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र प्राप्तिका लागि धेरै आन्दोलन गरियो । समाजमा महिलाप्रतिको रुढिवादी मान्यता र दृष्टिकोण हटाउन योभन्दा पनि ठूलो आन्दोलन आवश्यक छ । प्रजातान्त्रिक आन्दोलन शासन व्यवस्थाको विरुद्धमा थियो । रुढिवादी मान्यता जनजनमा छ । प्रायः पुरुष र महिला दुवैमा गडेर बसेको छ । यस्ता रुढिवादी मान्यता हटाउन नेतालाई फलामको च्युरा चपाउनु सरह हुनेछ । त्यसैले प्रत्येक घरमा नेतृत्व जन्माउनुपर्छ ।

यसका लागि महिलामैत्री पढाइ र सिकाइ आवश्यक छ । सक्षम र सबल नेतृत्व विकास यसैमा निर्भर हुन्छ । महिलालाई आर्थिक रूपमा आत्मनिर्भर हुने वातावरण सिर्जना समाजमा गरिनुपर्छ । यसका लागि सामाजिक र राजनीतिक क्षेत्रका महिला अगुवाहरूले राजधानी केन्द्रित गतिविधिलाई गाउँ–गाउँमा पुर्‍याउनुपर्छ । महिला सम्बन्धी काम गर्ने सरोकारवाला सबै निकायले यसमा ध्यान दिनुपर्छ । समान र स्वतन्त्र स्थितिको स्थापना गर्नु नै अहिलेको समयको माग हो । यसका लागि जनस्तरबाट दबाब सिर्जना गर्नुपर्छ । अन्धविश्वास र रुढिवाढी प्रचलनको अन्त्य आवश्यक छ ।प्रकाशित : चैत्र १, २०७६ ०८:५२