Caste-based discrimination in Nepal - International Dalit Solidarity ...

Caste-based Discrimination in Nepal
Krishna B. Bhattachan, Tej B. Sunar and Yasso Kanti Bhattachan(Gauchan)
Table 5: Number of Incidents and Affected Persons by Types of Violation
Types of violation
Prohibited entering
public places
Inter
marriage
caste
No. of
Incident
%
Number of affected persons Total
Men Women Unidentified No %
3 7.5 5 3 1 9 4.8
2 5.0 2 N/A 7 9 4.8
Dismissed from job 1 2.5 1 N/A N/A 1 0.5
Caste
untouchability
34 85.0 33 15 122 170 89.9
Total 40 100 41 18 130 189 100.0
Source: Adopted from INSEC, 2007, Annex 1.1
3. Nature of Caste-based Untouchability and Discrimination
ActionAid, Nepal revealed that existing practices of caste-based discrimination
in Nepal are related to denial of entry of Dalits by higher caste into their
houses, temples, hotels and restaurants, teashops, work places, food factories,
dairy farms and milk collection centres, etc. Non-Dalits deny providing services
related to milk, health, credit, training, religion and food and drink. High
caste people deny Dalits the access to common resources including drinking
water sources, community forests, and crematory. Also, high caste people do
not enter into kinship and other relationships including inter-caste marriages.
Dalits commonly face caste-based discrimination by high caste people on feasts,
during festivals, marriage processions and funerals. There are two areas of
caste-based untouchability that makes it complicated: one front is practice of
untouchability by non-Dalits against all Dalits, which is indeed binary; and the
other front is practice of untouchability by high caste Dalits against low caste
Dalits. It is complicated as the Kami occupy higher position among the Dalit
caste hierarchy; hence, they are not treated as untouchables by other Dalits.
Doms are at the bottom of the internal caste hierarchy; hence Doms are
victimized by higher castes as well as the Dalits
3.1 Religious and Socio-cultural Sites:
The data reveals that current practices of caste-based untochability are
concentrated mostly at the religious and socio-cultural sites in the form of
denial of entry into Hindu temples, and eating food during festivals and wedding
parties and intercate marriages between non-dalits and Dalits and high and
low caste Dalits,During fieldwork, Dalits reported that 14 castes still experience
denial of inter-caste marriages and face humiliation during wedding parties as
they have to eat separately and at a distance from high caste people. Also,
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