A recent conference in Kathmandu about the role and presence of women in the judiciary portrayed the dismal landscape where traditional patriarchal values, reflected in its overwhelmingly male membership, still dominate.
And yet the whole judiciary in Nepal is not only marred by attitudes that are misogynist in nature.
As a mirror of other, even more malign societal beliefs and behaviors that are equally discriminatory and go against the principles of equality and social justice, the judicial system should also make a quantum leap toward including other segments of the populations.
There is an urgent need of action especially toward those groups historically marginalized that should enjoy viable pathways to join the legal field.
Equality, end of discriminatory practices and an embracing of diversity, these are some of the cornerstones of a new nation that was supposed to emerge from the end of the internal conflict.
While in general there has been a progress in the overarching quest for social justice, unfortunately, the sector, apparently, has still a long way to go in terms of its inclusivity.
It is indeed an arduous road ahead to fully and wholly represent all the facets of this nation as it is mostly composed by traditionally dominating groups based on the traditional Hindu hierarchy, the same groups that also form the majority at the highest levels of the bureaucratic apparatus.
The situation is truly abysmal.
A study that was undertaken by Mohan Sashankar, a lawyer from Dalit community found that there are 200 Dalit lawyers out of 20,552 though there is a general assumption that very few of them are practising.
Consequentially, as shocking as it is, it is not surprising that the number of judges is awfully low.
Over 75 years of history, the Supreme Court never saw a judge from the Dalit community. At the High Courts, there are only three out of 127 while in the District Courts, there are only three out of 262.
To better understand the context, we should not forget that Dalits represent around 14% of the national population.
In a powerful piece for the Record, Raksha Ram Harijan, an activist and advocate at the Supreme Court, explains the gravity of the situation, underlining the limitations of a system that, so far, has an utterly poor track record in terms of including members of the Dalit community.
“An exclusionary justice system cannot deliver justice for all citizens”, Harijan, who is also the first recipient of the inaugural Darnal Award for Social Justice, explains in the piece that could not have had a bolder and crystal clear title: “Caste Apartheid in the Judiciary”.
The existing unbalances within the judiciary with its uneven level playing field, are scars for a system that, instead, should reflect the powerful values and principles enshrined in the new Constitution of the country.
But a new initiative might be instrumental in tackling casteism in the judiciary, something even harder to tackle than the levels of gender discrimination that permeates the system.
At least in this area, there is now a much broader consensus that something must be done.
In many ways, the fight for gender equality is now widely accepted. It has become a mainstream issue.
Instead, when we talk about caste discrimination, the whole debate is much harder to initiate and the underlying causes are even thornier to confront.
A pioneering project, still on a pilot basis, could offer a powerful way to turn around the current status quo.
The idea behind it, is as simple and as bold.
It could be a game-changer in turning around the national judiciary: create a massive number of lawyers from the Dalit community.
Dignity Initiative, a local action think tank, came up with the idea of providing fully paid scholarships to thirty-one young Dalit students (15 females and 16 males) whom, according to the plans, would become the first cohort of a new class of lawyers and potentially, down the line, future justices.
This is an ambitious and very costly attempt to set the foundations for a more diverse and inclusive field in the judiciary and it is possible only because of the generous support of the Nepal Youth Foundation whose founder, the iconic lawyer, activist and campaigner Olga Murray, recently passed away.
Full inclusivity by design is at the front of this idea.
The cohort was selected throughout the nation with an open, transparent process.
It is paramount to find youths representing the whole Dalit community that itself reflects the nature and outlines of casteism with its sub hierarchies and internal power dynamics.
For example, Dalit from Madhes, the southernmost region of the country that has deep pockets of poverty and marginalization, who are normally overshadowed, in terms of advocacy and representation, by Hill based Dalits, are also fully represented in the program.
Those selected are not only getting a full scholarship that is covering their fees for the whole four years of studies.
They are also receiving full boarding and a monthly stipend and a laptop that enable them to fully concentrate on their studies and give their best without worries and anxieties.
They are now enrolled in several law colleges in the capital city Kathmandu and Pokhara, the second largest town of the country.
Sunar, the Executive Head of Dignity Initiative and an experienced social justice advocate, shared his thoughts in an e-mail conversation.
“While the laws have the provisions for penal punishment for discrimination and violence against the Dalit community; in reality, crimes against the Dalits are rampant and the perpetrators often go unpunished due to the high degree of impunity. To alter this scenario, we require a greater representation of lawyers from the Dalit community.”
“Although Nepal has been declared untouchability-free country, and caste-based discrimination and untouchability are punishable by law, in practice, caste discrimination remains deeply rooted in people’s consciousness” he further explained.
He continued: “The State has failed to ensure justice, which is reflected in the staggering instances where the victims are not allowed to even register FIRs, and are stripped of fair investigation and prosecution. This is the result of the unequal representation in the law enforcement agencies and mono-ethnic judiciary composition.”
This pilot initiative could profoundly transform the judiciary.
More lawyers or justices from the Dalit community will bring in new perspective and new sensitivities in the ways the cases are adjudicated.
Sunar explained that sentencing of those responsible for the Rukum West massacre that saw the atrocious murdering of six Dalits youths, was possible only because some Dalit lawyers put a tremendous hard work to state their case.
“Dalits have started going to the court to seek justice, but surprisingly there is a lack of significant progress in the outcome due to implicit biases, discrimination, and indifference. The Dalit community may rely on Dalit lawyers as someone they can trust when dealing with legal matters or discussing legal issues. Therefore, this intervention holds strategic importance”, he reasoned.
The spillover effects of this program can be powerful enough to open the doors of the judiciary not only for members of the Dalit community.
This system must fully reflect the whole society and it needs an urgent injection not only of lawyers from Dalit community and women from all the backgrounds but also of more Muslim and indigenous lawyers as well, all groups still under represented.
In ten to fifteen years from now, we could have a different scenario because of these scholarships that can herald a new era for Nepal that is more diverse, more equal and more just.
While it is going to take time to fully eradicate casteism, it is possible to start creating a level playing field with more opportunities in the society opening up for members of minority groups.
This vision of Nepal is more likely to happen if the current thirty-one students will turn to be the first of many other future batches.
Reflecting on the tools and approaches being used so far to lay the foundations of social justice in Nepal, I can’t think of a more powerful way of dismantling the barriers, either visible or invisible that still exist in the society than this scholarship program.
If a more diversified judicial system is the most immediate goal, the end goal of the program is even more ambitious.
The initiative, while focusing on the next lawyers and justices with a deep sense of justice and who understand firsthand what discrimination is and the multiple forms through which it manifests, will also create a crop of responsible citizens and leaders of tomorrow.
This makes the difference and matters as all the recipients do also undertake an extra class curriculum designed with the aim of empowering them with additional knowledge and expertise.
From leadership skills to broader understanding on key public policies, including a focus on the SDGs, the whole idea is to develop a pathway of personal and professional development that ultimately will empower the participants to play an active role in the society.
Ram Babu Das, a sixth Semester law student and one of the recipients of the scholarship shared with me:
“The scholarship has been like a superhero for me. I was always tense about my fees, fare, and accessories, and I was almost ready to give up on my dream of becoming a public prosecutor because of my family's financial distress. Now, thanks to them, I'm on track to achieving my goal. What's great is that they're helping lots of other students too, not just me. The Dignity Initiative is like a big family that believes in us and is helping us.”
Sangita BK, another recipient, wrote to me, “When I was child, question always used to come to my mind as to why there was such discrimination in the society. I thought on and came to conclusion that it is entrenched in the unequal system of the country. I also understood that law is the fundamental source of knowledge which can play a big role in removing this discrimination. I have to do something; it is one of my big responsibilities.”
This scholarship program can be really become a tool to achieve social justice and turbo-power social transformation in Nepal.
“After I graduate, I will fight against inequality and discrimination toward Dalit in every way possible. I will make sure every victim gets justice from law itself”.
This is level of ambition, professed by Sangita, is what will change Nepal for better.
(The author is the co-founder of ENGAGE and The Good Leadership)
