As the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence has run this year too from November 25, more and more girls and women fallen victim to gender-based discrimination in all its forms and manifestations at some point of their lives have been breaking their silence to amplify their voices against the prejudice and disparity they faced.
Let's take Member of House of Representatives from Bardiya, Bimala BK. She rides motorcycle, wears shirt and pants and goes on delivering extempore eloquently at par with her male counterparts.
She is outdoorsy and outspoken. She takes chances and has proved her mantle as a capable leader. Her villagers praise her parents as saying, “Your daughter is very much like a ‘son’.”
But Bimala argued that her headstrong attitude and performance should not be compared to the male and be praised. She should be appreciated for who she is as a person. She rather wants to hear people saying 'Your daughter is very much a brave person'.
The member of House of Representatives asserts that it’s high time they worked toward changing the social perspective towards women and men. According to her, the stereotyping of female as a fairer sex persisting in our patriarchal society should be defied and a woman should be treated equally and fairly as a human.
Telling of her many tales of disparities she suffered in her life for 1) having come from a Dalit community and 2) being a woman, Bimala shared that due to the 'untouchability' deeply rooted in her the psyche of her villagers, she was not allowed to worship in the Saraswati temple in the premises of her School.
She was linked in various scandals during her political career during the insurgency. As she continued to climb upward in her political career, she continued to face gender-based discrimination albeit in different form and intensity.
According to her, due to her agility and mobility ensured by her two-wheeler, she could reach out to anyone in need anytime which not only raises many furrows but also fingers.
Even in the House of Representatives, she experiences gender-based discrimination. She wanted to file her candidacy toward the First-Past-the-Post in the election but she argued that she had to contest in the election through proportional representation as the senior male leaders did not allow to her to do so.
She strongly voiced that the shackle of gender-based discrimination should be shattered for which the change should start with ourselves. “We should consider ourselves to be equal to man and strive to rise above our circumstances by the dint of our merit, strength and will-power.”
Rural woman alike, urban women too are going through the ordeal of gender-based violence be it at their homes or workplaces.
Devu Parajuli, a seasoned advocate who advocated for the rights of disabled people has herself faced innumerable instances of discrimination for being a woman and a physically disabled.
Her disability was a huge barrier for her to receive equal opportunities including education. After finishing her school, people would question over her choice and would ridicule poking her with a question 'What is the value of education for a disabled woman like her?'
The society tried to create a hurdle to her efforts for education since childhood, but despite all those discriminatory actions against her, she was determined to follow her dream and finally realized her dream to obtain higher education.
She experienced that her physical condition was not accepted by some employers and her competency was nowhere to be recognized.
These days, the usage of social networking sites is growing and she has also many friends in Facebook and twitters.
They exchange communications with her, comment on her status and photos; request her to meet face to face and once they see her physical status; the communication gets discontinued as such friends chose to put a full stop to bilateral conservation.
But there a few people in her friend list who consider her as trustworthy friend to share their feelings with as they do not take her physical condition as a parameter for cultivating friendship.
Women from all section and strata of society have similar tale to tell. Meet Naya Shakti Party central member and senior Nepali actress Karishma Manandhar. The evergreen star received cold responses to her decision to bring out family issue to the public.
She publicly questioned over the 'intention' of apathy on the part of her spouse Binod Manandhar to transfer her voter name list. Manandhar who forayed into movie through movie 'Santan' at the tender age of 14 is currently busy in field visit. Her finding is that women are still in confusion, unaware of their rights and demure to fight against the discriminatory activities they suffer at every point of their life.
As rights activists say it was wrong to believe that only woman of rural areas face discrimination and violence. The rural women and who are educated suffer unequal treatments and behaviors against them. The society still understates the presence of women and undervalues their capacities.
The situation of Dalit, Madhesi, physically challenged and those from backward and marginalized communities is more miserable. They complained that the perception of society toward them has not changed yet.