Mahadev Das, Vice Chairman, Upekshit Utpidit Dalitbarg Utthan Bikas Samiti
VognoDuut750
Dalit Women of the Terai
Organized by Centre for Economic and Technical Studies (CETS) in cooperation
with FES
October 10-11, 2002, Jujeliya Janakpur
1. Background
The major Dalit castes in the Terai region of Nepal include Dom, Dusadh,
Musahar, Chamar, Tatma, Khatwe and Dhobi. Unfortunately, the Dalits
constituting nearly one-fifth of the total population of the Terai region
are regarded as untouchables to this day.
Most of the people from these castes are ultra poor and below the poverty
line. They are lagging far behind the other communities in education, health
and several other sectors. Representation of these people in politics and
administration is almost non-existent. Of the Terai Dalits, the
socio-economic conditions of the women are even worse as they are
discriminated almost in every walk of life. Virtually, they are Dalits of
the Dalits. Considering the plight of the Nepalese Terai Dalit women and the
need to improve their socio-economic conditions, FES supported the Centre
for Economic and Technical Studies (CETS) to organise the seminar on
"Strategies for Improving the Conditions of Dalit Women of the Terai" on
October 10 and 11, 2002 at Janakpur. It was, in fact, a continuation of the
support extended by FES to CETS for the Dalit cause in Nepal.
2. Objectives of the Seminar
The overall objective of the seminar was to draw the attention of the
planners, policy makers, government, NGOs, INGOs and the donor agencies for
the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the Dalit women of the
Terai. Specific objectives of the seminar were to:
a.. Assess the different social problems associated with Dalit women;
b.. Discuss the status of sanitation and hygiene among the Dalit women;
c.. Raise awareness in the society about the economic contributions of the
Dalit women;
d.. Explore different possibilities for the empowerment of the Terai Dalit
women by improving their traditional occupational skills; and
e.. Suggest pragmatic measures for the improvement of the conditions of
the Terai Dalit women.
3. The Seminar
The seminar on "Strategies for Improving the Conditions of Dalit Women of
the Terai" was organized at Gramin Bikas Prashikshan Kendra, Mujeliya,
Janakpur on October 10 & 11, 2002. The distinguished participants/resource
persons represented various governmental and non-governmental agencies,
political parties, Dalit organizations, academic institutions, research
organizations and media. (The list of the programme of the seminar and
participants are given in Appendix 1 and 2, respectively).
4. Inaugural Function
Prof. Hari Bansh Jha, Executive Director of Centre for Economic and
Technical Studies (CETS) chaired the inaugural function of the national
seminar on "Strategies for Improving the Conditions of Dalit Women of the
Terai" on October 10, 2002. In his remarks, Prof. Jha welcomed the guests
and participants and highlighted on the objectives and programmes of the
seminar. Dalit woman, Ms. Pramila Das of Mahila Sangh, Dhanusha District
inaugurated the function by lighting the candle. On this occasion, she
expressed the need to bring about change in the life of the Dalit women. In
his address, Mr. Raghu Nath Das, Chairman, Nepal Dalit Sangh, Dhanusha
focussed on various problems faced by the Dalit women and the need to bring
the Dalit women in the national mainstream. Mr. Dev Raj Dahal, Advisor, FES,
Nepal Office shed light on the history of FES. Besides, he mentioned various
activities performed by FES in Nepal. Addressing the function as the Chief
Guest, Mr. Bhopal Nath Jha, former Minister dwelt on the strategies for
improving the socio-economic conditions of the Dalit women. Mr. Binod Das,
Secretary, Nepal Dalit Sangh, Dhanusha thanked all the guests and
participants.
5. The Sessions
The seminar was divided into four sessions in which four papers were
presented. Mr. Mathura Prasad Singh, educationist and social worker, and Mr.
Ganga Ram Yadav, advocate presided over the first session "Untouchability
and Discrimination" on October 10,2002. In this session, Mr. Ram Hridaya
Mandal presented paper on "Untouchability and Discrimination with Terai
Dalit Women," which was prepared jointly with Ms. Bindu Chaudhary, social
worker. The floor widely discussed various issues and raised several
questions related to the subject matter of the papers. In the absence of Ms.
Bindu Chaudhary, Mr. Ram Hridaya Mandal answered the questions raised from
the floor. Mr. Mathura Prasad Singh and Mr. Ganga Ram Yadav shed light on
various possibilities to remove untouchabilily and discrimination with the
Terai Dalit women.
Professor Rabindra Nath Jha of Tribhuvan University chaired the second
session "Economic Contributions" on October 10, 2002. In this session, Dr.
Hari Bansh Jha and Mr. Bishnu Kunwar jointly presented paper on "Economic
Contributions of the Terai Dalit Women." Several questions related to the
economic contributions of the Terai Dalit women were raised from the floor,
which the authors answered satisfactorily. In his remarks, Professor
Rabindra Nath Jha stated that the economic contributions made by the Terai
Dalit women are crucial to the national economy.
On October 11, 2002, Mr. Mahadev Das, Vice Chairman, Upekshit Utpidit
Dalitbarg Utthan Bikas Samiti presided over the third session of the seminar
"Empowering the
Women." Ms. Usha Jha presented her paper on "The Dalit Women of the Tenth
and Economic Empowerment Programme." In this session, valuable comments were
made on
the paper by the participants, which the author answered. In his remarks,
Mr. Mahadev Das highlighted several measures that the government introduced
to improve the skills of Dalit women.
The fourth session of the seminar "Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement" was
also presided over by Mr. Mahadev Das, Vice Chairman, Upekshit Ulpidit
Dalitbarg Utthan Bikas Samiti on October 11,2002. Professor Namo Narayan Jha
of Tribhuvan University presented paper on "Awareness about Health and
Sanitation among Dalit Women. Problems and Solutions," which was prepared
jointly with Dalit worker, Mr. Beckon Mukhiya. Useful comments and
suggestions were made on the theme of the paper. The author properly
answered queries from the floor. In his concluding remarks, Mr. Mahadev Das
presented his views for the improvement of the hygiene and sanitation status
of the Terai Dalit women. Before the session was closed, Prof. Hari Bansh
Jha gave vote of thanks to FES, guests, participants and all those who
contributed for the success of the seminar.
The media took keen interest in the Seminar proceedings. The leading papers
of the country, including Janakpur Today and Janakpur Express gave wider
coverage to the news related to the seminar. Additionally, Janakpur Express
published the paper presented in the Seminar. (Please see some of the paper
clippings in the Appendix).
Torpedo
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