Gender Equality and Health in Nepal

The assignment examines the complex relationship between gender equality and health within Nepal. It delves into various aspects of this connection, including women's access to healthcare, maternal health disparities, and the influence of social norms on health behaviors. The analysis incorporates relevant literature and data to shed light on the challenges and opportunities for promoting gender-equitable health outcomes in the country.

Running head: MATTERS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
Matters of Social Science
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Introduction
Nepal is a landlocked country in the middle of the great Himalayan Range. Its
demography is nestled between two emerging superpowers of the world which are People
Republic of China and India. But Nepal is way behind in economic as well social aspects of
development when compared to both its neighboring countries (UN Women | Asia and the
Pacific 2017). As history illustrates, Nepal has been in trade with China and India maintaining a
harmony with both these giant countries. It has also been susceptible to invasion at times but has
been inert for most period of time. At present, Nepal has been disturbed due to its internal
conflicts. There has been a war-like situation for claiming rights, freedom and adequate
representation.
The country is under transition from being a monarchy to a republican government where
Maoists are taking advantage of the situation to promote their own leaders in the top tier of
government. Between this state of confusion, there lies an important aspect of a transitional
society which is of gender equality. Many social workers and organizations have visited places
in Nepal to observe the position of women in Nepal (Therisingnepal.org.np 2017). It was
observed that there is a high percentage of gender inequality which women of Nepal have to
face. There is a natural sense of gender inequality in the Nepali society due to which women
have to face restrictions in almost all facets of life. The following literature review analyses all
the problems of gender inequality in Nepal (Acharya 2017).
DEFINING GENDER EQUALITY
The literal meaning of gender equality is that men and women both enjoy equal status in
the society. There is equal opportunity for everything such as jobs, rights, economic, cultural,

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social and social development. It has been observed from the pages of history that society has
been biased towards males in giving the position of authority in the society (Mahara and Dhital
2015). There has always been a male dominant society with women working passively on the
sidelines with no proper appreciation and importance. In Nepal, these ambiguities have widened
with women having no proper rights and freedom to do their will and are bounded by
innumerable restrictions which come to them naturally (Mahara and Dhital 2015). They are
considered as “second-grade citizens” charred in the fire of patriarchal domination. Male citizens
of Nepal enjoy all the freedom and liberty and suppress their female counterparts.
Socioeconomic Status of Women In Nepal
Being a diverse society, society in Nepal is mainly patriarchal. Life of a woman revolves
around their son, father, and husband. It becomes obvious that to practice such dominant
patriarchal system, support of the law is necessary which is granted to the male members in
Nepal. The legal system of Nepal also enforces restrictions on women who are left with no
choice than to surrender (Ghosh, Singh and Kayastha 2017). Marriage is the most important
event for the life of women which determines their well-being in the society. Freedom to choose
their life partner is another aspect which determines the degree of liberty a woman has in the
society. But in Nepal due to the prevalence of patriarchal system, there is not much a woman can
do about their choice in marriage and other personal prerogatives.
The position of women in a patriarchal society is derived through its social system,
values of the society and rights which are preserved and protected in favor of women. Nepal
government does not pay any heed to develop policies for the social development of women in
society (Decker et al. 2016). When the relative status of women is considered, it varies from one
ethnic group to another but has no significant difference. It can be easily observed when visiting

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Nepal, that all the economic activity are done by women but they get no credit for that and their
contribution to the society goes unnoticed. It is understood that the work they do is meant for
them and that is the only thing for which they are made (Mohapatra 2016).
Empirical data derived from the survey done in Nepal reflect that the condition of women
is very severe as compared to men. The situation of women is wretched in terms of health,
participation, self-confidence, education, human rights, decision making and policy making. Age
of marriage for women is very less as they get married between the age of 15-19 years (Nawal
and Goli 2013). This leads to consequences of premature pregnancy resulting in deaths
(Bornstein et al. 2016).The pre-natal and post-natal death rate of women is very high in Nepal.
High birth rate, high infant mortality rate and low life expectancy are some key indicators of
poor health of women in Nepal.
The National literacy rate of Nepal in 40% in which 66% is of men and only 30% women
are literate (Ghosh, Singh and Kayastha 2017). This indicates that women are denied of
education. Only 24.5% of women in Nepal get enrolled for higher education according to the
national statistics of the country (Bista et al. 2017). Women of Nepal do not enroll in vocational
and technical courses due to the pressure of society and irrelevant cultural norms (Reading
2012). The burden of workload has increased from 10.8 hours per day to 10.9 hours per day in
recent years (Swan 2013). Moreover, women in rural areas are considered as “parayadhan”
(somebody else’s property), that is why parents do not invest in their education who believes that
they are not going to benefit from their education.
Works done by women are not understood as economic activity. Cooking food,
household work, washing clothes and taking care of children are considered as natural work for
women. Only 42.5% of women are kept under economically active category as compared to 68%

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of men (Oestreich 2017). As a result, the participation of workers in the informal sector has
increased drastically (Ghosh, Singh and Kayastha 2017). To make money for themselves women
of Nepal do jobs like vending, liquor trade and selling vegetables. Moreover, in rural areas
women are seen doing field work such as planting, weeding and harvesting which are done by
men in other countries. If women are employed in government jobs in urban areas, they are put
at low posts and promotion is very hard to get.
Professional work done by women in Nepal is very limited. They are allowed to study
law but not practice it (Leder, Clement and Karki 2017). Their presence in bureaucracy is very
low. It can be supported by the fact that only one woman has made to the post of ambassador till
now. There is limited or no participation in the field of politics and judiciary of women in Nepal.
Decision making for women is only in household matters, domestic matters, religious and social
travel. But a decline in the decision-making authority has been observed in recent years (Swan
2013).
Violence against Women
UNICEF has conducted many surveys and programs to find out the nature and extent of
violence against women in Nepal. The picture was very dreadful as there are innumerable cases
of violence of all types. It was found that 66% of women are victims of verbal abuse and 33% of
them were abused emotionally (Leder, Clement and Karki 2017). Out of all the offenders, 77%
of them were family members of the women (Shrestha et al. 2017). At first, there was no serious
action taken from the government side, but with due course of time, government agencies have
been vigilant to avoid such cases (Bista et al. 2017). But the results have not been promising and
there is a lot to be done to protect women from such atrocities. Political agents are also
contributors to the violence against women but they cases do not see the light of day due to

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ignorance of government authorities. Women who actively participate in the politics are also
victims of such crimes inside their own party but do not complain or take any action due to
obvious reasons (Nawal and Goli 2013).
Political Participation of Women in Nepal
If the history of Nepal is taken into consideration, it has been a country of struggle.
Some patron women like Mangla Devi Singh and Sahana Pradhan have been active in politics
during 1950’s. They also formed many organizations for the upliftment of women status in
Nepal. In recent years of struggle in 2006, it was observed that the participation of women was
significant who challenged the prevalent system of monarchy to replace it with a republican form
of government (Bhandari, Sarma and Kutty 2015).
Low and sparse participation of women in politics can be justified by the lack of
education and poverty existing in the female members of Nepal. The state policy-making bodies
are the only place where a significant amount of women participation can be seen. To increase
the role of women in government decision-making, their activity in stake policy-making should
be encouraged. Through the political parties, women get a platform to raise their voice against
the discrimination they face in the society (Oestreich 2017). This gives them a chance to be
heard among masses and inspire other women citizens to join these parties and uplift themselves.
It can be observed that only 32 women are Members of Parliament which is very low as
compared to other countries in Southeast Asia (Baral 2016). There have been only three women
members in the leading political parties of Nepal such as Nepali Congress, RPP, and CPN. The
proposal of having 33% women members have been declined by the political parties (Mishra and
Sam 2016). There were only two women of special class out of 85 members in the Civil Services
of Nepal and that too about 5 years ago and rest of them were filled with men (Shrestha et al.

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2017). There is almost no representation of women in the government organizations, task forces
and constitutional bodies. This kind of discrimination exists because there is a natural mentality
of people that women should not be there in active politics in Nepal.
In recent years there has been a change in the perception of women in Nepal. After seeing
their active participation in the struggle for democracy, people have liberalized a bit in the
context of considering woman participation in active politics (Baral 2016). But still many people
are not convinced that women can make a difference and deserve equal seats at the table as men.
They are considered to be centered on “female issues” and haven’t got the respect which they
deserve.
Due to the patriarchal school of thought women of Nepal are not considered competent to
win elections. The issues raised by women in political parties, however generic they may be, are
considered to be women issues and are sidelined from the main agenda. With thetransition from
monarchy to democracy women of Nepal expected a change in their social status (Paudel and de
Araujo 2017). To some extent, their position has strengthened, but still, it is alongroad for them
to gain equal status as men in the Nepali society.
Challenges
 There is lack of control on the state mechanism of women politicians in Nepal.
 There is no availability or control over the resources of development in the hands of
women who can use them for their welfare and development especially in the field
of education.
 They are too busy in the household works and do not get time for political
participation, meeting and events (Mishra and Sam 2016).

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 Human rights of women, inclusiveness in society, and issues of women
empowerment discussed in international treaties and grants are absent.
 The main issues resulting in this condition of women in Nepal are deep-rooted in
the culture and customs of society which is very hard to tackle and change as it has
become a tradition in the Nepali society (Ahmad and Jaleel 2015).
 The patriarchal framework of society restricts men of Nepal to see the higher side
of women existence as they are taught to look down upon them as an instrument of
work and enjoyment.
 There are many hindrances in enhancing the literacy level of women in Nepal
which is one of the root causes of their downtrodden condition. Illiterate women
cannot survive in the political arena where men are waiting for them as vultures to
prey upon.
 Poverty, violence, poor health, low literacy rate, discrimination on the basis of caste
and religious fundamentalism adds up to the challenges(Shahabuddin et al. 2017).
 Women in Nepal are considered to be weak and it is believed that they need to be
protected and kept in front of the eyes. If any woman tries to go out and interact
with someone else then they are looked upon with contempt and suspicion and this
raises questionson the integrity of their character.
 There is an unbalanced relationship of power (Baral 2016).
Major Achievements
Some women leaders who have managed to make their name at the time of struggles are
looked upon as a sign of inspiration and as an example of the heights at which every woman of
Nepal can go. Those women have established their name and vision in a patriarchal society like

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Nepal which is a very big achievement in itself. These events have made the social, economic
and political outlook of women to develop for the future and their level of thought has taken a
leap since then (Bhandari, Sarma and Kutty 2015). These luminary women have paved the way
for other leaders to follow and bring a radical change in the social status of women of the entire
nation. In their tenure of office which some women had held have been very successful.
Moreover, there are many programs and days which are celebrated to encourage women
empowerment all across the globe. These symbolic events and days give some courage to the
suppressed women of Nepal to rise against the exploitation and do something significant in life.
National Women Commission in Nepal was registered in 2002, on the day of 92nd International
Women's Day (Ahmad and Jaleel 2015). Ministry of women, children and social welfare, and
National Women Commission has also promised to work for women empowerment.
Summary
From the above literature review, it can be concluded that the status of women of Nepal
is in wretched condition. Being a patriarchal society, it has no appreciation for the efforts of
women. Their work and life have been taken for granted and they are only there to service the
men on Nepal. There exists a great disparity in the social, economic and political aspects of
Nepali society for women. They lack basic amenities of rights, freedom, education, free will,
proper health, and protection. Men of Nepal consider them as an instrument of job and pleasure
and they are kept under needless boundations of society which are mostly orchestrated by the
men.
Work done by them is not considered to be economic activity and they are subjected to
poverty. Women have to do petty jobs to earn money for their household expenses and do their

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daily chores as well. They are denied of education and are made to lean the household work
under compulsion. As discussed above women of Nepal are subjected to violence which is very
common and rampant. They are abused verbally and emotionally quite frequently. They are not
considered as an equal in the political arena and are denied of important positions and portfolios
in government agencies.
It can be observed from the above review that male citizens of Nepal do not want women
to grow and prosper and make their life tough so that they cannot compete with them on any
stage. It can thus be concluded that there exists an intense issue of gender equality in Nepal
which should be minimized or rather eradicated for the welfare of their own country.

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