A recent report from the Leave No One Behind Consortium in Nepal has uncovered how gender discrimination continues to restrict access to higher education and vocational skills training for girls. This set of obstacles intersects with poverty and caste discrimination to create a series of traps for many women throughout Nepal.
“I am happy that we now have access to government officials. We feel closer to decision-making.”
The Story of Shrijana
Shrijana, aged 18, hails from the poor neighbourhood of ward ten in Lekhbesi Municipality, Surkhet District, Karnali province, Nepal. Shrijana’s family is of the Dalit. The Dalit, according to National Dalit Commission (NDC), due to caste-based discrimination, are one of the most excluded communities from social, economic, educational, political and religious fields, and they are deprived of human dignity and social justice.
After completing Grade 12, Shrijana’s parents – like many parents in both rural and urban Nepal – considered it more important for her twin brother Aashish to pursue higher education, and they did not raise fees for her vocational skills training. Facing poverty, Shrijana entered into early marriage to Umang, also from the Dalit, who is a poor and struggling informal trader.
When she became pregnant, Shrijana could not afford adequate antenatal health care, and she missed out on crucial medicine and nutritional advice for her pregnancy and delivery. Gender-based discrimination also means that many Dalit women lack knowledge about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. All these factors work against safe motherhood.
Shrijana eventually gave birth to baby Maya. She was born with a physical disability and experienced stunted growth. Incensed by Maya’s disability, Umang became physically and verbally abusive. “There is no history of disability in my blood,” he repeatedly yelled at Shrijana. “You’ve brought me this curse and shame!