– SHASTA Kansakar

Almost half of Nepali women of reproductive age use contraceptive measures. Condoms, morning-after pills, and intrauterine devices (IUD) are a commonality for contemporary Nepalis. Having these choices and access to contraceptives is crucial for reproductive healthcare and empowerment. This allows for ease of family planning as well as sexual liberation. It is great that Nepal has reached many milestones with regard to reproductive health, for example meeting MDGs and SDGs. However, it is to be noted that women bear the brunt of using contraceptives over men. 

In 2019, 47 percent of Nepali women aged 15 to 49 reportedly used permanent or temporary contraceptives. These contraceptive methods commonly included female sterilization, birth control pills, IUDs, injectables, implants, and female condoms for women while men used condoms or underwent sterilization. Most of these contraceptives – bar condoms – are either injected or ingested, making them invasive procedures. According to a 2016 study, 28 percent of Nepali women relied on sterilization, 17 percent on injectables, nine percent on birth control pills, six percent on implants, and three percent on IUDs. In contrast, only ten percent of men had undergone sterilization. As per this data, women largely endure invasive procedures over men. Such temporary contraceptives for women largely affect their quality of life due to the side effects. On the other hand, for men, there are no temporary birth control measures aside from condoms in the market. 

Women often report mood changes, weight gain, nausea, migraines, thinning hair, and irregular periods as a few of the side effects of contraceptives. Studies have also concluded that hormonal contraceptives could lead to severe conditions like depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Dr. Heera Tuladhar, head of gynecology and obstetrics at KIST Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu says that these side effects depend on the age and pre-existing conditions of the individuals. For instance, older women tend to experience more side effects. Similarly, while less than ten percent of women may be severely affected by hormonal contraceptives, progestin-only pills like Depo-Provera may lead to bleeding problems. Estrogen and progestin-based contraceptives like pills may lead to heart problems. As further mentioned by Dr. Tuladhar, only a small portion of women may experience severe reactions. Nonetheless, the minor side effects also impact the quality of life of many users and hence should not be ignored. Ironically, there have been many studies speculating whether the negative effects of women’s contraceptives are placebo or not. This is frustrating because not only do women overwhelmingly use contraceptives that intrude on their bodies, but their concerns are also brushed off and understudied by academics. Moreover, holistic research on the physical, mental, and sexual well-being of contraceptive users is acutely lacking. Sex is viewed as a purely biological process instead of a recreational one that intertwines with one’s social or familiar life. So, the sexual functioning or libido and the emotional state and burden of contraceptive-using women should be studied beyond medical side effects. 

The emotional aspect in particular is also gravely undermined. Despite the ubiquity of contraceptives, it is still taboo to speak about them openly. This puts a mental burden on women, especially unmarried ones. There are many instances of gynecologists slut-shaming unmarried women for their sexual choices. It can hence be difficult for women to speak about their experiences with their peers and even medical professionals, isolating them from the support they might need. 

Moving forward, Dr. Tuladhar hopes that newer contraceptives will have low doses and high efficacy. On the other hand, she says that healthcare providers should create a safe space for contraceptive users to express their discomfort. They should also not discriminate against unmarried women and prioritize the needs of the patients instead. In addendum, it is only proper to mention that contraceptives still have not saturated their reach in certain parts of Nepal. That being said, the ones who do have access to contraceptives should receive the care that they deserve. So perhaps it is high time we reflect on the physical and emotional impact it has on women, and the way forward in research and in society to enhance the experience of contraceptive users.

This blog is a part of NIPoRe’s blog series on Women’s History Month 2023

– BIJAY Khadka

In Nepal, the role of women in the economy has undergone a significant transformation in the past four decades. Census data from different years shows that the participation of women in the labor force has increased and the gender gap in labor force participation has decreased.

According to the most recent census of 2021, 72 percent of men over the age of ten are economically active, which means that they were either employed or seeking employment. The figure, on the other hand,  stands at 60.4 percent for women. While the gender gap in economic activity is persistent, results from the previous censuses show that the economic participation of women has undergone a significant increase over time. Between 1971 and 2021, the percentage of the female population over the age of ten who are economically active has increased from 29.2 to 60.4 percent.

One of the major reasons for the increase in women’s economic activity in Nepal is education. Over the years, there has been a significant improvement in women’s education in the country. In 1981, only 9.15 percent of Nepali women were literate, which increased to 34.8 percent in 2001 and further to 48.8 percent in 2011. It now stands at  69.4 percent in 2021. The increase in literacy rates has resulted in more women joining the labor force.

Another reason for the increase in women’s economic activity is the growth of the service sector in Nepal. According to the 2021 Census, the service sector has become the second largest employer for females in the country with approximately 309,944 females employed following agriculture, forestry & fishery.  The service sector includes jobs in fields such as hospitality, tourism, healthcare, education, and information technology. There has hence been the creation of additional employment opportunities across varying skills making them more accessible to women.

There is still a big difference between men and women when it comes to jobs. Only 24.5 percent of employers are female, out of the total employees 36.2 percent of them were females. Females make up less than one-third of government jobs. But in financial corporations, around  44.9 percent of the workers are female. Of those that participated in household work as an economic activity, 51.0 percent were females.

The census has also considered work that is not typically considered economic activities. Female involvement is found to be significantly higher in such activities. For instance, of the population involved in family care, 77.4 percent were females. Likewise, 87.4 percent of females who were not economically active during the 12 months preceding the survey, cited household chores as the main reason.

Despite the increase in women’s economic activity, there are still significant barriers to their participation in the labor force. One of the primary barriers is social norms and cultural expectations. Women in Nepal are still expected to prioritise their household responsibilities and care work over their professional pursuits. This expectation often makes it challenging for women to pursue their careers.

Furthermore, there are still significant barriers to women’s education in Nepal, particularly in rural areas. They are often expected to drop out of school early to help with household chores, and there are inadequate resources to support their education. Out of total “female students” graduates that completed graduation level or equivalent only 41.4 percent were “from rural municipalities, whereas 29.8 percent of females reported having completed postgraduate or equivalent from the rural municipalities.

In conclusion, the census data from the past four decades indicates that women’s economic activity in Nepal has increased significantly. However, the gender gap in labor force participation continues to persist. To achieve gender equality in the workforce, it is crucial to address the barriers to women’s education and employment, including social norms and cultural expectations. Empowering women through education and skills development can result in significant improvements in women’s economic participation and their contribution to the country’s economic growth.

This blog is a part of NIPoRe’s blog series on Women’s History Month 2023

– ANUSHA Basnet

The political representation of women in Nepal has improved markedly since the overthrow of the monarchy and the implementation of a federal system. Legal provisions implemented by the Government of Nepal can be largely attributed to this increase in women’s political representation. Article 84 of the Constitution of Nepal states that at least one-third of the total women elected in the federal parliament need to be women. In terms of the local level, Section 17(4) of the Local Level Election Act 2017 states that a political party must field a woman in either the mayor/ chairperson or deputy mayor/ vice-chairperson position. It is also legally mandatory to appoint a female ward member and a Dalit female ward member at the ward level. While all these provisions have ensured the political participation and representation of women, the past two elections have shown that there is still work needed to be done with regard to the proper implementation of these provisions so that meaningful political participation of women can be ascertained. 

In the 2017 local-level elections, 40.95 percent of the total elected representatives were women. There was a slight improvement in 2022 with women being 41.21 percent of the total elected representatives. However, in both elections, the target set to achieve 50 percent representation of women was not met. In addition, to fulfill the legal provisions political parties ended up fielding a large number of women as candidates for Deputy positions in 2017. In contrast, in 2022, due to the political parties forming coalitions, only one candidate was fielded by one political party in mayor/ chief and deputy positions which could be either of the genders. Because of this, the tickets went largely to male candidates while drastically decreasing the number of female candidates. The nominations reflect this – while 3593 women were nominated as deputy chiefs in 2017, 3077 women were nominated as deputy chiefs in 2022 (Data from Election Commission). Furthermore, while it is mandatory for all ward levels to have one Dalit women member, 176 units and 123 units in 2017 and in 2022, respectively, did not field Dalit women candidates.

These incidents show that creating legal provisions is not enough to ensure the participation of women, rather, constant supervision is needed to ensure the correct implementation of the legal provisions. Although the Election Commission has been active in responding to the concerns raised regarding women’s participation in the electoral system, it has still been one step behind with its decisions coming after loopholes have been utilised by the parties. Women’s rights activists and legal experts are the ones who have been raising the alarm on this trend of political parties utilising legal loopholes to shaft women in their nomination and offered positions. Few female cadres and leaders have also raised their voices against their party’s reluctance to give candidacies to women. 

In 2017, the political parties were criticised for giving women candidacies in only deputy/vice-chairperson positions. In 2022, parties were again criticised for using coalitions to give candidacy only to male candidates. In the case of Dalit women representatives, a major criticism remains that parties only look for Dalit women to field as candidates during election time. 

While the public and activists can draw the attention of political parties to the task, the onus remains on political parties to encourage the political participation of women from grassroot level and to fulfill and even exceed the provisions as guaranteed by the constitution. Unless the political parties take lead on this issue, women’s political participation and representation will always be on the margins.

This blog is a part of NIPoRe’s blog series on Women’s History Month 2023

– ANKUR Shrestha

Historically, women’s participation in the tech sector has been remarkably low due to the patriarchal classification of jobs. As a consequence, it led societies to believe that men automatically belong to the fields such as IT while leaving a very narrow space for women. This has caused only a few women to study and subsequently enter the tech sector.

Nevertheless, this is changing, as it rightly should. According to Deloitte Global, the tech industry is making steady progress in shrinking its gender gap. In 2019, overall female representation in large global technology firms was 30.8 percent. Deloitte estimated that women’s share in the overall global tech workforce increased by 6.9 percent from 2019 to 2022. Public commitments by large tech companies to improve gender diversity also aided this increase. Intel, for example, aims to double the number of women and underrepresented minorities in senior leadership roles by 2030. Similarly, HP pledged to reach 50 percent gender equality in roles at the director level and above by 2030.

In Nepal, we see a similar upsurge. According to Nepal’s 2011 census, only 1,117 females studied computing while the number increased to 11,078 in 2021. This shows a monumental increase of about 892 percent in female students in the tech sector during the ten-year period. It also beats the overall increase in students studying computing which amounts to more than 668 percent which is significant by itself as well.

Conversations with women professionals working in Nepal’s tech sector show that one major reason for this uptick is that IT has set itself as an industry better suited for women workers. However, our societal structure has for long had restrictions for women to work (especially after marriage), restricts economic freedom, deems late office working hours as unsafe, treats periods as taboo, considers men as primary breadwinners, and puts less value on women workers. The IT sector provides a workaround for many of these societal issues. Asmita Bajracharya, Product Manager at Innovate Tech says that work in the IT sector can usually be done from home and has flexible work timings, project-based pay, space for freelance work, and a relatively higher pay scale compared to other industries. All these, therefore, she believes make the sector one of the best for working women in Nepal. 

However, the IT sector is also rife with issues depending on which company you analyse or whom you talk to. IT startups are particularly problematic while established companies usually have stringent policies in place. However, we see such discrimination usually persist in smaller and newer companies even within the IT sector. Additionally, smaller companies generally have issues such as longer working hours, and no set leave policies. Nepal’s Labour Act 2017, Chapter 7 Section 33, also requires arrangements for transportation to and from the workplace in employing a female where the working hours begin after sunset or before sunrise. Advocate Sadikshya Maharjan says that this particular section, while well-intentioned, can also cause smaller companies to discriminate in hiring women as they are not able to provide these services.

Another area of the Labor Act, Chapter 2 Section 7, prohibits discrimination in remuneration for equal work. However, unequal pay issues continue to persist in the sector. IT companies are usually structured around payment through projects. Therefore, discrimination while assigning job responsibilities leads to a vicious cycle where companies assign lesser-paying projects to women, leading to lower performances in performance reviews. This subsequently leads to less pay and lower chances of promotion resulting in more incidences of discrimination. Ojaswi Poudel, currently a Software Engineer at Cotiviti, says that she faced such blatant discrimination in one of her previous workplaces. However, she believes having women in senior positions in the company can help break this cycle. She also sees the need for senior women mentors so that younger women have someone to look up to and gain more confidence in this field. She says she does not face such issues in her current company which is more structured, has proper mentorship, and has clear payment policies.

Sadhana Gurung shares similar advantages in her company. Gurung who works at Leapfrog Technology currently as a Software Engineer, QA has proper mentorship models, flexible timings, as well as opportunities for growth in her company. This might also be one of the reasons why it is easier to get more motivation from peers and have women-friendly policies at the office. She also notes how despite fewer women currently working in IT, even clients and senior management are happy to see women workers, are welcoming, and provide proper career guidance.

While it would be a generalisation to say that there is very less discrimination based on only three experiences, trends do point towards more inclusion and provisions of a more equitable working environment for women in tech. With more women choosing the tech sector for their studies and work, and established companies having non-discriminatory policies, the tech sector in Nepal seems to be slightly ahead of the curb than other workplaces in Nepal. A study by McKinsey research showed that the most diverse companies are 48 percent more likely to outperform the least gender-diverse companies. It is then to the benefit of everyone to create a more gender-diverse workplace. There is more to still do to achieve gender parity but the tech sector in Nepal definitely seems to be heading in the right direction.

This blog is a part of NIPoRe’s blog series on Women’s History Month 2023.

– SANTOSH Sharma Poudel

“An ambassador is not just an emissary but a bridge, a mediator between cultures and countries.” – Robert Blackwill

Ambassadors are among the key cogs in the conduct of diplomacy. They are responsible for promoting their respective countries’ national interests, negotiating and navigating with policymakers, providing information and recommendations based on ground information, facilitating diplomatic and economic relations, and promoting the home countries in the host countries, among others. Essentially, they are the face of their home countries and the bridge to the host countries.

Besides their roles, the ‘face’ of the ambassadors can also be a source of signaling. For example, the profile of the ambassadors appointed could hint at the importance of the country and the kind of image the home country would like to project abroad. 

I have briefly analyzed what ambassadors’ ‘faces’ hint at in this article from a gendered lens. To do so, I have looked at the resident ambassadors from foreign countries to Nepal, including the UN country representative (or the last ambassador if there is no ambassador currently appointed, and current Nepali ambassadors stationed in Nepali embassies abroad from a gendered lens. The summary is just a snapshot of the scenario and not a trend. Hence, this should not be over-generalized or extrapolated to analyze the ‘face’ of specific countries across time and space. Also, the article does not compare the effectiveness of the roles performed by ambassadors of various genders, though that is an area for further research.

The following table provides the summary:

The table shows that eight of the 26 resident foreign ambassadors in Kathmandu (including the UN Country representative) are women. The women ambassadors account for one in three resident ambassadors. Among the OECD members (including the UN), half of the 12 ambassadors are women. Sri Lanka and Egypt are the only two women ambassadors from non-OECD countries. The UN and the OECD members have been at the forefront of promoting gender equality in Nepal. Their appointment of ambassadors reflects that message. 

On the other side, Nepal has 30 embassies abroad and three permanent UN missions. Of the 33 ambassadors, only three are women. In other words, Nepal has appointed ten men ambassadors for every one woman ambassador. This shows that, despite government policies, men dominate Nepal’s diplomacy. The three women ambassadors are appointed to the OECD member countries (Israel, South Korea, and Spain). It could be because Nepal wants to portray progress made on gender equality in those advanced countries which largely provide aid in the sector.

Nepal has taken critical legal steps to ensure women’s representation in the political, bureaucratic, and social arena. Despite the efforts, most areas are highly male-dominated with some token women representation. Even at the MoFA, the senior posts (joint secretaries) are men-dominated. In this context, the lower number of women ambassadors only reflects the limited presence of women in diplomacy. Women’s presence is also negligible among the ‘foreign policy experts’ outside formal diplomacy.

In this context, the government should prioritize the appointment of women ambassadors based on political affiliation/expertise to compensate for the numerical gap at the senior level in the MoFA until MoFA becomes more representative at the senior level. It is high time that Nepal’s face is represented abroad by ‘representative’ ambassadors.

This blog is a part of NIPoRe’s blog series on Women’s History Month 2023.

– SAGOON Bhetwal

Nepali women have played pivotal roles in various initiatives across communities throughout the country. Their participation has been significant to foster social and community development as they have worked across different fields from building collectives to protecting nature. The blog discusses three cases that are evident to show how women have been the drivers of community changes in Nepal.

Women as Community Forest Preservers

Nepal has been implementing the community forestry program for more than four decades. The program, initiated in the late 1980s, has been able to grow with 22,266 community forest user groups throughout the country. Earlier, policy provisions advocated for 33 percent participation of women within the community forestry programs. While their participation saw a slow start in the beginning years, it has now surged beyond expectation in the Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs). According to Pandey and Pokhrel (2021), after the amendment of the policy provision from 33 percent to 50 percent of women’s participation to be in the executive committees of the CFUGs, the women’s proportion significantly increased beyond 50 percent to date. This shows that women have been leading the efforts to manage and conserve forests across their communities in Nepal. However, given their role as primary users and their participation in natural resource management, the question remains on opportunities provided to them for proactive executive leadership roles within the existing user committees. 

Women as Female Health Care Volunteers

The Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV) program was initiated by the government of Nepal in FY 1988/1989. These volunteers throughout the last decades have been at the forefront to provide essential basic health care services such as family planning, polio campaigns, maternal and child health programs, immunisation programs, and health education, to name a few. More than 50,000 women across the country today serve as volunteers and act as a bridge between families, communities, and public health facilities. Nepal’s advancement in health, especially in meeting the MDGs and SDGs, can largely be attributed to the proactiveness and consistent contribution of these women. Efforts for polio eradication and other initiatives have been successful through their local leadership. Their contribution to reducing maternal mortality (MM) in Nepal can be taken as an example. MM reduced from 539 in 1996 to 239 per 100,000 live births in 2016. To make this possible, FCHVs have acted as the closest contact in communities and are comparatively affordable for disadvantaged communities which makes them the easiest to reach for services and referrals. Moving forward, it is most important to better recognize their contribution and plan incentives for their continuous participation.

Women as Community Organizers

Ama Samuhas – also known as Mother’s Groups – are the informal organizing of women across grassroots communities in Nepal. Women voluntarily come together to create platforms for dialogue, initiate social awareness programs, organise cultural events, and create mutual funds. They have become the quickest and easiest contact mechanisms, especially for women, during times of difficulty. These groups, majorly, led by women and mothers, give them ample opportunities to form collectives for larger community welfare. They have been successful in creating safe communal platforms where they can exercise power and experience a certain level of independence and autonomy. They especially organise to raise awareness against social issues in their localities that otherwise hamper their basic rights. Additionally, these women also contribute to infrastructural development by leading and assisting in construction and repair works. Hence, with changing scenarios, mother’s groups have also adapted themselves to the local prevailing situations and contributed to diverse needs on issues ranging from infrastructural development to social reforms.

Women and their activeness in local community initiatives have in such ways been remarkable. Nepali women, despite the engraved patriarchal values of Nepali society, have defied the odds and been present at the forefronts of change time and again. The leadership roles that they have showcased have undoubtedly inspired the next generation of young people, especially women, and girls. It is now also our responsibility to acknowledge their leadership, provide what they deserve for their efforts, and better plan the continuation of what they have initiated.

This blog is a part of NIPoRe’s blog series on International Women’s Month 2023.