Nepal Now: On the Move
We're talking with the people migrating from, to, and within this Himalayan country located between China and India. You'll hear from a wide range of Nepali men and women who have chosen to leave the country for better work or education opportunities. Their stories will help you understand what drives people — in Nepal and worldwide — to mortgage their property or borrow huge sums of money to go abroad, often leaving their loved ones behind.
Despite many predictions, migration from Nepal has not slowed in recent years, except briefly during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. About 1 million Nepalis leave every year to work at jobs outside the country. Tens of thousands go abroad to study. Far fewer return to Nepal to settle. The money ('remittances') that workers send home to their families accounts for 25% of the country's GDP, but migration impacts Nepal in many other ways. We'll be learning from migrants, experts and others about the many cultural, social, economic and political impacts of migration.
Your host is Marty Logan, a Canadian journalist who has lived in Nepal's capital Kathmandu off and on since 2005. Marty started the show in 2020 as Nepal Now.
Nepal Now: On the Move
UPDATE 2: Another disappointment for Nepal’s rape law
Before we start, a warning: This episode discusses rape and might be disturbing for some listeners.
Kriti was raped regularly by her father and grandfather from the age of nine. When she was 15 she was finally able to report the violence at the police station in Dhulikhel, near Kathmandu. The legal term for rape in Nepali is a mouthful: ja-bar-jas-ti-ka-ra-ni. When a police officer, a woman, at the police station asked Kriti to recall the first time she was raped, she didn’t understand. She asked the officer what ‘jabarjasti karani’ meant. The woman in uniform scoffed, “If you don’t know what that means, why are you here?”
This shocking anecdote is told in an excellent article by Bhrikuti Rai about how the Nepal Police deals with rape cases. If you haven’t already read it, it provides painful insight into how victim-blaming adds insult to the injury suffered by rape survivors. The article was published in the Kathmandu Post on July 17, 2019.
I referred to it because in today’s episode we discuss in detail recent updates to Nepal’s rape law. I think it’s important when we’re delving into such minutiae that we don’t forget the people whose lives are shattered by this horrendous crime.
In the second half of 2020 numerous media reported about a disturbing rise in rape cases in the country. Activists hit the street to protest the violent crimes, and we devoted an episode to one such group. Early in 2021 the rape law was amended by a government ordinance, bypassing Parliament. We discussed its changes, and omissions, in an episode with lawyer Anita Thapaliya. And then last month, the ordinance lapsed because it hadn’t been approved by Parliament within the stipulated timeframe. The rape law reverted to the earlier version.
What happens now? Please listen to my chat with Indu Tuladhar, Advocate and Executive Chair of Himal Innovative Development and Research, to find out.
Let us know what you thought of this episode by connecting with the show on social media. We’re Nepal Now or Nepal Now pod, on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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I’m Marty Logan. I produced this show, and I’ll talk to you again soon.
Resources
Bhrikuti Rai article in the Kathmandu Post
Himal Innovative Development and Research (Facebook page)
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Music by audionautix.com.
Thank you to PEI in Bankhundole and Himal Media in Patan Dhoka for the use of their studio.
Nepal Now is produced and hosted by Marty Logan.
