Birth is a beginning…not an end, unlike how the Caste System in Nepal treats it.
The combination of a highly patriarchal society and an abysmally poor quality of education in Nepal means that boys and men view girls and women as inferior and treat them as such. One such example is viewing them as the culpable party for when they become victims of violence, as happened on social media over an incident involving the rape of an Australian woman by a Nepali man.
Sex, we are born with. Gender, however, is a social construct. Except, in Nepali society, that simple fact is NOT understood very well, mainly because of our very patriarchal and misogynistic society, and abysmally poor quality of education. But here's an opportunity for you to challenge and question your Nepali-culture inculcated ideas of what constitutes the female gender.
November 8, 2012: it had just been two days since the re-election of President Obama in the US. That day, I shared, on Facebook, how who is in the White House doesn't make a real difference to the US and the world. I argued that regardless of who is in that House in Washington DC, because the systems in place are completely rigged and those who control, run, and enforce them are corrupt, a significant percentage of the American and world population will continue to suffer.
Here's a reproduction of that Facebook post and the interesting discussion I had underneath it with friends, interesting especially now since the election of Trump to the same office!
Something I have been curious to learn more about for a while: Why are Nepalis so defensive when it comes to comments about, or criticisms of, their beliefs or cultural practices? And why is one of the objections always, "You can't view it through Western lenses"? Here's an example of one such instance which got me scratching my head...again.
Why do most of the contestants and winners of Miss Nepal beauty pageant belong to BCN (Bahun Chhetri Newar) trio of ethnicities?
My tentative answer is that they are the most privileged groups in the country, and the pageant is of the BCN, by the BCN, for the BCN!
This series is about Nepal needing a revolution…a revolution of the mind.
Here’s more of one of many MANY reasons why.