Nepalis on average are a closed and inward looking people. And because of that, when the proverbial mirror is held in front of them, offended, disappointed, or not liking what is reflected back, they generally shatter the mirror. In this blog post, I document one such example from Twitter.
There are many many consequences of Nepali society being highly patriarchal and stratified. The Bhramanical patriarchal system stratified along caste lines, for example, has resulted in high caste Hindu men having a monopoly over in position of power and influence. Being there for as long as they have been, they have established a culture that works for them, a culture based, among other things, their arrogance. In blog post, I share one example of how that arrogance translates into what otherwise would be a professional relationship and professional interactions.
In Nepal, respect for teachers and administrators is instilled in student through the threat of violence, i.e. fear! That, of course, is despicable, just as Albert Camus says. Getting students to respect teachers is easy: just show them respect by listening to them.
A society has a long way to go when people have or take a bigger issue with those highlighting, or expounding on, the issues than with the issues themselves. Nepal is one of those societies. I am sure there are a number of different reasons behind that, but here are some reasons. If we are to make social progress, we must be able to have honest exchanges and conversations about the myriad issues our society is plagued by.
The fifth one in the series about Nepal needing a revolution…a revolution of the mind.
Here’s more of one of many MANY reasons why.
"Khutta tanne prabidhi" is the Nepalis' tendency to and practice of not only pulling others more "successful" down, but also actively preventing others from accessing that which may make them successful. Here are two origin myths that apparently explain how it started and affirm that practice!
While, for the hill so-called high caste Hindus, Dassain is the biggest religious festival, for many others, it--along with a lot of the other things--is a symbol of suppression and oppression their ancestors suffered from. So, if, as a high caste, your sentiments are hurt by protests against it, I invite you to reflect and imagine how much and how long the sentiments of others and their ancestors must have been hurt by the suppression of, for example, their festivals.
This is another #LifeEh observation but about other people's lives, not mine. The observation comes from the lives of two gay men from my old school of St. Xavier's Jawalakhel in Kathmandu and their very divergent fates.
Raise a child by beating her, the sense of unfairness and the mental agony accompanying it will not only inflict trauma in the child, she'll lose respect for you. Raise a child by showing her respect, by listening to her, she'll grow up learning what respect means and will, in turn, respect you.
An example of a little thing that matters but Nepalis don't care much about and as a consequence of which suffer in big ways!