Women of Nepal

Ramrati Ram Chamar

Member of the Constituent Assembly, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
Member of the Central Committee of the All Nepal Women Association

Born in 1966, in Malhanwa VDC of Saptari district

Every person who wishes to achieve a significant position in life has to be prepared to encounter struggle along the way. But Ramrati Ram's story proves that women are bound to face more problems than men in order to become someone. All those who have become members of the Constituent Assembly have their own stories of struggle, however women members have surely crossed bigger barriers and thus made bigger achievements. Ramrati is one of them, her struggles made worse as she is a woman who belongs to the Chamar community, considered to be the 'Dalits of Dalits'.

The traditional job of Chamar men was to throw bodies of domestic animals away and to make various goods such as shoes, sandals and bags from leather of those dead animals. Chamar women used to work as helpers of village women delivering babies. But after the successful movement of Chamars to boycott their job of throwing animal bodies in Siraha and Saptari districts Chamar youths quitted the traditional works and began to work as daily-waged laborers and to go abroad seeking better jobs. Ramrati Ram was one of leaders who led this movement which was the first such one, in which all members of Dalits got united to fight for their rights. As the products of this movement the Dalit Commission was formed by the government and the law to punish anybody who forces Chamar throw animal bodies away was also constituted.

Ramrati joined the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) in 1993. A short time after the 1990 political change, the major political parties (the UML, the Nepali Congress, the Rashtriya Prajatantra Pary and the Jana Morcha Nepal) were openly working in her village. After observing the activities and ideology of those political parties Ramrati decided to follow the leftist ideology of the UML. She said, "I felt that the UML is more sensitive about the issues of Dalits, women and poor people than other political parties. In those days there was a feudalistic master system in our village which I really didn't like. I was thinking how I could organize the people to fight such traditional customs."

Living the life of a politician in the Tarai as a woman and as a leader belonging to one of the lowest castes was a struggle beyond imagination. Ramrati became a target not only for rival party activists, but also those locals who do not tolerate any change in the orthodox social structure. "I cannot even remember how many times I had to undergo torture after joining the party. The villagers even beat me under the charge of being a 'leader'. But I never gave up my duty for the community. And now I believe the party has evaluated my contribution," she said.

The 42 year-old thinks having the opportunity to become a Constituent Assembly member after 20 years of political life is a continuation of the struggle. "I don't mean to say that only I gave continuity. But there may not be any person who reached the assembly through struggle like me."

The people in Ramrati's village would not tolerate a Dalit woman involved in politics and almost beat her to death. She was also confined to her house by villagers on many occasions. "People beat me asking why a daughter of Chamar needs a political party. I was tortured both physically and mentally," she said. The maltreatment Ramrati suffered continued even after she became a ward chairman in 1997, when she was badly beaten up. Remembering the struggles in those days, Ramrati said many of her friends who were active in politics have abandoned it as they failed to resist pressure from the villagers.

Another reason behind her struggle was the fact that she also belonged to the Madhesi community. It was not easy for a Madhesi Dalit woman to work in the political field two decades ago. She worked first for women's rights and then for Dalits' rights. Only then could she work on the party's line.

Thanks to her continuous struggle and contribution to society the situation has changed, at least in her surroundings. "Those people who were involved in beating me in charge of 'doing' politics now come to me to seek my help or suggestions. I take it as a big change in my society," she said.

"Now there are various organizations working in different communities for equality and social dignity, through which people like Dalits and women can raise their voices. After having witnessed a big change in our society, people now understand that there is little difference between the rich and the poor; all people work for their bread. Look, I have never imagined that I, as a daughter of Chamar, would become a member of Parliament, but I did. This is a big change. Still, the class society and racial discrimination or untouchability has not yet been eradicated completely from Nepali society. This means there are lots of things to be done for Constituent Assembly members like me."

Born in Malhanwa Village Development Committee of Siraha district, Ramrati had a miserable childhood, much like many other girls in the Tarai's Dalit community. She was not allowed to go to school and forced to marry at an early age. "First, the economic condition of my family was too poor to maintain my schooling. Earnings of my parents were not even enough for our clothes and foods. Furthermore, in the Madhesi community there was not a custom to send daughters to school. It was beyond imagination for a girl child of the Dalit community in Madhes to be enrolled in a school."

Ramrati's elder and younger brother had the privilege of going to school. Her elder brother later became a teacher in Saptari district. "So it was not only the money which forbids the parents sending their daughter to school. Because I was a girl I could not go to a school. There is still discrimination against daughters, so you can imagine the condition some 30 to 40 years ago," she said.

Ramrati married at the age of 13 or 14, yet remained at her parents' house for several years, which was normal practice in those days. After five or six years, she again "married" the same man. This was a normal custom (known as Dinguna), but is now no longer in practice. Her husband is also uneducated, and works as a farmer, living with their two sons and daughter in a village in Siraha, while she lives in a rented house in Kathmandu. Ramrati said her husband and other members of the family supported her. "I would not have been here if my family had not supported me. As my husband and children helped me I didn't have to struggle in the family. In that sense I was lucky," she said.

Ramrati has witnessed a visible change in society's perspective toward women. For example, people once believed a girl child should not be sent to school. "Still, I have to say that it is not completely changed. Lots of things have to be changed. I still see discrimination in all houses, whether willingly or unwillingly, women and girls are treated differently."

She is of the belief that to end gender-based discrimination women should first come forward by themselves. The stories of all high-profile women show this. There could be many men who achieve success without struggle, but few women could be found like that. "I believe that most of the 197 women members of the Constituent Assembly have passed similar phases of struggle. So women must keep building their capacity, and at the same time should continue taking part in the women's movement," she stressed, adding that women should remind the state for equal participation of women in all sectors.

At the same time, Ramrati also said men should show concern for women's issues. All should reject the old way of thinking it is only women who need to fight for their rights. In order to develop Nepal itself, it first must develop its women, as it is  women who will keep the country on the right track. "For that leaders of political parties should be more serious. The state should give facilities to women, especially, in the fields of education and health. Without education women will not know about their rights." 

She gives the example of dowry. Although illegal, many women are being abused because of the amount of dowry she brings to her husband's house. Some are even murdered. Still, women keep silent, and neither report their cases to the police nor seek legal support as they aren't aware that demanding a dowry is an illegal act. Most cases which reach the administration office are due to the efforts of local human rights organizations. "All these happen due to lack of education. They are still not aware that such acts are a violation of law. That is why I always stress the need for education," she said.

Ramrati admits every society may have villainous persons, harmful traditions and customs. Such persons or customs cannot be changed easily. For this, victims should first raise their voices, and the state should bring special programs for the poor, Dalits, women and other marginalized people.

Ramrati has urged all members of the Constituent Assembly to rethink these issues. Firstly, laws should be made to secure the rights of women. However, attention needs to be made to ensure these laws are implemented. The Constituent Assembly has declared that 33% of seats should be occupied by women in all state structures, however state agencies have failed to implement this.

"Constituting a law and its implementation are two sides of a coin. They are equally important. We are now in a position to draft laws, but we alone cannot do anything if all concerned sectors do not do the rest sincerely. I urge all to raise issues of our concern to establish equality between men and women," she stressed.

Written by Laxmi Basnet