Women of Nepal

Soma Rai

General Secretary of the National Indigenous Women Federation
Coordinator for the Committee for Promotion to the Right of Indigenous People
Chairperson of Nepal Kirant Rai Mahila Sangh
Member of National Development Council in National Planning Commission

Born in December 1950, in Malapath, Ilam district
Soma Rai is a retired teacher, an indigenous leader and an activist. Through her efforts she now enjoys a comfortable life, but wishes to continue to work towards making all women from indigenous nationalities in Nepal as capable and skilful as she.

Rai passed her School Leaving Certificate at Saraswoti Kanya High School in 1965.
She studied her intermediate course at Mahendra Ratna Campus in Ilam and
completed her bachelor's degree in the faculties of Humanities and Education from Thakur Ram Campus in Birgunj in 1978.

Beginning her career at Saraswoti Padma Adarsha Higher Secondary School as a lower secondary teacher in 1968, Rai continued to study at Mahendra Ratna Campus. After completing her bachelor's degree, she was promoted to high school teacher and began teaching at Shree Higher Secondary School Nagoul, Jitpur in Bara district. It was there she was appointed assistant headmaster.

Rai came to Kathmandu in 1989 where she worked as an English teacher in Tripureshwor's Bishwa Niketan High School for twelve years, while also participating in various activities organised by indigenous groups.

While in Ilam, Rai had actively participated in cultural programs of indigenous Rai people. She said the 'Dewan' family was well known for organizing cultural programs and other activities in her village. She was very attached to the local Rais and always enjoyed performing in cultural programs. When she moved to Kathmandu she participated in Shakela Silly, a festival celebrated by the Kirant community twice yearly; the first celebration marking the time before crop cultivation and the second after crop harvesting. That is how Rai came to be involved in working for the rights of indigenous people.

She was very active, participating in different programmes, seminars, gatherings and meetings to share her ideas and experiences. In 1995 she worked as secretary of Kathmandu district's Kirat Rai Yayokhya, an organization of Rais, for two years. During her involvement in different indigenous organizations, she read many books and came to understand indigenous women were discriminated against in three ways - firstly for being Nepali women, secondly for belonging to an indigenous community, and thirdly for being indigenous women.

Nepal's government has identified and recognized only 59 indigenous groups in the country. Indigenous people make up over half the country's population, yet according to data published from the 2001 census, this percentage is 37.5. Despite their large numbers, indigenous women are discriminated against and harassed in many ways. They are rarely included in bodies to make government plans and policies.

According to Rai, "I was aware of the problems of indigenous women in 1997 and, along with other women activists, I felt the need to have an organization which would work especially with indigenous women to empower them, to advocate and create awareness of their rights."

Rai became inspired after meeting Bom Kumari Buda Magar, an indigenous women leader from Rolpa district who has been working to preserve the Magar culture through her NGO. Rai and Buda Magar, as well as Dr Chanda Bajracharya, Yashokanti Bhattachan, Bimala Sunwar, Stella Tamang and Binita Chaudhari registered the National Indigenous Women's Federation (NIWF) in 1999. Before the federation could be established, the seven women needed to have their own separate organizations. Therefore they formed the Nepal Magar Women's Association, the Sunwar Women's Association, the Nepal Kirat (Rai) Women's Association, and the Nepal Tamang Ghedung, which they then merged to become the NIWF. Rai was president of Nepal Kirat (Rai) Women's Association.

In Nepal, social exclusion based on gender, caste, ethnicity, language, religion and culture has continued unabated for centuries due to Brahmanism, patriarchy, monarchy and unitary state. "We, indigenous women, had to face multiple forms of social exclusion. Indigenous women were excluded, not only on the basis of gender but also on the bases of our ethnicity, language, religion and culture," Rai said.

"Indigenous people of the Terai experience regional discrimination. It is a known fact the state has not yet recognized the identity as Adivasi Janajati (Indigenous Nationalities) women as they lump us together under the homogenous category of 'Nepali Women'."

Rai explained the focus of the organization. "The main goal behind establishing the federation was to ensure the rights of indigenous women for equal participation in the national development process of the country with their distinct identification as indigenous women." At the same time, the main objective to form NIWF was to advocate for the identification of the indigenous women as a separate group of people contributing to the country's nation-building process.

Of 59 indigenous nationalities listed by the government, 29 indigenous women's organizations are affiliated under the NIWF and it has established coordination councils in 24 districts. Rai was elected general secretary of the NIWF in 2006's third convention.

After the federation was established, most members began looking after their own village area. Rai received the responsibility to look after districts in eastern Nepal, such as Ilam and Jhapa. She provided training programs for indigenous women to help find ways to improve their situation and make them aware of their rights in an effort to inform and empower the women about their place in Nepal.

Rai said, "There is great diversity among women themselves, yet women don't know about it. Therefore, I am trying to make indigenous women aware about their own situation and their issues." She visited Kamaiya women in Rajapur, and Badi women in Banke to become acquainted with their problems.

Rai took part in discussions when the Nepali government and indigenous groups held talks. In 2007, various indigenous groups, including the NIWF and the biggest indigenous organization in Nepal, the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), launched an agitation program demanding rights for indigenous people. On August 7, 2007 they finally signed a 20-point agreement with the government after ten rounds of negotiations, an agreement in which the Nepali government assured a seat would be reserved in the Constituent Assembly (CA) for at least one representative from each of the officially recognized 59 indigenous groups.

Rai is currently a member of the National Development Council in the National Planning Commission. While organizing programs, she discovered Nepal was very backward in terms of education. Even small children must walk several hours to reach their schools. In addition, children are taught in Nepali (Khas) language, which is not well understood by students from indigenous communities. These and other issues have lead to high drop-out rates among indigenous children at primary level, in comparison with Chhetris and Brahmins.

According to Rai, language is the main barrier for indigenous students. She laid emphasis on the need for education in different indigenous languages at primary level. The government follows a 'tri-language policy', in which three languages should be validated to execute any government work. The first is English, the second Nepali, and the third is the language of the specific indigenous group.

Rai feels education in one's mother tongue is very important for children from indigenous nationalities. "I have been giving suggestions in different committees in the CA to impart education in their own languages. People used to discriminate against us both for being indigenous and for being women. Not only did ordinary people not want to listen to us, but neither did leaders from various political parties. The Convention Against Racial Discrimination has sent a warning letter to the Nepali government to form a thematic committee from the representative organizations of indigenous nationalities, but the government has remained mum to this matter."

Of the CA's 601 members, 218 belong to indigenous nationalities, of which 97 are women. However, neither men nor women members talk about indigenous women's rights. "They follow their party's orders. Without prior permission of their party they can speak nothing, therefore our issues are not being raised in the CA too."

Rai thinks indigenous women are still in search of their identity and their position in the state, therefore the new constitution should make their rights clear. "If women from indigenous groups hold important positions in all four state organs - judiciary, legislative, executive and journalism - only then can they ensure their rights."

Written by Kokila Khadka K.C