Women of Nepal

Uma Devi Badi

Coordinator of the Badi Struggle Committee

Born in 1964 in Salyan district

Many Nepali people may not know who Badis are and those who do recognize them in a particular way, that is, as the people whose women members are involved in the sex-trade and mothers who rarely know the names of their children's fathers. Badi women have been discriminated against in various ways in Nepali society. Born a woman in such a community, Uma Badi has struggled and fought for her people's social dignity and equal rights for a long time. Owing to the movement led by Uma, Badis finally got consideration as citizens. It was during the Badi movement in the capital in 2007 Uma's name came to be known across the country through various media. One cannot talk about the Badi movement without mentioning her name. She now works as coordinator of the Badi Struggle Committee. She is also a member of the Working Committee to address the Badi community formed by the government.

Uma was born in 1964 in Salyan district, but soon moved to Dhanshingpur of Kailali district, where she spent her childhood. Uma said, "Because we Badis didn't possess our own land we used to keep on moving from one place to another. Though I was born at a village in Salyan we didn't have a place to live permanently. So my family used to change our residence every six months; sometimes in a village in Pahad (mountains) and sometimes in the Tarai or other places."

Although belonging to a poor family, her father understood enough to send his daughter to school. But she could not continue her studies for long due to the poor financial position her family was in. "My parents had the typical mentality of being afraid that if their daughter received high education she might elope with a man." So Uma studied only up to sixth or seventh grade. She was first admitted in Jhuma School in Dhanshingpur, but as her parents frequently moved from one place to another she had to change schools frequently. "Changing school was a normal affair for me during my childhood. I don't even remember how many schools I studied at. I guess I studied in almost all the schools in Kailali."

Uma said her family stayed in one place as long as they could manage their food, which meant they would often have to move to other places after a stay as short as a week or a month. They frequently had to spend nights not knowing where to stay the next day. That was the typical life of Badis who didn't own their own houses and land. In addition, discrimination against Badi children was rampant in those days. Teachers in most schools did not allow Badi children to enter the classroom and if they had to be admitted, they were taught separately from the other children. Teachers never touched Badi children or even the slates they used in those days for writing. Teachers used to guide the hands of children to teach them how to write, but never with Badi children. Uma later understood that her teachers stayed away from her because she was a child of Badis, belonging to the untouchable caste.

Discrimination against Badis was seen just about everywhere. They were not allowed to touch the common well, and priests in Hindu temples refused to touch rice grains and flowers offered by Badis. "When I was about 10 years-old I started to think why the people discriminate against the same human beings. It was around the same time I and other girls had a fight with a local priest during the Teej festival (Hindu festival for women) in a Hindu temple in Shakti Bazaar of Kailali, when he hurled our plates with ritual objects. I just could not tolerate his behavior. We experienced this kind of discrimination in every village we stayed."

Uma's personal life is full of struggles. She has been discriminated against even in her own family as she married a man belonging to the highest priest caste - Brahman. More than two decades have passed since her marriage, but nobody in her husband's family, besides her husband himself, has accepted her. "I am still fighting in my family. But I give priority to struggles for my own community rather than for my family. Thanks to the struggles we had, changes in the general public's perspective towards the Badi community are taking place."

Until now, the Badis are considered a marginalized community, even among the Dalits. Though they are known as having their own language and culture, this is yet to be proven. According to the 2001 census, the total population of Badis is 4,442, of which 81 percent live in Mid-Western and Far-Western Development Regions, in those districts of Salyan, Dailekh, Dang, Surkhet, Jajarkot, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Baitadi and others. Even the government's report on Badis is not clear about their identity and origin.

Some have taken the Badis and the Patars as a unique outcome of Nepali society, while others consider them immigrants from India's Baishali region. Badis themselves claim that they used to present entertainment programs for the Ranas who ruled Nepal from the 19th century for almost 100 years, as well as other high-class officers. Later, they were invited by Brahman, Chettri and other higher castes to perform dances and songs on various auspicious occasions. Musicians who played instruments were called "Badak" and the actors of dramas were called "Patra", which were later turned into Badis and Patars.

With the fall of the Ranas, Badis gradually lost their jobs as entertainers and were obliged to look for other ways to survive. Although they once provided entertainment to make rulers happy, the state never considered them important people. As they had no land to cultivate and no house in which to live they had to survive by begging for food, and dancing and singing songs. Women were obliged to involve themselves in the sex-trade to earn money.   

Uma said the connection of the Badis with the sex-trade has not only defamed her community, but the whole country. In such, Nepal will be perceived by the outside world as a country where people have to practice prostitution to feed their children. "If the government fails to make some concrete management for the Badis, the whole world will denounce our country. It is unfortunate that due to the government's lack of commitment, we, the Badis, are known as a community based on the sex-trade," she said. She also claims that the media has played a role to make them popular as sex-workers.

After the 1990 political change, the government as well as NGOs began attempts to uplift the social and economic condition of the Badis through various programs. As a result, their level of awareness improved. The 2006 nationwide peaceful People's Movement which resulted in Nepal becoming a republic brought further awareness and Badis began to raise their voices for their existence, identity and rights in the capital.

The Badi people's overall condition has improved in comparison with the past. They are slowly staying away from their traditional professions and shifting towards other means of livelihood. With the improvement in awareness both inside and outside of the Badi community, the number of the Badi women involved in the sex-trade is also decreasing. A recent report submitted by the working committee shows that only 6 per cent are now involved in the sex-trade, however, this may not be representative of the real number as many respondents have failed to answer the survey. The present government has declared the end of the sex-trade within the Badi community. However, discrimination against Badis and other Dalits still exists in Nepali society.

According to Uma, Badis began to organize themselves in India. It was around 1997 when Badi youths headed to Mumbai in search of work. After they found themselves exploited and discriminated against by employers there, they coordinated their efforts to form a youth club through which to stand against them in a unified way.

The same group organized members of the Badi community to fight against discrimination when they returned to their village during festivals. They collected one or two rupees from members of their community and formally registered their organization in the district administration in 1998 as the "Community Support Committee", which became the first formal organization formed by Badis. They worked towards obtaining citizenship cards for the Badis, rehabilitating former sex-workers, helping in land-ownership and managing free education for their children. The committee also opened three separate hostels for children of Badis, two in Kailali and one in Dang district. Even now, many Badi children are going to schools from those hostels.

The 48-day agitation program held in the capital in 2007 forced the government to listen to their voices. On August 16 of the same year, the Badi Struggle Committee held its first national convention in the capital, in which 26-point demands were passed. Their main demands included that the state rehabilitate Badi women who have been working in the sex-trade and that a new constitution address the demands of Badis. Soon after the convention ended, the Badis launched the aforementioned agitation program, which lasted 48 days. During the agitation, a group of Badis, led by Uma, staged a sit-in strike in front of Singha Durbar where most main ministries gather. One day Uma climbed the main gate of Singha Durbar while taking off her clothes. Her brave performance surprised the people of Nepal after being made public through various media.

After the movement, 2-point written agreements were made between the government and Badi Struggle Committee. According to the agreements, a working committee was formed, which consisted of two representatives from the Badi community as well as representatives from ten ministries, including those involved with land reform and women, to prepare a report on issues the Badis faced. It submitted a report to the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction at the end of December 2008. On January 7, 2009 the cabinet decided to rehabilitate women involved in the sex-trade. With a strong determination to make the government implement this decision, Uma and her colleagues in the Badi Struggle Committee are now visiting various Badi communities to collect data on how many Badi women are involved in this business. 

In a meeting with Uma, the Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, Janardan Sharma, has shown commitment to meet the demands of the Badis. "I believe that the minister will be true to his word. Otherwise, we still have the energy to come up with even stronger phases of agitation programs. Landless Badis are still living their lives on the streets and in the jungles nearby rivers. So it is not difficult for us to come out in the streets for the movement," she warns.

Written by Laxmi Basnet