The United Nations has defined the status of women in the context of their
access to knowledge, economic resources, and political power, as well as
their personal autonomy in the process of decision making. When Nepalese
women's status is analyzed in this light, the picture is generally bleak.
In the early 1990s, Nepal was a rigidly patriarchical society. In
virtually every aspect of life, women were generally subordinate to men.
Women's relative status, however, varied from one ethnic group to another.
The status of women in Tibeto-Nepalese communities generally, was
relatively better than that of Pahari and Newari women. Women from the low
caste groups also enjoyed relatively more autonomy and freedom than Pahari
and Newari women.
The senior female member played a commanding role within the family by
controlling resources, making crucial planting and harvesting decisions,
and determining the expenses and budget allocations. Yet women's lives
remained centered on their traditional roles--taking care of most
household chores, fetching water and animal fodder, and doing farm work.
Their standing in society was mostly contingent on their husbands' and
parents' social and economic positions. They had limited access to
markets, productive services, education, health care, and local
government. Malnutrition and poverty hit women hardest. Female children
usually were given less food than male children, especially when the
family experienced food shortages. Women usually worked harder and longer
than men. By contrast, women from high-class families had maids to take
care of most household chores and other menial work and thus worked far
less than men or women in lower socioeconomic groups.
The economic contribution of women was substantial, but largely unnoticed
because their traditional role was taken for granted. When employed, their
wages normally were 25 percent less than those paid to men. In most rural
areas, their employment outside the household generally was limited to
planting, weeding, and harvesting. In urban areas, they were employed in
domestic and traditional jobs, as well as in the government sector, mostly
in low-level positions.
One tangible measure of women's status was their educational attainment.
Although the constitution offers women equal educational opportunities,
many social, economic, and cultural factors contributed to lower
enrollment and higher dropout rates for girls. Illiteracy imposed the
greatest hindrance to enhancing equal opportunity and status for women.
They were caught in a vicious circle imposed by the patriarchical society.
Their lower status hindered their education, and the lack of education, in
turn, constricted their status and position. Although the female literacy
rate has improved noticeably over the years, the level in the early 1990s
fell far short of the male level.
The level of educational attainment among female children of wealthy and
educated families was much higher than that among female children of poor
families. This class disparity in educational attainment was also true for
boys. In Nepal, as in many societies, education was heavily class-biased.
In the early 1990s, a direct correlation existed between the level of
education and status. Educated women had access to relatively high-status
positions in the government and private service sectors, and they had a
much higher status than uneducated women. This general rule was more
applicable at the societal level than at the household level. Within the
family, an educated woman did not necessarily hold a higher status than
her uneducated counterpart. Also within the family, a woman's status,
especially a daughter-in-law's status, was more closely tied to her
husband's authority and to her parental family's wealth and status than
anything else.
Data as of September 1991
Source:
Entry from: "Nepal: A Country Study" published
by the Federal
Research Division of the Library of Congress.
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