The post Miss Nepal World: Social Media Trolls Turn Bitter for ‘Miss Nepal’ Contestants appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>And, they have always received wide applaud from local and global audience for their charming faces. But, one disappointing aspect continues to haunt them…
That’s #socialmediatrolls and bullying! Yes, you read it right.
Miss Nepal contestants of the Himalayan nation have been facing severe and straight-on-face criticism from their online audience. Unlike previous contestants, Nepal Miss World 2018 face #ShrinkhalaKhatiwada seems to be little lucky and on a safer side of this trend as majority supported her.
And, what’s surprising is that the social media troller did not miss to troll the earlier contestants, taking Shrinkhala’s occasion.
Although missing the Miss World 2018 Title, Shrinkhala became successful in bringing home the Miss Multimedia and Beauty with a Purpose awards.
When Niti Shah, the second Miss Nepal runner-up for 2017, congratulated Shrinkhala on her achievement, Nepali netizens did not wait even for a second to ask Shah as to ‘why she failed to do so the last year?’
Nikita Chandak, the Miss World Nepal 2017, also faced a similar embarrassing situation from social media trollers when she was crowned with the title in 2017. She was badly abused, criticized on her physical appearance, complexion and ethnicity.
Rojina Shrestha is another victim of this disappointing trend. #Onlinetrollers did not hesitate to make bad comments on her physical appearance when she was crowned with the ‘Miss Earth Nepal’ title.
It’s really heartening to read how Rojina felt on these comments!
“Although I haven’t been bullied much compared to Nikita and Niti, I have been receiving criticism for my body since I was crowned. And, it isn’t limited to online. People say it right in front of my face,” says Rojina.
Beyond Fun…It’s a Matter of Serious Concern!
All this started when a known Nepali FB page titled ‘Friday Nepal’ posted a picture of Khatiwada with #MissMultimedia award, alongside morphed images of Chandak, Shah and #MissWorldNepal2016 Asmi Shrestha asking (in Nepali) Khatiwada as ‘how she managed to pull it off’ the awards.
However, the page admins removed the image later expressing their apologies.
“We were merely joking and didn’t give the joke much thought, it turned out to be insensitive and hurtful. They are our #MissNepal who has made our country proud. I feel extremely guilty for this act. Sorry for any aggravation this might have caused to three of them,” said the page admin.
Whatever, once posted online, its visible to everyone and might demotivate the ones subjected to that act.
Similar case happened with Shah in 2017 for her social media post about rural and urban women, which went viral. This drew huge #socialmediaattention! While some understood the essence of it, some criticized badly, leaving her in deep disappointment, all this exactly before her final contest day!
What would be more disappointing than this?
Social media trolling and other forms of illicit acts have left many in deep distress, especially #womencelebrities globally, damaging their reputation and demotivating them. And, Nepal stands no exception to this trend!
See:
There are many such reported cases, especially the young women in the age group of 19-25 years who have just begun coming into limelight in their fresh career.
The trend has hurt many former Miss Nepal contestants in their career start. Many wanted to speak but refrained from doing so! In some cases, criticism continues to bother and traumatize even years after the actual incident.
“It was one day before the finals and I was traumatised. As I recall it now, I can’t let go of that incident. #Cyberbullying needs to be taken seriously. It really does hamper people’s state of mind and can lead to low self-esteem and depression. I couldn’t sleep for so many days. It almost led me to give up everything that I had achieved so far,” says Shah, sharing her bitter experience.
“I report, delete, or ignore most of the posts but sometimes I reply back when I feel it’s necessary but then again, they reply saying we are celebrities and we need to take criticism,” Shah adds.
Chandak is also seriously concerned about this illicit act.
“Beauty pageants are meant to be platforms for women empowerment, to make a woman feel confident about herself. Pitting one against another creates pressure and inferiority. People feel like they have the right to give their opinion in any language they want to. We do appreciate and accept constructive feedback, but bullies need to understand that the person they are writing to is also a human being with emotions,” says Chandak.
What more has to happen? Its high time for the Nepal Government to bring in stringent social media regulations to safeguard the basic rights of its social media users!
Now it’s time for Miss Universe 2018
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]]>The post Nirmala Pant’s Murder Case: UN Questions Women Rights in Nepal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>After a round of local-level protests, now the case has gone forward to draw the attention of international bodies like United Nations.
In a recent update, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Dubravka Šimonovic termed Nirmala Pant’s murder issue as a serious ‘test case’ for Nepal Government in its respect for international human rights laws.
The UN officer said this in a press briefing on November 29, 2018, while presenting preliminary findings from her report on the state of sexual violence in Nepal.
The ongoing case of Nirmala Pant is a test case for the government,” said Šimonovic. “My mandate will closely follow any developments in this case, in the hope that it will be effectively resolved in line with the human rights standards, as adopted by Nepal,” she added.
UN’s Assessment of Nirmala’s Case
The UN official’s statements are backed by her assessment of the situation during her 10-day-stay in Nepal.
Over the past 10 days, Šimonovic held meetings with various senior ministry-level officials including Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizens Tham Maya Thapa, Attorney General Agni Prasad Kharel, Supreme Court Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla and various representatives from National Women’s Commission, National Human Rights Commission, international organisations and survivors of sexual violence.
When asked about outcomes of her meetings, she said, “I have requested more information on the case and have told them I would be following up.”
She pointed at gaps in Nepal’s development of legal framework in line with the international standards, to safeguard women rights.
“Prevalence of harmful practices such as Chhaupadi shows contradictions between high-level standards and the realities of women and girls who are still subjected to such practices. There are many laws that address those practices but those laws are still not being implemented. The main challenge is to ensure these laws and policies are fully implemented at the federal, provincial and local level,” adds Šimonovic.
According to her, there are also other laws with considerable gaps in implementation, besides women-related ones.
The UN official also found fault with provisions in the country’s Nepal Citizenship Act stating that it fails to grant a woman the same rights as a man to pass on citizenship to a child.
She said that this aspect of the Act doesn’t comply with Article 9 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Convention, which Nepal has already agreed to.
Šimonovi also criticized the country’s Foreign Employment Act, stating that it limits foreign employment opportunities for women. “This banning of foreign domestic work is pushing women, particularly displaced or indigenous Dalit women and girls, into irregular immigration which is extremely dangerous,” she added.
Other key observations and recommendations that Šimonovic’s made to the government include:
- Amendment of unequal provisions in the Citizenship and the Foreign Employment Act
- Expediting the appointment of commissioners on the National Women’s Commissions
- Speeding up the process to adopt a bill needed to amend the 2014 Enforced Disappearance Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Act
- Issues with regard to the implementation of other laws
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]]>The post Nepal’s Bandana Sets New Guinness World Record in ‘Dance’ appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>Dancing continuously for surprising 126 hours, Bandana made a new Guinness World Record in the ‘Longest Dancing Marathon by an Individual’ category.
Bandana, who began her solo dance performance on November 23, 2018 continued doing so till November 28, 2018 afternoon with a strong determination to set the record, say the event management officials.
Bandana did this stunning performance in Nepali music in the hall of Big Foodland restaurant in Kathmandu, amid the presence of her family members, general public and media.
With this performance, Bandana smashed the existing longest-hour dance record of the Indian dancer Kalamandalam Hemalatha, who danced continuously for 123 hours and 15 minutes in 2011.
The most laudable part of Bandana’s stage show was her smile that remained the same throughout the performance, despite restlessness, lack of diet and physical strain.
“I am very glad to see my daughter being able to keep the world record. This achievement is not just of hers, but she has also set the nation’s name at the global front. It’s a moment of pride for all of us,” said Ram Nepal, Bandana’s father.
Ram went on to say that his daughter’s performance should inspire many other Nepali citizens, especially girls and women, to dream big in life.
This on-stage performance of Bandana was the result of her rehearsals for more than 100 hours before the program day.
As the event coordinators say, Bandana danced only in Nepali songs with an aim to promote Nepali culture, globally.
The event management team has already begun submitting their process of submitting Bandana’s dance evidences to the Guinness World Records for final certificate, which is most likely expected in a month’s time.
About Bandana in Brief
Bandana hails from Dhankuta in the eastern district of Nepal.
Beginning with her dancing passion at the age of five, Bandana went on further to get trained both in Nepal and India. However, her first practice began with her brother, say Bandana’s family members.
“In our generation, it was difficult for women to even dance or smile publicly, but now time has changed. I feel so proud of my granddaughter that she has been able to keep her name globally,” says Bandana’s 63-year-old grandmother elated at Bandana’s performance.
Bandana is currently pursuing Business Management course in Grade-12 in Kathmandu.
Also Read :
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]]>The post BBC 100 Women 2018: Nepal’s Uma Devi is World’s Top-10! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>Renowned news agency BBC featured Nepali woman politician Uma Devi Badi in its ‘BBC 100 Women 2018’ list released on November 19, 2018.
Uma Devi is currently the Provincial Assembly Member of Sudur Paschim Province of Nepal.
BBC releases a similar list every year including top 100 inspirational and influential women across the world. The 2018 list includes women of all ages ranging from 15-94 years from more than 60 countries.
The selected women share experiences of their struggle and achievements in various fields such as politics, business, social activism, fashion, art & photography, teaching, among other industries.
Making her nation proud, Uma Devi stood at the Top 10 position in the list above UK’s retired fashion designer Judith Balcazar (65), Peru’s Lawyer Cindy Arlette Contreras Bautista (28), Uzbekistan’s lecturer Leyla Belyalova (61), among others.
Top 10 of the ‘BBC 100 Women 2018’ List:
- Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin (33)- Social Impact Entrepreneur from Nigeria
- Esraa al-Shafei (32) – Executive Director of a non-profit organization from Bahrain
- Svetlana Alekseeva (18) – Fashion Model from Russia
- Lizt Alfonso (51) –Director & Choreographer from Cuba
- Nimco Ali (35) – Writer & Activist, Somaliland
- Isabel Allende (76) – Author from Peru
- Boushra Yahya Almutawakel (49) – Artist, Photographer & Activist from Yemen
- Alina Anisimova (19) – Student Programmer from Kyrgyzstan
- Frances Arnold (62) – Engineering Professor from US
- Uma Devi Badi (54) – Member of Parliament P from Nepal
Uma is from the Badi community, which is considered “untouchable” in Nepal, and is working to change that perception, BBC said in a release.
Uma Devi- Only Politician in Top 10
Born in 1965 to a Badi family in the Thapagaun, Salyan district of Nepal, Uma Devi is known for her 48 day-long Badi movement, an unforgettable event in the history of Nepal.
In 2007, Uma Devi led a team of 500 Badi community members from 23 districts, who began their journey from their respective villages to Singha Durbar with a 26-point demand towards protection of Badi community’s rights and opportunities.
Badis have strong demands for permanent shelter, end to prostitution and against untouchability, besides registration of their births and citizenship in the name of mothers, among other serious issues, all led by Uma over the years.
Uma’s struggle for the protection of Badi community over the period earned a wide global-level appreciation. However, her efforts got due recognition when Nepali citizens chose her as a Provincial Assembly Member from the erstwhile Nepali Congress (NC) Government in 2017.
Hope the women leader would be successful in achieving long-standing goals towards the betterment of her community, ensure the overall well-being of Nepalis in her respective role and continue to be a role model for other women in Nepali society.
Congrats to Nepali Woman Influencer and the first Badi Parliament member Uma Devi!
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]]>The post Kate Schecter appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>
Interview by Sai Nikesh D
Years of socio-political-economic struggle gave Nepal what it is today. Decades-long struggle is turning into real-time development in a gradual and phased manner, resulting in long-awaited transformation for the country in almost every way, i.e. social progress, sustainable development, human rights, governance, etc.
And, Nepali Sansar (NS) has always been conscious about every small step that contributed to Nepal’s development in the recent times. In its journey of continuous coverage, NS Bureau got a chance to interact with World Neighbors (WN.org), one of the world’s leading development organizations into human rights protection across nations.
In an exclusive interview with NS, WN’s President and CEO, Kate Schecter shared her experiences and knowledge about overall development scenario of Nepal.
Here are some of the excerpts from the interview:
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]]>The post 71st CEDAW Session: Nepal Reiterates Commitment to Women Rights appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>Nepali Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Tham Maya Thapa issued a statement as part of the Sixth Periodic Review of Nepal at the session.
Thapa informed CEDAW about the steps and measures taken by the Government of Nepal towards safeguarding women rights, end discrimination against women and implementable measures for women empowerment.
Speaking in detail about the initiatives, Thapa informed that Nepal Government has enacted 16 laws in support of fundamental rights and freedoms provisions as promulgated by the constitution.
She went on to say that Nepal has made important achievements to institutionalize women’s rights since the time it ratified CEDAW.
“Nepal became a state party to CEDAW when the multiparty system was restored in the country in the early 1990s. We have been making efforts in line with the set principles and spirit of CEDAW since then,” reads Thapa’s statement.
Speaking further on active women participation in national politics, Thapa said, “Women’s representation through election has reached over 40 percent. This level of participation of women at the political and policy making level has set a milestone in the history of women representation in Nepal,”
She spoke on various other issues pertaining to safeguarding of women rights and women empowerment.
See: Full Statement of Tham Maya Thapa to the 71st CEDAW Session
Another Nepali official, the Ambassador/Permanent Representative Deepak Dhital also highlighted Nepal Government’s initiatives towards social equality, equality, socio-economic empowerment and status enhancement of Nepali women in an inclusive manner.
He said the government is currently reviewing and revisioning the existing laws along with developing new legal frameworks under its federal set-up.
See: Full text of H.E. Deepak Dhital’s Statement to the 71st CEDAW Session
Other officials including the Joint Secretary of Women Ministry Radhika Aryal and Joint Secretary of Nepali Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Phanindra Gautam also informed the delegates about legal provisions put forth by the Government of Nepal.
Besides participating in interactive sessions, Minister Thapa thanked for a constructive dialogue with the CEDAW Committee and hoped this would help Nepal strengthen its efforts towards promotions and protection of rights of women.
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]]>The post #MeToo Movement Takes off in Nepal! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>Seems the #MeToo heat waves have spread to Nepal too going by the increasing number of Nepali women taking on to social media to share their sad stories witnessed over the period!
While some of them are reluctant to show their identity, some have already begun voicing their concerns on their own social media profiles!
Here are some of them from different walks of life who joined #MeTooNepal:
The above tweets by women from diverse backgrounds show the intensity of #MeTooNepal. A movement of this kind matters a lot for Nepal at this juncture when the country is witnessing various illicit acts against women. Besides, the government has also started taking serious measures against those involving in such activities against women, the most recent being the strict ban on online pornography!
Let’s see what more in the offing from Nepal for the protection of women rights!
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]]>The post Nepal Continues Crackdown on Pornography, 21k Sites So Far appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>Towards this end, the government has ordered strict ban on displaying of porn sites across the country and has even banned many in the first week of October 2018.
Continuing its ire against such sites, Nepal Government has so far called for a shutdown of more than 21,000 sites that are displaying porn content, informed the Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA).
NTA has been acting on the direction of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to ban distribution, sharing and broadcasting of such content through any medium, and the latest update on 21,000 sites is one in that direction.
As per the reports, Nepal has around 100 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating in the country.
While the government started crack-down of such sites, the Internet Association of Nepal had earlier commented that the government should instead focus on prosecuting the accused found to be involved in rape and other violence cases against women, locally.
NTA began its mission of banning such sites starting from September 24, 2018 in line with the government directives.
Will have to wait and watch how many more such illicit sites will come under NTA scan!
Its noteworthy here that Nepal Government’s decision gains special importance in view of the ongoing #MeToo campaign against violence and other illicit acts concerning women, globally.
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]]>The post Women Lawmakers on Rise in Nepal Parliament appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>In a session conducted on September 20, 2018, chairpersons of the ten parliamentary thematic committees were elected unopposed and six women from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) alone secured the positions for committees under the House of Representatives.
Niru Devi Pal, Shashi Shrestha, Kalyani Khadka, Purna Kumari Subedi, Pabitra Kharel Niraula and Jayapuri Gharti were among the elected.
With this, the number of federal parliament committees led by women grows to eight.
On the other hand, the National Assembly will also have parliamentary committees led by women.
In total, the Federal Parliament has 16 thematic committees with 10 in the House of Representatives and four in the National Assembly and two joint ones.
Elected female lawmakers are looking at this development as a step to fulfilling the constitutional requirements that mandate active women participation in the country’s policy-making.
Shashi Shrestha, one of the elected lawmakers, feels that the proper implementation of the constitutional provision has begun with this development.
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]]>The post #MeToo Campaign Voices Sex Trafficking Concerns appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>As the reports say, survivors are making audio recordings speaking their experiences to promote the same through social media campaign.
According to the organizers, this campaign will help many such women who wish to share their hard experiences in their own voices without having to show faces.
“The narrative is built either by an activist or an official. Here we want their stories to be told in their own voices, in their own words and with no filters. We wanted the victim to speak for herself,” says Arun Pandey of Anyay Rahit Zindagi (Injustice-free Life), an organization working for anti-trafficking.
The #MeToo campaign is basically built on a four-part video uploaded on YouTube in July 2018, which covered voice recordings of women who intended to give an insight of the real-life scenario of sex workers to the public.
Pandey informed that the sex trafficking survivors can now submit their stories in the form of voice recordings to be shared on social media channels like Facebook and YouTube.
Pandey further informed that these recordings will also be presented during training sessions involving police to rule out misconceptions around women subjected to sex trafficking.
There is this general impression in society that we are in these brothels out of choice and make a lot of money, says a 34-yr-old survivor who was trafficked at a very young age.
As the reports say, survivors are open to share their stories through voice, but reluctant to showing faces.
The recordings cover stories about drunk customers, harassment, violence and the reasons holding back the victims from leaving that industry.
“I spoke out in the hope that people will understand my journey from the safety of my home to the brothels. Even if they just think about it for a few moments, they will begin to understand our suffering,” says another survivor.
The campaign is coming in the light of the ongoing debate in India over sexual assaults against women and proposed legislations to address the same.
According to the campaigners, 16 million out of an estimated 20 million commercial sex workers in India are women and girls subjected to trafficking.
Nepal’s Relevance Matters a Lot Here!
When it comes to sex trafficking stories surrounding India, Nepal is undoubtedly one country that holds high relevance.
Reports show a large number of Nepali girls/women trafficked to India via border and other routes since the past.
#WomenTraffickingInNepal is one serious issue haunting the Nepal Government, Nepali organizations against women trafficking and international human rights bodies fighting against the same since long.
There are many instances reporting trafficking of Nepali women/girls to Indian urban centers via the Indo-Nepal border, either for sexual exploitation across brothels or for child labor across unorganized or informal workplaces.
Surprisingly, records show an astonishing 500 percent rise in trend of human trafficking reported across Indo-Nepal border and more than 1 lakh Nepali women trafficked to Indian urban centers…More @ Human Trafficking in Nepal – Relentless Fight for Rights Continues!
In view of this scenario, its high time for Nepal also to welcome more such campaigns from local organizations fighting against women trafficking!!!
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