Narrative account following further floods near Biratnagar
The perspectives and narrative that follow present edited insights from narrators from within the project community close to Biratnagar, who share their thoughts with Sumeera Shrestha, on the general situation in their context and how environmental disaster and response to it, impacts on women’s experience of violence.
Whilst the narrative that follows has been edited, the aim has been to retain the ‘voice’ of the displacement narrators (Gita Pokharel and Samjhana Bhujel).
Violence against women in Morang District
The narrator starts by discussing the situation faced by women in Morang District, and providing an analysis of the experience of violence of different groups:
Due archaic thinking, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, unequal laws, religious and cultural differences, there seems to be violence against women at home, in the neighborhood, in community, and in the office. In such contexts some violence is reported and some of the violence is actively suppressed. In some cases’ women have even lost their lives due to extreme violence but women who are aware of this remain quiet for fear that this will lead to more violence.
There are according to the Chairperson of a Group in the village of Kathari many instances in the Municipalities, of women who get pregnant but don’t want to disclose how this happened. In the case of one girl from Kathari village the girl now speaks little and prefers to live with her sister as her parents are not around.
To mitigate these problems there should be a female counselor in each municipality, so that the victim can understand their problem and find a solution, so that women don’t suffer and lose their lives due to violence. Such efforts could raise awareness so that women can raise their voices against violence.
The most prominent cases of domestic violence seen in the field are:
- Violence that starts when the man discovers the fetus in the womb is a girl child. The mother becomes neglected and lacks nutritional foods and health treatment.
- Daughters get a general education, but no attention is given to higher education and as a result of this they will face more violence in later years.
- The violence arises as the women or girl becomes focused more on domestic practice and household chores rather than on education.
- Furthermore, violence in the community targets widows, and conflict affected women can also become victimized and subjected to discrimination and punishment
Until the domestic practice role of women is evaluated, monetized, or recognized as productive, violence against women will remain.
Violence against widows and conflict affected women
Widows face multiple effects of violence. If a widow buys or owns land she is always oppressed by other land owners and referred to as a witch. If a family has two daughters-in-law one of whom’ is a widow, then there is also the likelihood of deliberate violence against the widowed daughter in law by the family.
Similarly, violence among conflict affected women is more severe. Even if she lives in general good hygiene she is often referred as a slut. If a woman walks with a male partner, no one looks at the work the woman is doing, but people will start name calling and alleging that she is providing a bad example to other women in society.
Violence due to dowry
Girl Children are often deprived of higher education because parents need to provide adequate dowry for their marriage. This prevails at the community and district level in both field sites studied. If the daughter-in-law has brought a good dowry to the marriage, then the behavior of the family is positive, but if the dowry is not good then this can lead to the instigation of violence.
Inter caste marriage and marriage of widows
Example from the Kathahari field site:
A boy from the higher caste ‘Giri’ and a girl from the lower caste ‘Rishidev’ got married but their marriage didn’t get registered and the birth was also not registered. The girl is from a poor family which suffered from the flood last year. The situation is now worse. The social pressure is still high and even though legally they can be registered , socially the marriage is not accepted. The girl’s family is ostracized and threatened. The boy now is also under pressure and he is not willing to accept the girl or the child.
If a widow remarries, the family will not allow her in the home or accept her as part of the family and will often use abusive words when speaking. For people who are flood affected and also widows, the security and safety of the widow and her family is really poor. In these cases, there is usually no male ‘bread winner’ or person who can protect the family, and consequently widows and their families have least access to the services provided for the flood victims.
What programmes are being implemented in the community after the floods on the Terai?
During last year’s flood (in 2018) in Ward No. 19 of the Biratnagar Metropolitan District the village of Rishdev was destroyed and many people were made homeless.
This year’s flood, mostly affected Ratu Maigadi, Kathari Municipality, Jahdagaon Municipality and Ward no. 19. Likewise, the Teagraha stream of the Itahari sub-metropolitan area of Sunsari district was overflowing and as a result the main road was blocked for two hours. Katahari, and Kadamgachiya, in Ward 19 of Biratnagar municipality are also our study site and these areas were severely hit by the monsoon led flooding.
This year, with the help of Biratnagar Metropolitan, Jeeven Bikash, Sahara Nepal and Habbita, three houses have been built as safe house under the auspices of the Nepal Government. Likewise, other wards in Kadam Gachiya are planning to make safe houses for residents who are at risk from floods. But due to devastating ongoing floods this year, temporary displacement as well as the displacement of people without housing has been severe. Where houses are built temporary, there were losses of livestock, food and utensils. Due to the heavy monsoon and the water dam, the risks were very high and there were significant threats to people’s lives.
This year too, from the most affected ward no. 19 (which is also our study site), 60 households were supported by constructing model houses with the help of Biratnagar Metropolitan, Habittat, Sahara Nepal and Jeeven Bikash. During the construction 32 families who were living near the model houses which were under construction were highly affected by continuous rain and remained without food for 3 days.
This year, there were 95 houses in the area that were damaged, and two women had very difficult deliveries a Koshi Zonal Hospital. The good news is that the mothers and children are now in good health.
Case Study
In 2019 many people have been affected by continuous rainfall. As a result, six households left their homes in ward no. 19 and had to stay in the safe space (located in schools) throughout the whole rainy season. Among the six households two are single women headed households.
The Terai is in the dunes, so as a result of the continuous rainfall many food-grains have been destroyed, and paddy seeds are useless. The vegetables in the kitchen garden have been destroyed and vegetable prices have risen dramatically (e.g. tomatoes are 160 rupees per kg). Even the Tomatoes per kg has raise to 160.
Beds are soaking wet making it difficult to sleep, and infectious diseases have led to feverish coughs. All these problems have contributed to mental health problems in the homes.
Rain has destroyed everything, and children are sent to maternal homes for safety but this creates problems as their education is disrupted.
Due to the continuous rainfall this year, many families have been temporarily displaced. 350 families in Morang have been affected. When the flow of water recently came to a high peak and the full village was flooded. DSP Rajkumar Khizu, spokesperson of the District Police Office in Morang, said that the dam of the Kesaliya River was broken from Rampur Ward Number 6 and this had affected many families. 10 houses at Rampur, 60 in Bakhri and Simarai, and 16 in Diraiya and 40 in Biratnagar have been destroyed.
In Rangeli Municipality Ward No.8, 50 families have been displaced. Inspector Kavindra Karki of the Area Police Office, Rangeli, said that the locals were displaced after water started pouring from house to house. Likewise, 55 families have been affected by the flooding of the Bakra river in Municipality-5 of Morang district. According to Mayor Kali Prasad, the locals have been temporarily displaced after the flood.
In Kathari Village Ward No.4, 150 families have been displaced due to the flood of the Lohandra River. According to Ram Kumar Kamat, chief of the village municipality, those affected by the floods have been affected again for the second time. The families of these displaced persons have been temporarily shifted with the help of police to a school, a temple, a public place, a neighbor’s house.
In the Terai, there is still a tradition of crying for the birth of a daughter in the Madhesi community. Women are ranked as second-class people. Women are discriminated against on the basis of gender. The practice of dowry is increasing day by day. Child marriage is the cause of dowry. A daughter from a poor family usually quits school to take care of her siblings. In this society, men still practice polygamy
Women have no safe house provided by the government even when there is violence and sexual abuse against them. Single women are still viewed critically by the society when they talk to someone, walk with someone or comes home late. Women have not been able to participate in politics. In the community, when the father dies, the son will not get citizenship under the name of his mother.
News references:
The news story linked here makes the point that ‘heavy monsoon resulted in more than 350 Households displaced, with heavy rainfall increasing the level of the river which resulted in the destruction of a dam, resulting in force of water flooding villages in different parts of Morang and Sunasari districts.