Conference Year: 2017

In Nepal, a landmark Supreme Court case in 2007 ushered in a decade of sexual justice reform that culminated in the 2015 constitutional protection for the rights of gender and sexual minorities. However, in a demonstration of the Nepali state’s completely incoherent position on sexual justice, the same document denies women equal access to citizenship …

Beyond the State: Social Institutions and the Transformation of Sexual Norms in Nepal Read More »

This paper focuses on queer politics within South Asia with a case study of Nepal and its legal recognition of a ‘third gender’ category in 2007 and the constitutional protection of the rights of ‘gender and sexual minorities’ in 2015, both occurring within Nepal’s turbulent transition from a Hindu monarchy to a federal democratic republic. …

Queer Dissidence in Times of Revolution Read More »

My paper applies the explanatory model of illness to the maternal understanding of childhood ear disease in the district of Jumla and discusses these findings in the broader context of gender in Nepal.  The explanatory model describes the way in which people understand the meaning, causes and consequences of their illness in their cultural context,  …

Sit up to feed your baby and you will have no problem…An Explanatory Model of Childhood Ear Disease and Gender Inequality in Jumla Read More »

Data collection in development projects, primarily to produce measureable results, achieve stated targets, and meet the specified goals within a particular time frame, has increased dramatically in global health and global development practices. Two key global events, the Millennium Summit (2000) and Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) have further emphasised the importance of achieving …

Ethnographic Exploration of Maternal and Child Health Projects in Nepal: A Critical Analysis of the Data Collection Processes Read More »

Introduction: Nepal’s Safe Motherhood Initiative has been in progress since 1997, shaping its programs in a shifting political and constitutional climate that is trying to account for diversity.  Recent national health plans include an emphasis on Institutional Births and development of community birthing centers.  We argue that this strategy must also account for local cultural …

Accounting for Local Culture to Promote Safer Births in Rural and Remote Nepal Read More »

When the earthquakes of 2015 struck, Sindhupalchok was one of the harder hit districts of Nepal. The earthquake of April 25, 2015(7.8 magnitude) and particularly the aftershock of May 12, 2015 (7.3 magnitude) killed approximately 3500 people in the district (out of a national total of around 9,000) and caused injury, loss of livelihood and …

Did the Earthquake and Earthquake Relief have a Differential Impact on Lower Caste Groups? A Case Study of Sindhupalchok District, Nepal Read More »

To research and write about Nepal’s Dalits is an academic challenge and personal frustration.  The project demands much in the way of getting one’s “voice” heard, a task that also confronts Dalit people themselves.  While there might appear to be attention paid to the variety of Dalit causes, the causes, goals and associated traits and …

Being, Becoming, Belonging: The Paradox of Identity and Mental Suffering among Nepal’s Dalits Read More »

Over the past decade international labour migration from Nepal to the Middle East and Malaysia has increased significantly. The number of Dalit migrants is also rising rapidly. A large number of studies have been conducted focusing on the economic impacts of international labour migration from Nepal. So far research has not looked at inter-caste relations, …

International Labour Migration from Nepal and Changing Caste-based Institutions and Inter-caste Relations Read More »

Innovation in agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) has always ignored gender inequality which limits in its impact and risks worsening the poverty, workload and wellbeing of poor rural women and their families. Prevailing deep-seated gender norms ¾ i.e. rules prescribing women’s and men’s roles and behavior in their society ¾ women and men have …

Transformation in Gender Norms for Innovation and Development in Agriculture and NRM Sector: A Case Study of Jajarkot, Myagdi and Devdaha, Nepal Read More »

Property is widely recognized as an important resource for empowering women. Many development policies worldwide therefore emphasize the need for women to acquire property, especially in the form of physical assets such as land and livestock, but also cash. Numerous studies, mostly based on household surveys (Carter & Barrett 2006; Meinzen-Dick et al 2011; Quisumbing …

Property Rights, Intersectionality, and Women’s Empowerment: Examining the Meanings of Property for Women with Different Social Locations in Nepal Read More »