Jagriti International

Coastal Woman Magazine, January/February 2004

From untouchable to unstoppable

By Molly Chizzick
Photo by Kizzy O'Neal

Indira Ghale, a small, quiet 36-year-old woman from Nepal, is a force behind a revolutionary woman's movement dedicated to improving the lives of women born into the lowest of Nepal's caste system. Indira herself was born into the lowest caste system, the Dalits, also known as the untouchables.

A young-looking woman with short brown hair, her shy and reserved manner belies the courage it takes to fight gender and caste discrimination in Nepal. Her single-minded determination led her to the other side of the globe…to Santa Barbara and Women's Economic Ventures, or WEV. Indira came to WEV via Jagriti International. Jagriti, the Nepali word for "awakening," and its Bridging Worlds program offers female leaders from around the world education and training in the United States.

Indira, who serves as the district president and central board member for the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), was selected to come to the United States in addition to five other women leaders from Nepal, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.

"[Indira] is extremely passionate about her work and committed to improving the status of women," says Marsha Bailey, the executive director of WEV, and who is sharing her home with Indira.

"As a Dalit woman in Nepal, I am not allowed to enter temples, drink water from public fountains, or to enter private homes or restaurants," Indira says. "Life for a Dalit woman is worse than being a dog. Dogs can do these things. I cannot."

Dalit literally means, "a person immersed in a swamp." These people account for 20 percent of Nepal's 23 million people, more than half of whom are women. "Although our constitution ensures equal rights to all citizens, Dalits are socially discriminated against, educationally disadvantaged, and politically neglected."

In Nepal's patriarchal society, being female results in oppression and harsh conditions, with estimates that 60 percent of all women are victims of domestic violence. Twelve women in Nepal die everyday from unsafe childbirth, and between 7,000 and 12,000 Nepali girls are sold into sexual slavery each year, usually to brothels in India. Dalit women, however, face double discrimination due to gender and caste.

"My mother wanted my life to be better than hers," Indira says. Her mother encouraged Indira to pursue education and a scholarship, which allowed her to complete high school in the capital city of Katmandu.

Soon after she finished her education, Indira's mother died and her father would no longer support her. "To care for me was like 'pouring water on sand,' he would say," she explains. To provide for herself and her five sisters, Indira found work as a primary teacher.

"Education is essential to the empowerment of women in Nepal," she says. "Without it, women do not have a voice. Women in the U.S. are confident and enjoy solidarity. This is because of education." In a country where the average income is less than $200 dollars annually and books and uniforms must be purchased, young girls are often put to work before they can enter a classroom.

Indira is just the twenty-fifth Dalit woman to receive her bachelor's degree. Now, she says, "I want to be the first Dalit woman to have my Ph.D."

In October and November she worked at WEV, learning how to help women in Nepal gain economic empowerment through scholarships, loans and fundraising, as well as how to build literacy programs and utilize computer technology. Through visits to the Domestic Violence Centre, Transiition House and other Santa Barbara community-run programs, Indira learned ways to strengthen FEDO.

"We want equality," she says, "but we don't know how to fight for it. That is what I am learning here."

For more information, visit Jagriti's website at www.jagriti-international.org.