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.
