By Nira Gurung

Introduction

The restoration of democracy in 1990 with the principles of popular sovereignty, equality, freedom, and cultural rights has provided platform for ethnic activism. The advent of democracy has, therefore, been followed with the rise of ethnic consciousness and awareness and has been gaining momentum ever since. The favourable political environment has led to the establishment of many ethnic social organizations, including that of the Gurungs.

The Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association (NGWA) or the Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Mahila Sangh was established in the year BS 24 Mangsir 2060 (2003), as an independent, social and non-profit making organization, to serve as common meeting place for all Tamu women. Set up by the Gurung (Tamu) women themselves, the organization serves overall objectives to promote interests, welfare and rights of all Tamu, and help conserve and preserve socio-cultural traditions, language and religion of the Tamu. Strong felt needs are in the areas of building up self confidence among themselves, enabling them to participate in the mainstream development of the country, taking up leadership roles, providing them with relevant opportunities, exposures, and skills for jobs and income generating activities. The Tamu women are becoming aware of their own responsibilities to protect and preserve the Gurung language, culture, and religious beliefs and practices. They also aim to achieve equality with men in all aspects of life.

According to the 2001 Census of Nepal, there are 84,60,041 nationalities living in Nepal, which is 37.2 percent of Nepal's total population. The Gurung, as one of the nationalities, number 5,43,571 and represents 2.39% of the total population. Out of these, male population is 2,59,376 and female population 2,84,195.

Nepal is a rigidly patriarchal society. The patriarchal ideology confines women to the private space of the household while men fill the outer sphere. Women are pushed into the domestic realm because men think that they are more suited to be dominated and controlled. In fact, woman is a force that keeps nature, economy, and life sustenance capacity intact although with great difficulty and many in silence and misery.

The status of women is considered as one of the factors that influences a nation’s social, economic and cultural development. The janajati women comprises of 35 per cent out of the total 50.4 percent of Nepal’s total female population. However, the womenfolk, including the janajati women in Nepal is not able to join the mainstream of national development due to increasing brunt of poverty, social oppression, ethnic and gender discrimination, killings, violence, trafficking and the people’s war. They are deprived of opportunities of services, means of production and are unable to participate equally in various developmental activities. For major part of the country, the livelihood of the people is still an agrarian-based but in this age of globalization and commercialization of the agriculture sector, women are losing out. Equally alarming is the rapid erosion and extinction of traditional indigenous knowledge, skills and hereditary occupations. They are making less contribution as direct benefits accrue to those who venture out far from home, to market the produce and here mostly men are the ones who undertake such tasks. They have less cash in hand and this means that they cannot access resources, nor has decision-making power or economic independence. Many are illiterates and cannot take full advantage of professional and technical training courses that are offered by various organizations such as income generating activities, education, health, as well as employment opportunities.

In this overall scenario, however, the janajatis women enjoy better position in society in comparison to their Indo-Aryan groups, the Brahmin and Chettris sisters. It is true that Gurung (Tamu) women have always relatively enjoyed better status even among the janajatis women. They have a high degree of mobility inside and outside homes. They have more power in major decision making in agricultural production and associated tasks; household economics, decisions concerning children, and others. They enjoy greater autonomy and in some cases, the households are run entirely by the decisions made by women. This is especially so in the cases of the men who are away either employed in the British and Indian armies and in overseas employment either in the Middle East or in the East Asia. She acquires the right to speak, to give her advice in the family or village meetings and at the same time, discuss current problems and take up her responsibilities. There are also other religious, social and cultural liberties that provide ample support to Tamu women to move towards progress.

The role of women in overall Gurung development cannot be understated. It first started when Tamu women established Ama samuhas in the villages. The Ama samuhas in the villages play important roles to bring about social reforms and these have been successful in controlling and eradicating such social evils as gambling and alcohol drinking. They are also successful in contributing towards the development sector from the money collected. They are involved in building of roads, schools, conducting literacy classes, sanitation and drinking water awareness programmes, building resting places and others. The concept of Ama Samuhas has now even spread to major cities such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal Chitwan and others. Women’s roles which were initially limited to Ama samuhas have now taken a major step by establishing a women’s association for women by women themselves. In its evolvement, the Tamu men have been very supportive of their initiatives and endeavours.

The Tamu women are aware that in terms of development, they lag far behind. Awareness does not mean just wearing the Tamu dress or singing dohori songs. There is much more where Tamu women can contribute to. The overall literacy rate of women in Nepal is 42.5% (Nepal Census 2001) but the indigenous women come no way close to making a major dent in the statistics. The Newari women are far ahead in terms of education and slowly rising is the Sunuwar women. Business is dominated by the Thakali women. It seems that majority of Tamu women are contented and do not see any need to come out of their homes to seek any rights. The reasons may be that they are economically well taken care of by their husband’s and other family members’ overseas earnings or they are simply unaware of the opportunities that they are being deprived as they remain cocooned in their own homes.

Therefore, Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association (NGWA) was established with the main aim of bringing the Tamu women out of their homes, and expose them to the society at large. It focuses on developing their intellectual capacity, encourages social interaction at a wider societal level, become better educated and contributes to the society and nation. Being aware and informed will help them to guide their children properly in education and social norms and behaviours. The interactions and exchanges can also help to bring about a sense of self confidence among themselves.

The NGWA very much in its infancy state, still has much work to do over the coming years to become a strong and viable women’s association serving fully to the cause of women at large.

Mission, Objectives and Strategy

Mission

The mission of the Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association is to bring together all the Tamu women to a common platform as a show of solidarity to solve common issues faced by them, leading to empowerment at all fronts.

Objectives

The objectives of the NGWA are as follows.

* Bring about awareness among Tamu women for their legal rights, including human rights and preserve these rights

* Make women conscious about social and economic exploitations of women and work against it

* Develop and increase self confidence, self-reliance, self unity among Tamu women

* Protect, conserve and promote the Gurung language, culture, and religion and socio-cultural beliefs and practices

* Empower Tamu women to participate and contribute to the development of the country and integrate them into the main streamline development

* Identify and promote specific Tamu women’s skills and art and encourage their development and preservation

* Maintain close harmony and unity among all Tamu women and other Gurung social organizations especially with the Gurung (Tamu) National Council.

Strategy

In order to achieve the above objectives, the NGWA has embarked upon the following strategies.

* Organise training programmes on awareness raising, advocacy, leadership development, and capacity building training

* Organize workshops and interaction programmes on women’s rights, human rights based on equality

* Conduct literacy programmes for women living mainly in rural areas, including children

* Implement income generating activities and skill oriented training

* Conduct awareness and advocacy activities on socio-cultural-related aspects

* Conduct felicitation programmes to encourage and recognize contributions of Tamu women

* Work in close cooperation with all the Tamu organizations to ensure greater participation in all spheres of activities

* Establish district branch offices in different parts of Nepal to bring about greater unity among all Tamu women

The Management Capacity

The Executive Committee

The Central Executive Committee comprises of nine members and has an Advisory Board consisting of five highly-placed Gurung intellectuals from the social, development and political sectors. The Central Executive Committee members meet every month and expert advice in the form of intellectual input, and guidance is sought whenever needed from the Advisory Board.

A branch office has seven members in its working committee and at the village level, five. It holds its annual meeting annually and the General Assembly (Maha Adibesan) every two years. At the General Assembly, central executive committee members are elected. The nominees can be members representing the district level branches. It also endorses any new programmes or any changes that are to be made in the Constitution itself.

Membership

Membership is opened to all the Tamu women-based organizations throughout the Kingdom of Nepal and its branch offices at the district levels. The district level branches are encouraged to open sub-branches at the village levels. Membership at the Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association is at the institution level only, however the branch offices can include individual members as well.

The membership fees are levied at three different levels: Central, District and Village. Initial contribution by the core members is Rs. 5,000 per year and renewal fees is Rs. 500/- per year. Any institution wishing to become member at the central level is charged initially Rs. 5,000 per year and subsequent renewal is Rs. 3,000. At the district level, the contribution is 2,500 per year and renewal fee Rs. 300/-

Presently, there are only four district level committees formed and they are in Surkhet, Dailekh Chitwan and Kaski. More district levels branches will be opened in the future.

Achievements/Programmes

The ongoing programmes of the NGWA focuses a lot on the socio-cultural aspects/issues, but not much yet on women’s advocacy in legal and political participation, which ultimately can make a big positive dent in the overall development of the Tamu women.

About three years old, it is already making outstanding contributions in various women-based and socio-cultural aspects. They are outlined below, with some of them of ongoing.

* Celebrates every year the International Women’s Day on 8 March to recognize the rights of women and international peace worldwide

* Celebrates the Tamu Lochhar Parbha every year jointly with Tamu Lochhar mul Ayojak Committee

* Publishes a yearly magazine, ‘Remai Kahe’, (Cheli ko Awaj) and first one was released on the occasion of the 94th International Women’s Day on 2060 Chaitra 11 by the Honourable Member of the Public Service Commission, Dr. Ganesh Man Gurung. The second issue was brought out on the 95th International Women’s Day. The third issue remains to be launched. It was delayed due to political uncertainty in the country at the time of celebrating the 96th International Women’s Day. It is planned to be launched soon.

* NGWA has been bought 1-2-0-0 (One Ropani Two Ana ) land in its own name.

* Organized a protest programme on an article written in a local newspaper, Bimochan, No.

3, Jesth Issue 2062 (2005). The article had depicted janajati women (including Tamu women) as involving in unwanted social activities such as prostitution and gambling.

* Organized a two-day workshop on "Culture and Festivals of Gurung" (Gurung Tamu Sanskar and Chad parba ) on BS 2062 Asadh 17 to 18.

* A fifteen-day long Master of Ceremony training was also organized from BS 2061 Phalgun 23 to Chaitra 8 on the occasion of the 95th International Women’s Day.

* Celebrated the Foundation Day of the NGWA (1st Anniversary) by having a cultural programme on BS 2061 Mangsir 19 at the Royal Nepal Academy. Two intellectuals and two students were felicitated on this occasion.

* Acquired membership in the National Indigenous Women’s Federation in 2060 where the Chairperson of NGWA was elected to the post of Treasurer. The term is for three years.

* Organized felicitation programme 11 Chaitra 2060 where the contribution of three ooutstanding Tamu women were recognized They were Honourable Bhadra Kumari Ghale, social worker, Ms. Karma Gurung, President of the Tamu Dhin Kaski, and Ms Anuradha Gurung Koirala, former State Minister and Chairperson of the Maiti Nepal.

* Conducted a five-day training on Confidence Building and Announcement Skill training on BS 2060 Poush 26 to 30..

Income Sources

* Human resources: It has limited human resources mainly on voluntary basis. It is severely hampered by lack of professional expertise to charter its road map. Women with leadership qualities have to be drawn in to better serve its purposes.

* Monetary funds: Presently the source of income is membership fees, individual donations and fund raising activities such as the cultural programmes and sale of its annual magazine ‘Remai Kahe’. Small amount of donations (both cash and in-kind) have been received from the Nepal Reiyukai (training), Save the Children Norway, Rs. 20,000 for a capacity building programme and National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) Rs. 75,000 for an interaction programme on Gurung culture and Chad Parba.

* Infrastructural/physical resources: The NGWA is yet to acquire its own building and own other forms of property. It officially functions from the office of the Gurung (Tamu) National Council (GTNC) in Anamnagar, Kathmandu.

Networking and Linkages Capacity

To strengthen its networking, Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association works in close cooperation and collaboration with other Tamu organizations to establish cordial relationships, and provide assistance wherever possible.

NGWA is member of the Gurung (Tamu) National Council (GTNC), the umbrella organization of all the Gurung Tamu social organizations. It is also the member of the National Indigenous Women’s Federation.

Opening more branch offices is another way of broadening the network of the NGWA.

Constraints and Challenges, Future Plans and Way Forward

Constraints and Challenges

The need of the day is to give continuity and support to the newly established organization and Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association seeks cooperation from all organizations, donors as well as individuals to make it a unique organization focusing on the welfare of all women. However, NGWA faces a number of challenges, which are outlined below.

* There are no regular and definite sources of income for the organization which is important for growth of an organization. Thus it is not able to make much headway in implementing its programmes. Even meeting the travel costs of its members becomes a problem. The source of income at present is minimal, most of it from the membership fees. Although some INGOs and NGOs have provided funds on specific-based activities, this is hardly enough to carry out long-term programmes to have greater impact. A financial strategy needs to be charted out to ensure the financial stability

* Lack of intellectual inputs and guidance from Tamu women is another big challenge. Such intellectual guidance is needed to be able to give future direction to the organization and be able to formulate its plans and programmes on a long term basis. Therefore, there is a need to identify educated Tamu women to help in the work of the organization and lead the present and upcoming generation of Tamu women to greater heights of achievements and recognition.

* Lack of opportunities is another major hurdle. Talents of Tamu women remain hidden, be it in the area of art, music, sports, etc. Opportunities may prevail sometimes, but may not be taken advantage of due to lack of information, proper guidance and encouragement.

* Membership drive by the NGWA is affected by the present day conflict of the Maoist insurgency. Although it has set up branch offices in the districts, members from the head office are not able to go out and carry out the programme that have been planned due to security reasons. It is now hoped that with change in the political scenario with the joint efforts of Seven Party Alliance and the Maoists, peace will prevail and future programmes can be carried out smoothly. Activities at present, are therefore, limited to cities and a few districts. It poses a big challenge for NGWA to widen its network at the district and village levels.

* Time constraints have been felt by the members of the NGWA. A man may find it easy to leave home for his work or pursue other interests, but for a woman, her life still revolves around the family and her home. She has to ensure that all household needs are met and chores are done before she can leave her home to pursue other social interests. The situation is even more demanding for a woman who has career where she needs to balance her time for home, career, and social/community services.

* Lack of patience and unity among Tamu women pose another problem. Patience is needed because an organization cannot become successful over night and required are the continuous support to enable its healthy growth and long term sustainability. It has been a daunting task to build a sense of strong solidarity and unity among women coming from different backgrounds and different parts of Nepal. The process of unity takes time with evolving organizational dynamism. Therefore, there is a need for a common understanding among women to come together and streamline line much of their energy, power and hidden talents within them.

Future Plans

At present the ongoing programmes and activities primarily comprise of organizing workshops/interaction programmes, celebration of the International Women’s Day, bringing out its annual magazine, and celebration of this its Annual Foundation Day. While it will continue with these programmes, the NWGA will focus on the following:

* Carry out strong and effective membership drive/campaigns in all districts of Nepal and focus on establishing branch offices at the district and villages levels in the coming year. Immediate ones are in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts and outside the Kathmandu valley, in Bardiya and Tanahu. Therefore, concerted efforts are needed for membership drives at both the district and village levels.

* Lobby for development of opportunities for the Tamu in academic, social, economic and political spheres. Focus on educational opportunities and develop leadership qualities in the Tamu women, who would then be able to recognize opportunities and use them to their advantages. Provide encouragement and moral support to fellow Tamu sisters.

* Organize funding raising activities and develop income generating activities which can be ploughed back to the NWGA funds.

* Organise programmes focusing on leadership development and capacity building of the members which can be shared and replicated in other parts of the country.

* Organize regular interactions programmes, workshops & seminars and annual meetings at the central level and district levels, and involve as many women as possible leading to awareness and increasing their knowledge base on issues concerning them.

* Bring out various publications, documentaries by using both print and electronic media tools to broaden the activities of the Tamu women and highlight issues affecting Tamu as well as other indigenous women.

* Create a pool of Tamu women intellectuals and social workers and philanthropists so that necessary expertise can be drawn upon when required. The number of educated Gurung women is on the rise and it will benefit the community to have such a pool which can provide intellectual, leadership and moral guidance. Apart from strengthening the NWGA by the presence of such intellectuals, the young Tamu women can emulate them as their role models. The Tamu intellectuals will be able to guide and give directions to the future course of the organization by helping to identify relevant programmes and activities most needed by the women themselves.

* Recommend at the next Annual General Convention the establishment of a Women’s Legal and Political Cell to further the interests of women as a whole, including the Tamu women.

Way Forward

* A financial strategy has to be worked out to ensure organizational stability. This can be done by developing various project proposals and approaching various donors for funding.

* Develop a programme strategy to ensure organizational growth and stability. Based on the strategy, identify yearly programmes and activities on priority basis focusing on the ‘most felt needs’ of the women. It should also try to cover the needs of women at all levels, urban and rural.

* Encourage and continue forging of strong unity among the Tamu women and share a vision for their overall empowerment and upliftment, and pave way for them to reach policy and decision-making levels in the future.

* Win over the confidence, trust and faith of other Tamu women and involve them in their programmes and activities

* Ensure coordinated and effective communication flow (both sharing and giving) among all the members and other Tamu organizations as well as strengthen networking among the members.

* Reach out to more rural women and not limit the activities to the major cities only.

References

Gurung, M. M. (2061) Mahila Mukti Ajaka Awshyakta. In ‘Remai Kahe’, Year 2, Issue 2. Kathmandu: Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association. pg 3-4

Gurung, C. K (2005) Tamu Mahilaharuko Sansthagat Bikash; Ek Samikchya. Paper presented at the one-day the Interaction Programme, 24 June 2005, Kathmandu, Nepal

Personal Interviews of Prof. Jag Man Gurung, Member, Royal Nepal Academy and Mrs Man Maya Gurung, Chairperson, Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association

Inputs from Advocate Chattra Kumari Gurung, General Secretary, Nepal Gurung (Tamu) Women’s Association

For more information contact:

Mrs. Man Maya Gurung, Chairperson, Tel. 977-1-4364608

Advocate Chhatra Kumari Gurung, General Secretary, Tel.0977-1-4770279; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

July 1, 2006