Caste Discrimination
Root Cause Of Conflict in Nepal
By Center for
Human Rights and Global Justice
13 August, 2005
Nyuhr.org
Caste discrimination is a root cause and
an insidious consequence of the civil war in Nepal, the Center for Human
Rights and Global Justice charged in a new report released today. The
conflict will remain unresolved without a sustained commitment to ending
caste-based abuses.
The 65-page report,
titled The Missing Piece of the Puzzle: Caste Discrimination and
the Conflict in Nepal, exposes the as yet undocumented impact
of the civil war on Nepals most vulnerable citizens: Dalits or
so-called untouchables. The report was released in Geneva today during
the two-week meeting of the U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights.
The Maoists have
capitalized on caste and gender discrimination in Nepal by heavily recruiting
Dalits and women for their peoples militia. Maoist
indoctrination often includes a special emphasis on the oppression of
the lower castes, and the Maoists alleged role in
liberating them. The dismantling of the educational system also has
fed large numbers of children into the militia.
Once recruited,
Dalits are relegated to the lower ranks of the movement and are, in
effect, taking the bullets for the Maoist insurgency. Coupled with reports
that the practice of untouchability and sexual abuse against
Dalit women persists even within the ranks of the Maoist movement, evidence
shows that Dalits have begun to feel extremely alienated and underserved
by the movement that purports to liberate them.
The Peoples
War has turned on the very people it purported to empower; Dalits
have proven to be the favored victim of both State forces and Maoists,
said Smita Narula, Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights
and Global Justice.
Read the full Report
HERE