KATHMANDU, MAY 15

Authorities in Nepal are failing to protect Dalits, particularly women and girls, from systemic and widespread caste-based discrimination, claims Amnesty International in its new report 'No One Cares': Descent-Based Discrimination against Dalits.

The constitution of Nepal guarantees the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Additionally, in 2011, the Caste-Based Discrimination and Untouchability (CBDU) Act was adopted to provide the Dalits in Nepal with the right to equality, to live with human dignity, and to prohibit untouchability and discrimination on the grounds of caste.

Despite legal reforms to prohibit caste-based discrimination, AI has talked with victims and documented examples of how every aspect of everyday life in Nepali society is divided and operates based on the caste system, where discrimination and violence are pervasive for Dalits. They continue to face multiple barriers to accessing justice and have no recourse to reparations due to institutional discrimination, including in the police.

The case of Angira Pasi pending before the High Court

In May 2020, the body of Angira Pasi, a 12-year-old Dalit girl, was found hanging from a tree in Rupandehi District.

A 25-year-old non-Dalit man belonging to the so-called 'dominant caste' had been accused of raping her. Instead of lodging a police complaint, the locals, including the Ward Chair, decided that Angira Pasi should marry the accused who raped her because she would otherwise be considered unsuitable for marriage in the future.

However, the mother and aunt of the accused reportedly abused Angira Pasi, saying she belonged to the 'low caste' so she would not be allowed into their house. They also beat her up. Two days later, Angira Pasi was found hanging from a tree.

The police initially refused to register a complaint from the victim's family. After pressure from civil society, a complaint was registered and the accused, his mother, and his aunt were detained as suspects in Angira Pasi's case. On 12 September 2021, the Rupandehi District Court convicted the accused of murder and sentenced him to 18 years in prison. However, an appeal against the conviction is pending before the High Court.

The case of Ajit Dhakal Mizar's corpse waiting for justice in morgue house since eight years

The corpse of Ajit Dhakal Mijar, an 18-year-old Dalit man, has been lying preserved in a morgue at a hospital in Maharajgunj, for the last eight years as his father fights for justice.

On 14 July 2016, Ajit, who was in an inter-caste relationship with a non-Dalit 'dominant caste' girl, was found dead in suspicious circumstances. Ajit's death was immediately recorded as suicide by the police, and his corpse was declared unidentified. He was quickly buried by the authorities without informing the family.

Ajit's father found certain anomalies relating to the post-mortem report produced by the law enforcement agencies, which raised his suspicion. He requested the exhumation of his son's body and refused to perform final rites for him until he got justice.

Ajit's father and his lawyer, who claimed that the police showed willful negligence in their failure to effectively investigate Ajit's cause of death.

Ajit's father said the police showed allegiance to the non-Dalit suspects and covered up the actual cause of his son's death. They both claimed that an autopsy or post-mortem of Ajit was not conducted, and a forged post-mortem report was produced as evidence.

They also claimed that if the Supreme Court of Nepal directed a post-mortem, it would reveal the facts as to whether Ajit hanged himself or was murdered. Ajit's case, challenging both the lower courts'verdicts, which acquitted the three accused of involvement in his suspicious death, is still pending at the Apex Court.

Similarly, Anita Mahara, one of the Dailt women, said that it seems like 'no one cares.'

Allegations against the police regarding willful negligence of duty in handling caste-based discrimination prompted Nepal's Parliamentary Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights to require a Dalit cell in every police station since 2020. This resulted in the creation of 86 Dalit-specific police cells across the country, each tasked with reporting, investigating and coordinating with victims of caste-based discrimination and untouchability.

Despite some encouraging legal protections, the state is failing to fulfil its human rights duty to address caste-based discrimination. The specific legislation created for this, namely the CBDU Act, lacks effective implementation and falls short of effectively combating such an entrenched system of caste-based discrimination.

'The Nepali authorities must create a holistic plan for a truly transformative response to uproot the entrenched caste and gender-based violence and discrimination in Nepal, based on human rights obligations and with an intersectional lens,' reads the report.

'There is an urgent need to take special measures to improve the situation of Dalit women and girls due to the inter-generational history of oppression and the entrenched culture of caste-bias, patriarchy and discrimination.'