Recently some of the group that went to Nepal sat down and had a discussion about various findings we received regarding perception of caste and caste discrimination on the ground in Nepal. In particular we were reminded of those assertions that caste was not an issue within a particular organization. I was prompted to go and review my notes to clarify what was said and where it was said. I found a couple of very interesting notes I had made during some interviews.

While we were in the Bara district we interviewed a youth organization that worked on caste discrimination. They shared with us stories about how they worked with individuals, usually of the Dalit caste, who were accused of witchcraft. A more detailed blog entry regarding this subject can be found here. I found less detailed information was made available after our visit to this district. In fact we were told outright by some organizations that caste was not a problem. While we were visiting the Rolpa district we were informed that there was no longer discrimination based upon caste, gender, religion, or ethnicity.

Today I read an article on NepalNews.com that reports findings from the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) in Nepal indicating that 61 incidents of witchcraft related violence occurred during 2011. 51 of these cases involved females. The majority of these cases were in the Terai region where the Bara district is located, but the article reports 19 of these incidents occurring in the Hill region which is where Rolpa is located. It is obvious that the work of the NGO in the Bara district is a much needed service, and that Rolpa is not as free of discrimination as was claimed during our interview.

I am compelled to keep of organizations who combat the very real discrimination that still exists in Nepal in constant memory. It is all too easy to let the business of life steal away the experience of sitting in that small room listening to people talk about what they fight for, and it is also easy to forget the dismissive claims of others regarding those same issues. I hope in some way this medium helps give voice to those that speak out against caste discrimination as well as acknowledge the nameless victims of such violence.