Social Evils And Challenges To Nepali Society
The problems facing Nepal are similar to those facing many other countries around the world. Issues such as poverty, unemployment, a history of authoritarianism, violence, crime, drug peddling, girl trafficking and environmental pollution are common in many developing countries. For instance, severe poverty can be seen in many parts of Asia as well as all over Africa, and even in developed countries like the United States. Violence is endemic in many countries in Latin America such as Columbia, Guatemala and Brazil. Girl trafficking is becoming a growing problem in Eastern Europe as the industry is becoming more and more profitable and former communist countries struggle to improve their economies and strengthen their policing efforts.
Just as these social ills are common in many countries, the causes of such problems are common as well. Often a lack of economic opportunities leads citizens towards violence, drug peddling and girl trafficking. Other causes relate to the tendency for people to satisfy their immediate needs rather than consider the long-term consequences of their actions. A lack of resources, government efficiency and education among the populace also contribute to social problems.
Solving these problems is not easy to do. Determining solutions is challenging, and once decided upon, the solutions are often even more difficult to implement. In many cases, individuals are so concerned about how to find food to eat and clean water to drink that they do not have time or energy to spend working to improve their government. In other cases, people expect the government to improve their lives, and think that they are helpless in changing their environment. This feeling that people are victims of their surroundings rather than active members in their communities perpetuates social ills and makes problem solving difficult.
PURPOSE OF UNIT
This unit describes some of the various challenges the Nepali government and we, the Nepali people, face in our efforts to improve the quality of life for citizens. The main focus of this unit is not to describe the problems but rather to focus on how citizens of Nepal, including us, can become active participants in our communities and government and play key roles in solving some of our social ills. As mentioned in the last unit, democracy alone cannot bring development to Nepal. However, democratic government offers a variety of opportunities that other types of government do not offer. For instance, democracy allows citizens to speak their minds, make demands on their officials and monitor government actions.
After studying this unit you should be able to:
- Identify some of the social challenges facing Nepali society.
- Determine ways in which we as citizens can effectively respond to these challenges and improve our lives and the lives of others in our communities.
STRUCTURE OF UNIT
The unit is divided into the following sub-units:
- Poverty, Underdevelopment and Unemployment
- Authoritarianism
- Violence
- Crime
- Drug Peddling
- Girl Trafficking
- Environmental Pollution
- Solutions to These Challenges
- Activities
- Conclusion
TERMS TO KNOW
Please pay attention to the key words listed below. Become familiar with their definitions and how they are used in the text. You will need to understand these terms to answer the questions at the end of this unit.
Poverty
Underdevelopment
Unemployment
Malnutrition
Authoritarianism
Crime
Drug Peddling
HIV/AIDS
Prostitution
POVERTY, UNDERDEVELOPMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT
As in many other developing countries, Nepal has a high poverty rate. Large numbers of Nepalis lack adequate health and sanitation facilities and are malnourished and illiterate. Many people either have jobs that do not pay enough to survive or are unemployed. Death rates are high among children and people often cannot find adequate housing. The country as a whole is struggling to develop economically. This means that the country needs appropriate and sustainable productive activities or more industry to provide jobs for the people.
To better understand how poverty affects people, it is helpful to hear the voices of some people in Nepal who experience poverty. Below are quotes from different people who describe how poverty affects them personally.
Lack of economic opportunities sometimes leads parents to send their children to work and not to school. The parents need money and in some cases feel they have no other choice but to have their children work and help support the family. When children work rather than go to school they often miss out on the opportunity to learn how to read and write.
In some cases, people work but don't make money. Kamaiyas are bonded laborers. They work on farms and in households in Nepal but do not receive a salary. Kamaiyas are sometimes afraid to leave their work for fear their landlord will be angry with them and hurt them physically. Other Kamaiyas have nowhere else to go and so they stay with their landlord. In the year 2000 (2058 B.S.), His Majesty's Government of Nepal abolished the bonded labor system and freed Kamaiyas from bondage to their landlords. The government is now attempting to help some Kamaiyas find shelter and work.
Read the news article below and answer the following questions.
At the time this article was written:
1. What government committee was working to rehabilitate the Kamaiyas?
2. Did any of the Kamaiyas have land? If so, how many?
3. Had the government found additional land to give to the Kamaiyas?
4. What types of help was the government trying to provide for the Kamaiyas?
5. Do you think this help was sufficient? If not, what else do you think needed to be done?
(Source:Contemporary Society Course Nepal)
Just as these social ills are common in many countries, the causes of such problems are common as well. Often a lack of economic opportunities leads citizens towards violence, drug peddling and girl trafficking. Other causes relate to the tendency for people to satisfy their immediate needs rather than consider the long-term consequences of their actions. A lack of resources, government efficiency and education among the populace also contribute to social problems.
Solving these problems is not easy to do. Determining solutions is challenging, and once decided upon, the solutions are often even more difficult to implement. In many cases, individuals are so concerned about how to find food to eat and clean water to drink that they do not have time or energy to spend working to improve their government. In other cases, people expect the government to improve their lives, and think that they are helpless in changing their environment. This feeling that people are victims of their surroundings rather than active members in their communities perpetuates social ills and makes problem solving difficult.
PURPOSE OF UNIT
This unit describes some of the various challenges the Nepali government and we, the Nepali people, face in our efforts to improve the quality of life for citizens. The main focus of this unit is not to describe the problems but rather to focus on how citizens of Nepal, including us, can become active participants in our communities and government and play key roles in solving some of our social ills. As mentioned in the last unit, democracy alone cannot bring development to Nepal. However, democratic government offers a variety of opportunities that other types of government do not offer. For instance, democracy allows citizens to speak their minds, make demands on their officials and monitor government actions.
After studying this unit you should be able to:
- Identify some of the social challenges facing Nepali society.
- Determine ways in which we as citizens can effectively respond to these challenges and improve our lives and the lives of others in our communities.
STRUCTURE OF UNIT
The unit is divided into the following sub-units:
- Poverty, Underdevelopment and Unemployment
- Authoritarianism
- Violence
- Crime
- Drug Peddling
- Girl Trafficking
- Environmental Pollution
- Solutions to These Challenges
- Activities
- Conclusion
TERMS TO KNOW
Please pay attention to the key words listed below. Become familiar with their definitions and how they are used in the text. You will need to understand these terms to answer the questions at the end of this unit.
Poverty
Underdevelopment
Unemployment
Malnutrition
Authoritarianism
Crime
Drug Peddling
HIV/AIDS
Prostitution
POVERTY, UNDERDEVELOPMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT
As in many other developing countries, Nepal has a high poverty rate. Large numbers of Nepalis lack adequate health and sanitation facilities and are malnourished and illiterate. Many people either have jobs that do not pay enough to survive or are unemployed. Death rates are high among children and people often cannot find adequate housing. The country as a whole is struggling to develop economically. This means that the country needs appropriate and sustainable productive activities or more industry to provide jobs for the people.
To better understand how poverty affects people, it is helpful to hear the voices of some people in Nepal who experience poverty. Below are quotes from different people who describe how poverty affects them personally.
| “Poverty means I never leave my village. I didn’t go to school and every day I wonder where I will find something to eat. The unemployment rate in my village is very high; many people can’t find work. Other people help build each other’s houses and farm each other’s land but they don’t earn enough money to get by. Many people in my village are surviving on the absolute minimum.” “Poverty for me means I don’t have clean drinking water and when I get sick I have no doctor to help. My sister got ill because she didn’t have enough nutritious food to eat. Her child was born with malnutrition, without the proper vitamins and minerals, and will likely die at a young age.” “Poverty means that I must beg for food. Most other people in the city have homes, families and food to eat each day. But I don’t. I live on the street, and people don’t look at me.” “Poverty means that even though I have a home and a job and other people in my village think of me as rich, I still can’t buy enough food to feed my brothers and sisters. We are crowded in a two-room house and always need to be conscious of what we spend. We need to make sure we save enough money to pay for our food and rent each month.” |
Lack of economic opportunities sometimes leads parents to send their children to work and not to school. The parents need money and in some cases feel they have no other choice but to have their children work and help support the family. When children work rather than go to school they often miss out on the opportunity to learn how to read and write.
In some cases, people work but don't make money. Kamaiyas are bonded laborers. They work on farms and in households in Nepal but do not receive a salary. Kamaiyas are sometimes afraid to leave their work for fear their landlord will be angry with them and hurt them physically. Other Kamaiyas have nowhere else to go and so they stay with their landlord. In the year 2000 (2058 B.S.), His Majesty's Government of Nepal abolished the bonded labor system and freed Kamaiyas from bondage to their landlords. The government is now attempting to help some Kamaiyas find shelter and work.
Read the news article below and answer the following questions.
| Proceed Work to Rehabilitate Kamaiyas: Ojha The Rising Nepal, Tuesday, November 14, 2000 Dhangadhi, Nov. 13 (RSS), Minister for Land Reforms and Management Sidha Raj Ojha has instructed the Freed Kamaiya Identification and Rehabilitation Monitoring and Coordination Committee, Kailali in the district to proceed with the rehabilitation work by leaving no room for complaints and disputes. The minister was speaking at a meeting of the committee here on Nov. 12. The meeting chaired by chairman of the committee and Kailali DDC Narayan Datta Mishra reviewed the progress made so far in the rehabilitation of the freed Kamaiyas and discussed future actions. In course of rehabilitating the former Kamaiyas, the committee has already distributed identification cards to 257- freed Kamaiyas at Dhangadi town area, Malakheti, Geta and Beladevipur Chaumala VDCs. Distribution of such identification cards to other freed Kamaiyas in other areas is under way, according to member secretary of the committee and head of the Kailali land reforms office Maheshwor Neupane. Likewise, the committee has identified 17 bighas of land at Malakheti and 26 bighas at Shripur VDC for distribution to the former Kamaiyas. The committee is continuing to explore such land in other areas as well. The freed Kamaiyas are taking shelter in 17 make shift camps at Pathariya, Baliya, Dododhara, Masuriya, Chaumala, Pratappur, Malakheti, Geta, Dhangadhi and Urma. According to the committee, 2,688 of the freed Kamaiyas in the district are landless, while 108 others are living on unregistered land and 533 families have their own land. |
1. What government committee was working to rehabilitate the Kamaiyas?
2. Did any of the Kamaiyas have land? If so, how many?
3. Had the government found additional land to give to the Kamaiyas?
4. What types of help was the government trying to provide for the Kamaiyas?
5. Do you think this help was sufficient? If not, what else do you think needed to be done?
(Source:Contemporary Society Course Nepal)
Post a Comment