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Quarterly Report of Media Monitoring of Women's Issues
Published by:Sancharika Samuha, SAATHI & C. L. R. S.
for
Women's Right Advocacy Programme (WRAP)
Coordinator: Babita Basnyat,
Sancharika Samuha
Preface
In the context of Nepal, domestic violence, injustice and oppression to women are taken as normal behaviours due to the strong patriarchal society prevalent in the country. In all sectors of development, the State has formulated plans and policies without incorporating the basic principles of equality. Thus, even in the 21st century, 'equality' is still a far vision for women in Nepal. Although these circumstances exist in the country, women have been able to establish themselves in various sectors and are still in the process to do so.
The various forms of violence on women are increasing day by day; women and children are the main victims of rape; women discrimination is still prevalent; and, women are dying for reasons of dowry. In every village and in every city, women are the main victims of domestic violence and there are no provisions of rehabilitation centers or camps for the victims to recover from these forms of violence. Therefore, women usually do not report their sufferings for lack of protection from the concerned departments. Due to the fear of dishonourig the family name, most women do not file complaints with the police department. They quietly suffer the indignation. In many places, women are unable to even report to the police due to their geographical location.
A similar situation prevails on incidents of rape. The victims of rape and their near ones usually keep the secret hidden due to prestige, honour and the future of the victim which sets the culprits free without any fear of condemnation or punishment. Even those that do get apprehended do not get the proper punishment. In this situation, media plays a very important role in presenting the defaults of the society to the general public. Since some time back, the media has been giving importance to women's issues. There have been incidents where the culprits were apprehended due to the publication of news in the media. Since media plays a strong role of a 'bridge' in bringing issues from the people's level to the policy making level, SAS/N has felt the need for media monitoring of women's issues published in the daily newspapers inside the Kathmandu valley.
Objective of Media Monitoring
The following objectives of media monitoring have been outlined.
- To keep abreast of the number of incidents and the type of incidents published on women's issues in the media.
- How has the media presented the news on women's issues ?
- How have the articles, news, editorials, etc., published in the media affected the policy makers, society, family and the personal individual ?
- To provide support to the victims and/or to support His Majesty's Government, INGOs and NGOs to take programmes to the target group through the final report prepared from media monitoring.
Since some time back, the various media have started giving importance to women's issues. This does not mean that the media has covered all the incidents that have been happening. Most of the news on violence against women published in the media are based on the complaints received by the police. There have been other incidents where the news was published first and based on the news the police have taken action. The grave situation of women in different areas can be judged on the basis of the news published in the media.
Media Monitoring of Women's Issues Published in the Media in the Months of May, June and July 2000
a) MAY
In the month of May 2000, a total of 271 news, articles and editorials regarding women's issues were published in the various media. Among these, 48 publications covered incidents of murder and violence, 40 incidents of rape, 7 incidents on assault on the blame of being a witch, 32 articles on women empowerment and positive messages, 9 articles on equality, 37 incidents of girl trafficking, 9 incidents of prostitution, 20 articles on discrimination, 10 articles on women and health, 5 articles on property right and various other news and articles were published on other subjects.
Violence Against Women (VAW): In the month of May, the highest number of news and articles were published on violence against women. The following cases are among the most significant news which were published.
§ A pregnant woman was murdered in Sindhuli.
§ A high rate of child marriage was noticed among the Dum tribe in Dhanusha.
§ A son murdered his mother due to domestic violence.
§ A person named Khagendra Rimal of Panchthar murdered his wife by poisoning her for not bringing dowry.
§ Many women were forced to leave their homes due to Maoist violence.
§ A 20 year-old girl was murdered in Gorkha.
§ A person named Ganesh Ghimire murdered his lover in the forests of Sindhuli.
§ A woman from Lalitpur committed suicide because of domestic strife for dowry.
§ A 25 year-old woman of Rupandehi hung herself due to domestic violence.
§ A person from Nawalparasi murdered his wife because of domestic violence.
§ A person from Sindhupalchowk murdered his wife and sister-in-law.
§ A mother-in-law forced her daughter-in-law to perform improper acts in Kanchanpur.
§ A girl student was kidnapped in Biratnagar.
§ A wife was killed by her husband in Bardiya.
§ Women from Nawalparasi, Bara and Biratnagar committed suicide due to domestic violence and reasons of dowry.
Rape: In the month of May, there were 40 news published on rape. The following headings provide a glimpse of the articles which were published.
§ A 9 year-old child was raped by a 25 year-old man in the forests of Kapilvastu.
§ A 12 year-old girl was raped in Udaypur.
§ A 7 year-old child was raped in Kadmaha VDC, Morang.
§ Buddhi Bhahdur Bishwokarma of Pokhara raped his 8 year-old daughter.
§ Dipak Parajuli, a teacher of a school in Jhapa raped one of his students.
§ A 4 year-old child was raped in Sunsari.
§ The court sentenced a 55 year-old former ward chairman Bal Bahadur Kandel to 7 years imprisonment and awarded half of his property to the victim for raping a child in Gorkha.
§ A 11 year-old girl and a 8 year-old girl were raped in Udaypur.
§ Sher Bahadur Rai residing in Kathmandu raped his five-year-old daughter.
§ A 21 year-old woman was raped in Kalaiya.
§ Four women were gang raped by men acting as Maoist activists in Dailekh.
§ A 9 year-old child was raped in Gorkha and the rapist was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment.
§ A 7 year-old child was raped (on the pretext of watching TV and providing chocolates) by a 58 year-old man named Yalambar Acharya in Udaypur.
§ A 18 year-old girl was gang raped by six men in Dhankuta and the culprits were arrested by the police after complaints but again they were set free.
§ A 9 year-old girl was raped by two persons in Mahottari and the culprits are still in prison because they could not come up with a bail amount set for Rs. 10,000/-.
§ A three-year-old child was raped in Birganj.
§ A 13 year-old domestic help was raped by her house owner in Kathmandu
§ Besides the above-mentioned cases, news have been published that culprits have been imprisoned for judicial enquiry or have been arrested by the police.
Witch: Four incidents which occurred in Mahottari (Udaypur), Gaighat, Dhankuta and Rajbiraj were published on the issue. Two editorials were published against the assault that was meted out to those who were blamed as being witches.
Women Empowerment & Positive Messages: Thirty-two news were published on the issue of women empowerment and positive presentations of women. Topics of women empowerment, awareness, participation of women in development, courageous deeds done by women, success stories and women who were awarded were covered in the news published in the month of May.
Girl Trafficking: On the issue of girl trafficking, 37 news were published during the month of May. The news covered women who were sold from Ilam, Mahendranagar, Pokhara, Dang, Bhaktapur, Sindhupalchowk, Bhadrapur, Nawalparasi, Janakpur, Nuwakot and Biratnagar. News was published that when a girl who was sold from Sindhupalchowk filed complaints against the culprit, a case was filed against her instead for causing dishonour.
Prostitution: Nine news were published on the issue of prostitution in which it has been mentioned that prostitution has been increasing in Parsa, Kathmandu, Chitwan, Itahari, Birganj, Janakpur, Siraha, etc., districts. News have been published that women have been arrested for interrogation from restaurants for prostitution. But, there has been no news of any men being arrested in this regard. In another news, it has been published that a woman from Siraha joined prostitution because her husband was a drunkard and an article was published that prostitution should not be legalised.
Women and Health: Ten articles were published on women and health. Among these, articles were published on benefits of advice on safe motherhood, death of many women due to lack of awareness on health, workers returning from India carrying AIDS and articles on abortion.
Discrimination: Twenty articles were published on discrimination among daughters. The following headings were among the most significant news which were published.
§ Inequality among sons and daughters.
§ Birth of many daughters on the hope of giving birth to a son.
§ Non-implementation of laws on women's rights.
§ The tendancy of neglecting the girl child in Terai remaining the same.
§ The desire of most of the women to abort daughters in the early stages of pregnancy.
§ Other features and articles were published on sayings such as "Birth to sons and Abortion to daughters" and "Meat in the birth of sons and Tears in the birth of daughters".
Women's Right to Property: Five news were published on the subject. Among the news published were; a father killed his son on the fight for property, the women's bill will be passed this year, the demand for equal property right, etc. A satirical article and one other article were also published on the issue.
b) JUNE
In the month of June 2000, a total of 125 news, articles and editorials regarding women's issues were published in the various media. Among these, 39 publications covered cases on violence against women, 25 incidents on rape, 9 articles on women and health, 12 articles on women empowerment, 4 articles on women's property right, 4 incidents on assault on the blame of being a witch, 5 articles on equality, 6 incidents of discrimination, 17 incidents on girl trafficking, 1 article on women and politics, and 1 article on women environment.
Violence Against Women: In the month of June, 39 news were published on violence against women. Among them, the following are some of the articles which were published.
§ An article titled "Accepting a second wife or imprisoning the husband for one month" was published on polygamy.
§ An incident in Palpa where a husband burnt his wife in anger was also published.
§ Another incident in Jhapa where a husband hit his wife with a Khukuri (long and lethal Nepali knife) was published.
§ Another incident which was published was that a woman together with her four children jumped into the Koshi River due to domestic violence.
§ Another news was published that the victims of domestic violence were turning towards liquor business.
§ A husband burnt his wife to death in Tikapur, etc.
Rape: Twenty-five incidents on rape were published in the month of June. The following incidents are some of the news which were published.
§ In Nawalparasi, a 9 year-old child was raped by 16 year-old, Amrit Bishwokarma.
§ A 9 year-old child was raped by her own uncle in Dang.
§ A five-year old child was raped by a person named Masir Lama in Kathmandu.
§ An 11 year-old girl was raped by her brother-in-law in Lalitpur.
§ A 14 year-old girl was raped by a law practitioner named Upendra Subedi.
§ An attempt was made to rape a 13 year-old girl in Hetauda.
§ A 5 year-old child was undergoing treatment after being raped in Nijgadh, Bara District.
§ A seven-year-old child was raped by her 24 year-old uncle, Indra Bahadur Subba in Ilam but, the case was not reported by the victim's side since the culprit was related and only after a report from some other party, the culprit was arrested.
§ Two culprits who had raped a girl student continuously for three days while returning from school two years back were arrested and served a prison sentence of six years and half the property was granted to the victim by the Bhaktapur District Court.
§ A girl who had gone to use the toilet was raped by two men in Kabhre.
§ A mother and her 9 year-old daughter were gang raped in Ward No.4 of Laxminia, Mahendranagar.
§ A 44 year-old woman was gang raped and murdered in Ward No. 9 of Kanchanpur VDC, Saptari.
§ A woman was raped and murdered in Tanahun.
§ An 11 year-old girl was raped by her 52 year-old step-father in Birtamod.
§ A 7 year-old child was raped in Biratnagar.
§ A 9 year-old girl was raped by 28 year-old Bal Krishna Kharel on the pretext of helping her to cut grass.
Girl Trafficking: Seventeen news, articles and editorials were published on girl trafficking. The news covers incidents on girls who were on the verge of being sold, other girls who were sold and the culprits who were arrested. The incidents happened in Hetauda, Nepalganj, Biratnagar, Rajbiraj and Butwal. Other articles and editorials were also published and it was also mentioned that the culprits were getting political protection.
Social Rights to Women: Four articles were published on the issue. One of the articles was an interview and among the other three, two were on education to girls instead of property and one was on equal property right to daughters.
Women and Health: Nine items were published on the issue. Among them, the main news were the effects of early marriage, the effect of Dipo Provera on a woman's body, the fact that Nepal has the highest population of women smokers in the world, the prevalent law on abortion, etc.
Prostitution: Six news from Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Butwal, Dhulikhel and Sunsari were published on prostitution.
Witch: Four incidents were published on the issue of witch in this month. Among them, a teacher in Lamjung had to publicly ask for forgiveness for blaming an 80 year old woman to be a witch, a person from Mahottari who had ill-treated a woman on the blame of being a witch was released on bail, another person from Mahottari fed his wife feces on suspicion of being a witch and an article was published on the incidents happening in Mahottari.
c) JULY
A total number of 136 news were published on women's issues in the month of July. Among them, 22 incidents were on rape, 21 incidents on violence against women, 8 incidents on prostitution, 4 articles on women's health, 8 articles on women empowerment and positive presentations, 19 articles on women's property right, 10 incidents on girl trafficking, 3 incidents on the issue of witch, and 3 articles on discrimination.
Violence Against Women: The following incidents were some of the main news which were published by the media.
§ A person murdered his wife due to domestic violence in Rauthat.
§ Dil Maya Shrestha of Tanahun is still in the search for justice after she was kicked out by her husband.
§ In Biratnagar, a person murdered his wife after being denied sex.
§ In Gaur, a person killed his daughter and wife.
§ A woman from Gaur committed suicide after she was unable to suffer the torments of her mother-in-law.
§ A person from Banke forced a signature on the divorce papers from his wife on the pretext of signing for citizenship.
§ A husband murdered his wife for having illicit relationship with another person.
§ In Birganj, a husband murdered his wife on suspicion of having a relationship with someone else.
§ A woman was paraded naked in Birtamod on the blame that she had illicit relationship with another person.
§ In Jajarkot, a Maoist girl who returned home was forced to rejoin the Maoist movement by armed Maoist guerillas.
§ Other news were published that many men have run away after making women pregnant and these women have to face mental violence due to the negative attitude of the society.
Rape: A total number of 22 news were published on incidents of rape in the month of July. The following are the main news which were published.
§ A policeman raped a girl in Maharajganj, Kathmandu.
§ A 13 year old girl working as domestic help in the house of Judge Bhairab Prasad Lamsal in Kathmandu was raped and murdered.
§ A person who raped a 16 year-old girl in Nuwakot was sentenced to 1 year 6 months of imprisonment.
§ Three policemen raped an 18 year-old girl in Mulghat near the border of Baitadi.
§ A 65 year-old lady was raped in her own home in Nepalganj.
§ A woman who had been raped by her brother-in-law some years back had joined prostitution (Bhaktapur).
§ A person named Purna Bahadur B. K. of Gularia, Bardia was sent to prison for raping his own five-year-old daughter.
§ In Dharan, 3 to 4 men tried to rape one woman.
§ In Jajarkot, a woman joined the Maoist movement after she was raped by a policeman.
§ A woman was raped in Taulihawa while her husband was not at home.
§ A 16 year-old girl was raped by a 60 year-old man in Kathmandu.
§ A 22 year-old girl was raped and her hands and breasts were cut by four men in Chitwan, Bharatpur.
§ A girl from Sarlahi District is demanding justice 10 years after she was raped.
§ A 9 year-old child had been raped some years back in Bara and the culprit was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment and half of his property was handed to the victim.
§ In Gorkha, a 18 year-old Jivan Khadga was imprisoned and half of his property was awarded to the five-year-old child that he had raped.
Women's Right to Property: In the month of July, most of the articles centered around the will system after the Prime Minster and the Leader of the Opposition Party spoke in favour of the will system at a function. All the articles, news and editorials were published in favour of the will system.
Girl Trafficking: Altogether 10 news and incidents were published on girl trafficking. The following are some of the main news.
§ A need for a separate law on girl trafficking.
§ Three persons involved in girl trafficking were arrested in Sindhupalchowk.
§ In Birganj, a woman was rescued from being sold.
§ A woman sold her own daughter in Hetauda.
§ In Tehrathum, a brother and sister sold their own younger sister.
§ In Butwal, three women were rescued from being sold.
Witch: Three articles were published on the issue in the month of July. Among them, a woman in Birganj was forced to eat feces and she was beaten on the blame of being a witch; in Udaypur, a person suffering from fever was treated through a faith healer since it was believed that a witch was making him suffer; and, one editorial was published on the subject.
Prostitution: There were 8 incidents published on prostitution in the month of July. The following are the main news which were published.
§ An article was published with the title "The biggest fear of the people involved in prostitution is the police".
§ Rampant prostitution from lodges to the bus park in Pokhara.
§ In Birganj, dance restaurants increase corruption.
§ A woman was arrested in Kabhre for prostitution.
§ Approximately 200 women are involved in prostitution in Lahan.
§ Some of the women dancers were arrested from Birganj dance restaurants.
§ A brothel owner was arrested in Lalipur.
Women and Health: Altogether four articles have been published on women and health. Among them, news was published that the life of a homeless dumb woman and her unborn child was in danger after she became pregnant; two articles and one news was published on the increasing number of women going for abortion in Chitwan.
Women Empowerment and Positive Presentations: Altogether 8 news and articles were published on the subject. The main news are the following.
§ Preparation for National Women Commission.
§ In Biratnagar, Yogmaya has started a movement on daughter-in laws educating their mother-in-laws.
§ In one family of Dhankuta, the husband joined school through the inspiration of his wife.
§ If there is self-confidence, a woman can be self-dependable even if the husband neglects her.
§ The women of Dang towards education and self-dependability.
Follow-up:
The media has done quite a commendable job in publishing news on women's issues, but what seems to be lacking is the follow-up of the incidents which have been published. Most of the news on girl trafficking are of women who have returned from brothels but there is no mention of their health condition. Similarly, the mental and physical condition of the victims of rape have not been published in the news. Incidents of dowry and witchcraft have been published but, there seems to be a lack of follow-up of the incidents.
Lack of Information:
There seems to be an information gap in the news which have been published. In the case of girl trafficking, simple details such as the age of the victim and the reason they were sold have not come out. Regarding the women who have returned from the brothels, details such as what they are doing or where they are living at present have been mostly left out. Similarly, in the case of domestic violence, only a few news provide a detail description of why the person was murdered.
Concluding Remarks:
All the above news covering the months of May, June and July 2000 show that compared to the previous years, women's issues are being covered positively by the various media. Most of the newspapers have stopped giving the victims name and started publishing all the details of the culprit. It can also be noticed that the highest number of news published are on domestic violence and rape. Therefore, there seems to be a need to adopt strict laws on these issues.
Although there have been some negative presentation of women's issues, most of the newspapers have given importance to women's issues. Women's success stories have also been given importance by the media. There is a need to publish more articles on women and health. Messages on health will go a long way to make more and more women aware of the various risks.
It has been noticed that there has been a great change in the media within the past two years. But, still women's issues have not been able to come out as national issues. Most of the news on women's issues are still printed in the inner pages.
Positive
Reenda Conducts the Last Rites
Ms. Reenda Adhikari of Ramkot VDC, Kathmandu has paved the way for those who give birth to many children in the hope of giving birth to a son. She conducted the last rites of her mother herself. She showed the path for those in the society who feel that a son is required to conduct the last rites after death. Her mother expired on Baisakh 15th and her only brother had died in a car accident. Two of her sisters are already married. At present, Reenda is working with the Kathmandu Municipality.
Tarun Saptahik 2057/2/16
Negative
Suicide after Strife with Mother-in law
Gaur, Shrawan 15: A resident of Rautahat, 20 year-old Kaushila Devi Sahani committed suicide by hanging herself after she had a strife with her mother-in-law. Necessary actions are being taken by the District Police Office.
R.S.S. 31 July 2000
Negative
Khagendra-Sushila Caught in the Act of Sex
The Ward Police Office, Lainchaur apprehended one couple in the act of having sex from Kantipur Guest House, Chettrapati. According to the police, Sushila Magar was from Gorkha and Khagendra Tamang was from Ramechap.
Prabhatkalin Jansatta 2057/2/30
The effect of News Publication in the media
A Rape Victim Found 12 Days Later in India
11 Sawan: An 18 year-old girl who had been raped by policemen some days ago in the bordering area of Baitadi District was found in Tanakpu, India 12 days later. Earlier, there had been demonstrations in Baitadi demanding punishment to the culprits and to conduct a search for the missing girl. In this context, a committee was also formed to fight against the incident. The news that the victim was in Tanakpur was confirmed by the coordinator of the above committee, Chamu Singh Thapa. A group comprising of Chairman of Kanchanpur VDC and Chairman of the Commerce and Trade Association brought the victim and her relative back to Mahendranagar. Afte their return, the police took them in for interrogation. According to a police source, the victim was also taken for medical check-up. According to the police, the two culprits were immediately suspended and necessary actions are being taken against them.
The victim and her relative had been apprehended by the police on the grounds of suspicion. The victim had been raped while she was in police custody and the culprits had sent them to India after the incident.
Kantipur Daily Sawan 12, 2057
Positive Presentation
Husband Joins School through the Inspiration of his Wife
Dhankuta, Asar 29: "Will you study if you get the opportunity?" "If you will, I will make you study." These were statements made by the courageous wife, Laxmi Katuwal to make the environment for her husband to join school. A mother of two children, Laxmi was not unaware of the importance of education. Moreover, she had already participated in programmes conducted by Women Development Branch, Dhankuta and become a member of the group. She got empowered by participating in trainings conducted by the branch. She highly believes in the importance of education and at present, she has taken all the responsibilities of her home and her two children to send her husband to school. Laxmi came to find out much later after marriage that her husband had left school after class 9. She asked her husband if he wanted to continue his studies to which he replied that at a time when the children have to go to school, how could he as a father join school. Further, he added that there were lot of responsibilities which she could not handle alone. But, Laxmi convinced her husband that she could take care of things and she enrolled him in class 9 of Bharati High School. After the rumour spread, people started commenting about it and school children would tease her husband. After her husband did well in his studies, the comments stopped. Laxmi believes that women are as equal as men and if they have a strong will power, they can achieve anything. The women of her village take this action as a strong example of women power. Laxmi has passed her tenth grade.
Gorkhapatra Daily, 29 Asar 2057.
Negative Pregnant in Youth......
The police of Belbari arrested 20 year-old unmarried Yuvati Kumari Limbu on charges of killing her child through illegal abortion. According to the information, a body of a dead child was found in the river and the same day Kumari was arrested. The culprit accepted the fact that she had killed her child six days before. According to her, a person named Subash Limbu whom she had known from Tehrathum, promised to marry her and made her pregnant. But, after he found out that she was pregnant, he ran away. Therefore, Kumari murdered her child. According to the police, there are suspicions that Kumari used to be a prostitute in the daytime and that she had aborted a child before this incident.
Prabhatkalin Jansatta 30 Baisakh, 2057
Positive
A Sadhu Woman Built a Library by Saving from her Meals.....
A 70 year-old Sadhu woman, Naramay Dhakal of Tehrathum provided donations to build a library in Bhagwati High School for students by saving money from her meals. She recollects that she had been married at 7 and that her husband had presumably died when she was 8 year-old. She adds that she saved money for quite some time in order to build the library.
Kantipur Daily, 2 July 2000
Follow-up
Two Policemen Suspended on Rape Case
Two policemen have been suspended and departmental proceedings have started on them for raping a girl in Baitadi. According to the information received, a 'bandh' had also been organised in protest of the incident. The demonstrators had handed over an appeal to punish the culprits to the Chief District Officer. The victim and a boy who had accompanied her have not returned home yet.
Samacharpatra Daily 23 July 2000
Negative
Daughter: The Agony of our Society
Prabhatkalin Jansatta 2057/1/20
Nepal should not Adopt a Law on Equal Rights to Daughters
Himalaya Times Daily 2057/3/18
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