Badi Women in a ‘crisis of Identity’ in Nepal
Source: www.usnepalonline.com
Badi community of Nepal called as the’ untouchables amongst the untouchables’ are the stigmatized minority where women are forced into ‘flesh trade’. Badi are also considered as the ‘prostitute caste’, where women in order to sustain their impoverished families are involved in prostitution, which is passed on to generations.
Residing in mid and far western part of the country, they are considered to have originally come from India back in 14th century. They were originally an entertainment caste-singers, dancers and musicians. However with the change in the political, cultural and economic scenario of the country, in order to regain their lost income, Badi women adopted prostitution as their occupation. This, since then was passed on to every Badi girl as a hereditary profession. They continue to be in the profession until they get married (which is very rare ) or until they are unwanted. It is said that, a Badi girl is more desirable than a Badi boy in the community as she would be able to make a better living for herself and her parents in comparison to boys, who are basically involved in making of the musical instruments.
Beneath this system of hereditary transfer of prostitution as an occupation, there lies a big problem of crisis of identity for the children and the Badi women itself. Many children born out of a wedlock were never recognized as the citizen of Nepal, which still persists. Previous constitution of Nepal, ‘The constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990’ had not recognized the right of a mother to transfer the citizenship to children by descent, which had created a situation of chaos resulting in ‘statelessness’ for the children of Badi women. And since, Badi women did not believe in the use of contraceptives, this further had resulted in a precarious situation.
The present constitution ‘The interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007’ under Article 8(2)(b), now states that anyone “whose father or mother is a citizen of Nepal at the birth of such person” is eligible for a Nepali citizenship. This was a huge leap across the patriarchal norms in Nepal that for the first time recognized the right of a mother to transfer the citizenship to her children based on lineal decent. This provision was moreover brought in consonance with Article 9 of Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which sets an obligation for a State to ‘grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children’. Furthermore, the judicial activism in this regard, in order to recognize the right of identity for the Badi children in Nepal is worth appreciation. Ranjeet Thapa v. Government of Nepal (2009), Forum for Protection of Public Interest v. Government of Nepal (2005), Nakkile Maharjan v. Government of Nepal (2004) are few amongst several cases that have recognized the right of a mother to transfer citizenship to her kid. Surprisingly, despite all these recent progresses, in reality many women are still unable to transfer citizenship to their children as a matter of right. Lack of clarity in administrative procedures as well as the patriarchal mindset of the government officials, transfer of citizenship remains a matter of discretion of the authorities. This state of ‘inaction’ in spite of the time and again outcry of the Badi community and the human rights activists shows how trivial this matter is for the Government. Particularly, at this moment, this issue is not in the priority list of the Government because the political instability is shaking the foundational spirit of the constitutionalism in the country. This being the situation, especially Badi girls in absence of citizenship making them ineligible for any other job opportunities, are dragged into the same vicious circle of poverty and forced prostitution.
Residing in mid and far western part of the country, they are considered to have originally come from India back in 14th century. They were originally an entertainment caste-singers, dancers and musicians. However with the change in the political, cultural and economic scenario of the country, in order to regain their lost income, Badi women adopted prostitution as their occupation. This, since then was passed on to every Badi girl as a hereditary profession. They continue to be in the profession until they get married (which is very rare ) or until they are unwanted. It is said that, a Badi girl is more desirable than a Badi boy in the community as she would be able to make a better living for herself and her parents in comparison to boys, who are basically involved in making of the musical instruments.
Beneath this system of hereditary transfer of prostitution as an occupation, there lies a big problem of crisis of identity for the children and the Badi women itself. Many children born out of a wedlock were never recognized as the citizen of Nepal, which still persists. Previous constitution of Nepal, ‘The constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990’ had not recognized the right of a mother to transfer the citizenship to children by descent, which had created a situation of chaos resulting in ‘statelessness’ for the children of Badi women. And since, Badi women did not believe in the use of contraceptives, this further had resulted in a precarious situation.
The present constitution ‘The interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007’ under Article 8(2)(b), now states that anyone “whose father or mother is a citizen of Nepal at the birth of such person” is eligible for a Nepali citizenship. This was a huge leap across the patriarchal norms in Nepal that for the first time recognized the right of a mother to transfer the citizenship to her children based on lineal decent. This provision was moreover brought in consonance with Article 9 of Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which sets an obligation for a State to ‘grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children’. Furthermore, the judicial activism in this regard, in order to recognize the right of identity for the Badi children in Nepal is worth appreciation. Ranjeet Thapa v. Government of Nepal (2009), Forum for Protection of Public Interest v. Government of Nepal (2005), Nakkile Maharjan v. Government of Nepal (2004) are few amongst several cases that have recognized the right of a mother to transfer citizenship to her kid. Surprisingly, despite all these recent progresses, in reality many women are still unable to transfer citizenship to their children as a matter of right. Lack of clarity in administrative procedures as well as the patriarchal mindset of the government officials, transfer of citizenship remains a matter of discretion of the authorities. This state of ‘inaction’ in spite of the time and again outcry of the Badi community and the human rights activists shows how trivial this matter is for the Government. Particularly, at this moment, this issue is not in the priority list of the Government because the political instability is shaking the foundational spirit of the constitutionalism in the country. This being the situation, especially Badi girls in absence of citizenship making them ineligible for any other job opportunities, are dragged into the same vicious circle of poverty and forced prostitution.