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Kumar Lamichhane Gender Impacts of New Livelihoods A Study of Chepang Community in Central Hill of Nepal Kumar Lamichhane Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Specializing in Geography Department of Geography, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, May 2015 “हामी त चेपा敍 हो, ढा更絍दैन पो !!” “We are Chepang. We don’t lie, indeed!!” Acknowledgement This study is dedicated to Chepang men and women of Raksirang village. They are the sources of my inspiration and knowledge. This study is their story. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Ragnhild Lund. Her continuous support and valuable suggestions are keys to the successful completion of this study. I would also like to thank Manahari Development Institute (MDI) and it’s helpful staffs. Without them this study would have been impossible. I am grateful to my friends Saroj Koirala and Bhola Duwadi for their constant motivation and inputs. Last, but not the least, I am most thankful to my family for their love and encouragements. i Abstract This study was undertaken to identify the impact of outmigration in Chepang community of central hill in Nepal, from gender point of view. The main objective of this study was to trace out the continuity and changes in traditional gender norms and practices in relation to migration and changing livelihoods in indigenous Chepang community of Raksirang village. Analytical framework was developed based on the social relation approach, which has identified 5 major components – rules, power, resources, activities and people – as the integral parts of every social relation, including gender. Tools of qualitative research were applied in order to collect the information from various informants, including local people, experts and different organizations. Subjective interaction with local people was the main way to understand the life experiences of Chepang people. The study found that Chepang community has more equitable and rational gender norms and practices. The traditional gender based division of labor was found to be highly flexible. Both Chepang men and women had been enjoying equal social rights and status in traditional Chepang community. However, the link with urban sector and capitalist market has adversely affected the egalitarian norms of Chepang people, and has subjected Chepang men in greater deprivation. Chepang men were forced to migrate to the urban area to work as cheap labor in capitalist markets, where they are surviving in filthy living condition, hazardous working environment, and extreme exploitations. Meanwhile, Chepang women have got opportunity to empower themselves with the involvement in NGO-led development project at their own community. Women centered development policies and programs in Nepal always assumed men as oppressor and impediments for women empowerment. As a result men are being systematically marginalized from the opportunities of empowerment and development programs in their own community. This has highly adverse impact on general welfare of the society, neither it will allow achieving the goal of gender equity and equality in long term. ii Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................... I ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. II LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES ............................................................................ V LIST OF ACRONYMS .............................................................................................. V CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Goal and Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Scope and Limitations .................................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Organization of the Thesis ........................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2: GENDER AND MIGRATION IN THE NEPALI CONTEXT ....... 6 2.1 History of Nepal and the Root of Discrimination ....................................................................... 6 2.2 Gender Identities in Nepali Society ............................................................................................. 7 2.3 Globalized Nepal: A Changing Situation .................................................................................. 10 2.4 Who are Chepang? ..................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTS AND THEORIES ....................................................... 18 3.1 Understanding Gender ............................................................................................................... 18 3.1.1 Structuralism in Gender ........................................................................................................ 19 3.1.2 Interactionist Perspective ...................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Livelihood .................................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Neoclassical Views of Migration ................................................................................................ 24 3.4 Structuralist view of Migration ................................................................................................. 24 3.5 Migration as a Livelihood .......................................................................................................... 25 3.6 Social Relation Approach in Gender Study .............................................................................. 27 3.7 Social Relations Approach (SRA) as an Analytical Framework ............................................ 28 3.7.1 The Framework of the Study ................................................................................................ 29 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................... 32 4.1 Research Design .......................................................................................................................... 32 iii 4.2 Site Selection and Access to Informants ................................................................................... 32 4.3 Qualitative Methods ................................................................................................................... 35 4.3.1 Interview ............................................................................................................................... 36 4.3.2 Focus Group Discussion ....................................................................................................... 37 4.3.3 Direct Observation ................................................................................................................ 39 4.4 Implementing Methods............................................................................................................... 39 4.4.1 Interviews ............................................................................................................................. 40 4.4.2 Focus Group Discussions...................................................................................................... 42 4.4.3 Direct Observation ................................................................................................................ 45 4.5 Data Management ....................................................................................................................... 46 4.6 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................................... 46 4.7 Self-Reflections and Trustworthiness ....................................................................................... 48 4.8 Summing up ................................................................................................................................ 49 CHAPTER 5: AN ACCOUNT OF CHEPANG’S LIFE ........................................ 50 5.1 General Characteristics of Chepang Community of Raksirang ............................................. 50 5.1.1 Households ........................................................................................................................... 50 5.1.2 Household Head.................................................................................................................... 51 5.1.3 Family Size ........................................................................................................................... 51 5.1.4 Education, Training and Affiliation ...................................................................................... 53 5.2 Chepang’s Livelihood in Raksirang: Past and Present ........................................................... 55 5.3 Summing up ................................................................................................................................ 61 CHAPTER 6: LIVELIHOODS AND GENDER RELATIONS ............................ 62 6.1 Gender Ideologies in Chepang Community.............................................................................
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