Caste-based discrimination persists despite being outlawed in Nepali society

Dalit activists say lax legal provisions pose a significant challenge to swift justice delivery for cases of discrimination.

Dhanakali Sunar has been discriminated against all her life for being born into a Dalit family. When Sunar was elected a ward member of Baijanath Rural Municipality-1 in the last local elections, she thought her perseverance had won over discrimination and that she could now lead a respectable life alongside her neighbours. But she was proven wrong on the evening of July 2 when Bhuwan Budha, a 25-year-old man from Chandanitol, verbally abused her and started throwing stones at her house. The unprovoked attack shocked Sunar. “He suddenly started abusing me verbally without provocation,” she said. “He used slurs against me, calling me names and labelling me a cow-eater.”