Professor D.D. Poudel; The Founder of the Asta-Ja Framework
Asta-Ja Framework:
Asta-Ja is a theoretically grounded grassroots-based planning and management framework for conservation, development, and utilization of natural and human resources.
Asta-Ja means eight of the Nepali letter “Ja” [Jal (water), Jamin (land), Jungle (forest), Jadibuti (medicinal and aromatic plants), Janashakti (manpower), Janawar, (animals), Jarajuri (crop plants), and Jalabayu (climate)].
Asta-Ja promotes accelerated economic growth and socio-economic transformation of the nation. It is a scientific, holistic, systematic, self-reliant, and multidisciplinary framework for the conservation, development, and utilization of Asta-Ja resources.
The eight elements of the Asta-Ja system are very intricately linked and strongly connected. Hence, it is important to have sustainable conservation and development of each of the eight elements of Asta-Ja for better functioning of the entire system.
Asta-Ja Framework emphasizes community capacity-building, self-reliant, and national, regional, and local level planning and development of environmental and natural resources for socio-economic transformation of the nation.
Asta-Ja that constitute human and natural resources is the backbone of Nepal’s economy. Therefore, the best governance of Asta-Ja is the ultimate goal of a government.
Gender, race, caste, economic, social, education, health and many forms of inequalities and discriminations are unfortunately deeply entrenched into human societies worldwide.
Discrimination affects everybody in the society. While most discriminatory actions go untold or they never come to the surface, these actions leave deep scars on the victims curtailing their personal, intellectual, and financial growth.
Discriminations affect the psychological health and self-esteem of the victims.
A society with inequalities and discriminations nurtures hopelessness in its population and creates the atmosphere of conflicts and riots.
It is important for the societies to embrace the fact that inequalities and discriminations exist in many forms, and comprehensive policies, strategies, and practices should be developed and implemented, bringing together all individuals, institutions, leaders, community groups, governmental agencies and others, to address this social malady.
Gender Inequality:
Nepal ranks 115th out of 160 countries in Gender Inequality and experts say that it will take more than 200 years to fix gender inequality in Nepal.
Literacy rate differs by at least 17% between males and females. Female population suffers from widespread violence, rapes and harassments.
Females, especially in rural areas, are considered as household chores servers; the caregivers of children, sickly people and elderly people, and sick animals; food preparers, and dish and house cleaners.
Females in rural areas are also tied-up with many agricultural activities such rice planting and growing vegetables.
Females have much lower access to decision-making process in their household matters, money management, and investment.
However, guaranteeing 33% of the total seats in the parliament for females and the provisions of male and female in the highest position, President and Vice President, and similar provisions on other governmental structure by the 2015 Constitution of Nepal is commendable.
Social Inequality:
Nepalese society has a massive social inequality.
Social status in Nepalese society comes from many complex factors including caste system and hierarchy within the caste, the ancestry of an individual, relationships due to marriages, location of residence such as city vs rural area, how much agricultural land (or irrigated land) a family owns, whether a family owns a piece of land for housing in city areas or by the roadside, whether a family has a house in a city or a town, structure of the house (e.g. thatch roof vs. galvanized iron roof houses or concrete vs. mud and stone houses), job status of a person, and the level of education.
There are serious social restrictions on marriages, worships, gatherings, and festivities between and within caste system. Talents, skills, integrity, and qualities of individuals especially from lower caste and hierarchy are often undermined and not respected.
Caste system segregates people in the society.
People in the lower caste are looked down and are often considered inferior by their births.
Children from lower caste groups are considered less intelligent and less capable for education.
Social inequality affects the accessibility to health facilities, employment and business opportunities, and access to the state resources.
Social discrimination leaves very deep scars on people’s personal growth, feelings, and psychology, which may affect generations to me.
Therefore, it is necessary to fight against social discrimination and inequality jointly by the people who fall in different social strata in the society.
Economic Inequality:
Although poverty rate in Nepal has dropped to 21% from 42% in past 20 years, the gap between the richest and the poorest has reportedly widened extensively in recent years.
Ten percent richest Nepalese are earning three times more than the poorest 40% and the 10% richest own 26% more wealth than the 40% poorest.
Economic inequality makes the society very divisive, discriminatory and impedes the overall growth of the society. Economic inequality results in social conflicts, political unrest, and adversely affects individual’s access to healthcare, education, and personal wellbeing.
Economic inequality occurs due to differences in income generating activities, employment opportunities, ancestral asset inheritance, and business opportunities.
While cash flow in Nepalese society has increased primarily due to remittances, sharp increase on imports of food items and other goods has heavily strained Nepalese economy, and the divide between haves and haves not is further widening.
Healthcare Inequality:
Lack of hospital facilities, especially in rural areas, have resulted in severe healthcare inequality.
Many rural districts lack basic facilities on maternity and children health, adult healthcare, and emergency responses.
In rural areas, people have to walk days just to get basic health services.
The divide between urban and rural population on access to healthcare is widening. Private hospitals are providing services largely to rich people.
Irrespective of its location, the low-income population is lacking access to healthcare. National healthcare system must be strengthened in order to provide access to healthcare facilities for all and healthy lives. Health equity should be guaranteed by providing free services, medicine supplies, vaccination, and therapies that are specific to ethnic groups or age groups who cannot afford them.
Education Inequality:
Nepal’s education system is largely theory-based, severely lacking the practical aspect.
It is important to deliver practical and problem-solving education in order to develop skilled human resources.
A practical education system relies on activity-based, interactive, experimental, and multidisciplinary learning. It helps in developing student’s critical thinking ability.
A practical education system is flexible enough in accommodating student’s needs and interests.
With the emergence of private schools coupled with dwindling educational quality of public schools, the educational inequality is increasing rapidly in the country. Private schools are the choices of the people who can afford them.
Many primary schools in rural areas are at the verge of collapse due to low enrollments. Many of these schools are running with a small number of students whose parents cannot support them in private schools.
Students from poor family backgrounds are left behind in schools, which lack good teachers and educational materials.
Those students who attend private schools receive relatively better education and eventually end up in better colleges and jobs.
Employment Inequality:
Employment inequality due to gender, caste, and origin is very high and it is detrimental to the society. Only 22% of working age females (11.53 million as opposed to 9.2 million males) are working in formal sector of employment.
While governmental jobs, clean works, and high paid jobs tend to go to higher caste people, especially from urban areas, low paid and difficult jobs tend to go to the lower caste people and people from rural areas.
Survey studies have reported quite contrasting wage differences between the genders, with about 30% lees wages to females compared to males.
Any form of inequality that exits in a society affects the personal growth, wellbeing, and income status of individuals.
It further widens the economic gap between haves and haves not.
Understanding, recognizing and taking appropriate actions in tackling various forms of inequalities in the society is urgent.
Various societies have taken several initiatives such as affirmative actions, reservation quotas, and constitutional provisions in tackling inequalities.
Nepal Constitution 2015, Part 3 Fundamental Rights and Duties, Article 43 Right to social security guarantees social security to indigent citizens, incapacitated and helpless citizens, citizens with disabilities, helpless single women, citizens who cannot help themselves and children.
Similarly, Article 24 Right against untouchability and discrimination deals with the subject of untouchability and discrimination in any private and public places on grounds of his or her origin, caste, tribe, community, occupation or physical condition.
Article 33 Right to employment guarantees that every citizen shall have the right to employment.
Other rights guaranteed by the 2015 Constitution of Nepal include Article 31 Right to education, Article 29 Right against exploitation, Article 35 Right relating to health, and Article 38 Rights of women.
These are certainly commendable initiatives.
However, proper implementation of these provisions with appropriate policies, practices, and strategies in addressing various inequalities is a quite challenging task.
The Government of Nepal should give the highest priorities in solving these various forms of inequalities and discriminations.