The Overall Situation in the Hills of Far West Nepal

The Overall Situation in the Hills of Far West Nepal

Achham, Baitadi and Dadeldhura are among some of the most remote and developmentally- challenged districts in the kingdom. These three districts in the Far West Development Region of Nepal rank quite low in UNDP/Nepal’s Human Development Index (HDI) survey of 1998. Achham, for instance ranks 68th among the 75 districts of Nepal, Baitadi is ranked at 62nd, and Dadeldhura fares slightly better at 59th.

Whether it is health, education, infrastructure, these districts of the hils in far West Nepal fare very badly. The situation is worse for the women... they fare the lowest in human development and empowerment index.

Migration
Migration is one of the major problems of these far-western hilly districts. Except for the poor who go to India or Terai to meet the food deficit, the other migrants, including the educated people, who go elsewhere to seek employment, end up as permanent settlers either in the capital or in the Terai. This fact has stripped these hills of the affluent, middle class educated people, with only the poor and the women remaining behind.

Economy Situation
The economy of these districts revolves around agriculture, and yet agriculture is not able to sustain the livelihoods of the people living in these hills. The foodgrains produced is barely sufficient to meet the food requirement for the entire year.

Agriculture provides employment to around 80% of the total population with the rest employed in the Indian Army, or working as security guards, labourers or domestic helps in India. Statistics show that depending upon the district, 40% to 69% (in Achham) of the active male labour force is away from the districts.

Health:
The health facilities in the districts in this remote region are plagued by the unavailability of manpower. Many posts for doctors and nurses remain vacant and the crunch is borne by the people who do not have access to basic health facilities. The sanitation situation is equally bad with the absence of toilets in most homes and the non-existence of sewer systems. These are the major causes for the spread of infectious water-borne diseases.

Education:
The literacy level of women is very poor (less than 10%) in these districts. Data show a high turnout of girls in primary classes and a sharp dropout rate around the time of the onset of puberty. Cultural restrictions on the girls’ movements is reflected in these poor literacy figures. Parents are also seen to be hesitant to send their daughters to coeducational schools with a predominance of male teachers.

Culture Taboos:
There is a high presence of cultural discrimination (untouchability) against people designated as being in the lower rungs of the societal ladder in these districts where the population are mainly ‘high-class’ Chhetris and Brahmins. Milk is never sold in these areas for fear of being touched, consumed, and thus ‘defiled’ by the ‘untouchables.’

Discrimination against women:
The tradition of considering women as ‘untouchables’ (chhau) during their menstrual cycle, takes an extreme form in these hills with the women being segregated in little sheds called ‘chhaupadi goth’ in extremely unhygienic and dangerous conditions. Even new mothers and their babies are treated in the same manner, not being allowed to enter the house for a month. Exposed to the vagaries of weather, not allowed to take any food with substantial nutrients, and with the compulsion of having the mother and child taking baths everyday in the open, many mothers and their babies succumb due to exposure to cold, or to snake and scorpion bites. Some are even raped. On the whole, women in these far western hills are extremely malnourished and overworked. The males, if they are home, do not do much work, thus adding to the women’s burden. (see. p.12 for more on chhaupadi)

PDDP in the Far West:
It is because these districts are relatively low on the HDI scale, that both HMG and UNDP have decided to pay extra focus in this region. Recently PDDP has expanded its programme in Kailali and Kanchanpur, and PDDP’s sister programme Local Governance Programme (LGP) is being implemented in three other districts in the region — Bajura, Bajhang and Darchula. Through its efforts and through the integrated efforts of the other stakeholders working in the region, UNDP hopes to lend support for the holistic and sustainable development of these far western districts of Nepal.

This Bulletin offers a special glimpse into these three PDDP districts in the hills of far western Nepal. Besides featuring a detalied profile and data of each of the districts, we have provided an overview of the progress made by Programme in the districts as well as write-ups from the DDC officials and PDDP staff in the field, speaking about their unique experiences in the field, and from the district officials on their idea of the constraints and opportunities for development in the district. (Source of data & maps: District Information Units & NPC GIS Facility)

An adoloscent inside a chhaupadi goth in Mangalsen Achham (photo Dr. Sumitra Manandhar Gurung)