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Climate change has been an unprecedented challenge of the global community, imposing a threat to the well-being of the present and the future generations. While it affects everyone, some groups based on their social, economic and cultural status face even greater risks. UN Resolution 77/276 has requested the International Court of Justice to render an advisory opinion regarding the obligations of the state and the legal consequences on the issue of climate change. In the statement before the International Court of Justice, Nepal pointed out its negligible contribution of 0.027 percent to the global emission of greenhouse gases, and render the need of principle of common but differentiated responsibility and international equity, while also asking for the specific consideration to even more vulnerable groups, namely, women, persons with disabilities, minorities and indigenous people. The words are bold and loud, Nepal seeks for environmental justice.

Poverty and environment

Environment cannot be preserved or promoted in the conditions of poverty. According to the Fourth Nepal Living Standards Survey 2022-23, 20.27 percent of the population lived under the poverty line in 2023 in Nepal. This sheer condition reflects the need for more development, industrialization, infrastructures and resources. Nepal has even more challenges than the developed countries to improve the conditions of the life of people including food, shelter and housing without despoiling the nature and the beauty of the environment. Additionally, climate change has been “the payment we are making for a bad ‘karma’, we did not create”. The harsh environmental conditions have only added to the woes to the poor, thanks to the drought, flood, landslides and other natural calamities leading to the decline in food production, dried up water resources, damaged infrastructure, decimated ecosystems, destroyed lands and livestock. The crises of climate change have been only the burden to Nepal, already struggling to uplift the living conditions of the people. Thus, there must be more equitable sharing of environmental costs and greater international interest in the sustainable development, environmental protection and meeting the requisite of the people.

Equity and justice

While taking the voice of the vulnerable groups to the global forum, the behavior of the state to achieve fairness, equity and the elimination of discrimination in environmental benefits and burden is crucial. Infrastructure and significant development projects in Nepal are often carried out without meaningful consultation of the affected indigenous communities or minorities. The participation of women, people with disabilities and minorities are often undermined in the decision making processes related to environmental policies, regulations and projects. One of the prominent examples is the recent Pathibhara Cable Car Project which sparked heavy protest as it threatened the destruction of indigenous land, trees, vegetation and animals of ‘Mukkumlung’, undermining the Limbu Culture and the sovereignty of the local people. Many scholars even raised the question over the necessity of the project. 

The women, indigenous communities, and ancient Nepalese culture have always been near to the environment and its protection in its lifestyle and way of life. The harms caused by the developmental projects on the natural and cultural resources are long-term, and cannot be just weighed in the narrow financial terms. So, Nepal itself has the obligation to make sure its laws, plans and policies do not adversely affect the indigenous and other vulnerable groups, and their environment. After all, everyone is liable to the vulnerability and oppression of the minorities unless their rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. Development projects are cardinal in order to ensure that everyone acquires all the means of the basic needs required for the sustenance and well-being. It can be possible only if the state is concerned enough to adapt the co-existence in harmony with nature, utilizing the natural resources without exploiting and destroying them haphazardly, based on equitable and egalitarian approach, and most importantly, not limited to the shining black letters.

Paradigm shift in the environmental justice

It cannot be forgotten that, in any kind of justice, equality is not enough, and liberty is also essential for the attainment of any goal including environmental protection and sustainable development. Enablement is a certain illusionary system and mechanism to keep people living in injustice leaving them totally dependent for their existence and ultimately grinding them down their self-worth and self-respect. Differentiating it with the mechanism that helps an individual lift out of poverty and their condition, and become a full independent person is utmost necessary. Nepal’s laws, plans and policies must go beyond the vicious cycle of dependency to development of the capacity with the realization of rights, potential and freedom. 

Unseen, unheard and unrecognized within the walls of the house, domestic workers are the most vulnerable to exploitation and oppression. ILO Convention No 189 defines domestic work as “any work performed in or for a household or households” and domestic worker as “any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship”. Domestic work may incorporate the services such as cleaning, cooking, and washing, taking care of the children or other members of the family, guarding the house, gardening, and other forms of household services. ILO has recognized domestic workers as the workers in the care economy who work in or for private households on an occupational basis recognizing that such workers provide services and goods that are socially necessary for the maintenance of household and well-being of the members of the families.

Domestic works are mainly done behind closed doors that make it uncertain and unknown to the outside world. So the domestic workers, in addition to being underpaid and overworked- are more susceptible to remain socially and legally unprotected. These workers are more vulnerable to physical, sexual and mental abuse along with long working hours and deprivation. Since, the domestic work is more of the informal nature, even in the countries with sufficient legal protection, the legal protection becomes difficult. Around 81 percent are in informal employment—that’s twice the share of informal employment among other employees.

Historically, labor law emphasizes industrial work and the protection of labor working in the industrial conditions. Domestic work is often not recognized as a work. The employment in the household is often regarded as an informal and private matter.  In such a context, it is difficult to abide by both the employer and employee by some rules and regulations. Despite their crucial role, domestic workers are often excluded from labor protections provided to other types of workers. Domestic workers typically work alone, hidden behind the closed doors of a private home. Such isolation, along with socio-economic vulnerability and pervasive discrimination, perpetuate deep-rooted barriers to fair working conditions.

The work of the domestic worker is based on personal subordination rather than pre-established rules in the factories or offices. This situation puts the domestic worker within the dependency of the employer in determining the limit of work, time and remuneration. Also, domestic workers work in isolated conditions that deprives them of the right of collective bargaining, and joining the trade union is impossible and far cry. Therefore, resistance to inadequate working conditions is very difficult, putting them to even more suppression and in the darkness of silence. 

The domestic workers do the most precious work bringing the order and management to the household but remain undervalued, unnoticed and unrecognized. Many of the domestic workers carry out their activities without vocational qualifications, and their position remains weak, easily replaceable based on the will of the employer. Exploitation and discrimination are high and sexual exploitation is also common when most of the domestic workers are women. Moreover, this informal nature of work resembles unpaid family work.

Achieving a better level of recognition and protection to the domestic workers would require significant legal reform. Though the Nepali Labor Act has recognized the domestic worker, it is not going to be enough. The special attention to the implementation of the rights of the domestic labor must be given as domestic work remains informal within the isolated environment. 

The real problems remain with the control of implementation. The inspection of the domestic working conditions and the learning of the status of the domestic worker from time to time is going to be inevitable. Since, the labor work comes under the private sphere; the intervention in the working condition can take place only in highly specific instances which are explicitly enumerated by law. Therefore, in order to improve the situation of domestic workers will require comprehensive laws for enforcement of the rights of the domestic workers compared to other workers.

Workers themselves must be in a position to enforce these laws and to bring blatant violations to the attention of the government authorities. Efforts on two fronts will be required: education of undocumented domestic workers concerning their basic rights and elimination of barriers to domestic workers’ enforcement of their rights. 

Another requirement of the proper enforcement of labor law rights depends on the ability of the worker to register a complaint to certain authority which can provide them with the legal recourse. Because of their precarious place within the private household where they have to spend most of the time, are not in the position to complain despite of the physical or sexual abuse, exploitation, or the deprivation of the rights guaranteed to any workers. Therefore, the laws must be reformed that allows domestic workers to come out of the shadows from the limitation within the walls of the house to challenge their wages, working conditions and threats from any kind of violence.

It will be reasoning based on infatuation if there is an attempt to divorce politics from education. No doubt the education system of Nepal is below par and needs massive structuring and restructuring from the very ground level. Recent trend of the rise in the foreign migration is an example of its failure, where people are opting for better employment and economic status over wisdom and knowledge. Education and knowledge is the state of mind which enables one to secure their socio-economic needs, giving them a better way of looking at life, the society and the country.  Knowledge is power and wisdom is the reverence and sustenance of such power. Evidently, schools and universities are not the only place where one gains knowledge and wisdom. However, their role in sowing and nurturing of ideas, and sparking the fire of curiosity is undeniable. Thus the question arises: has the education system of Nepal been able to give enough spark for that fire of curiosity? Why are more people losing their faith in education? 

Perhaps our education system has not matured enough to give general definition of intelligence in its teachings, and it is not actually generating capacity in the individuals to apply the knowledge and skills. Present public opinion in education portrays the economic and class consciousness, which shall further evolve and push back the education status further away. Yet I firmly believe if the individual has to excel in personal growth and the state has to develop, then one needs to be educated and such education should not be based on an illusory state of mind. 

The problem of brain drain might not be the bigger problem than the problem of dissatisfaction that lies within the public who remains within the state. The advertising the media and politicians are making of the problem of foreign migration has created further dissatisfaction among the people and development of the trend to fly abroad, and such advertisements are based without genuine concern or seeking out possible solutions. The blame for the state’s failure has become an easy way out for the individuals to seek out better opportunities and status abroad. Nepal is yet to make the proper foundation for the development of its infrastructure, socio-economic status and strong political democracy. We do not have the option to give up at the first touch of the pressure and run away for easy prosperity.   

No doubt there is a political plague in the education of the state, undermining the real purpose of education both in the private and public sector. Increasing corruption and power play of the politics in the institutions including the active role of the administration, teachers and the students in the politicization has undermined the quality of education. But the solution cannot be achieved from the total separation of politics and education which will be merely capricious for the temporal period of time. In this relation, the intellectual minds should be capable enough to check the power hunger philistines, and keep the educational institutions and educational culture politically sound. It requires higher wisdom, dignity and ideological values in the educational institutions.

Ideas matter, what one speaks and listens to matters, and the environment developed by those ideas determines culture. Now the major concern is whether the intellectuals are in ‘a position to expose the lies of political parties and governments’ along with their motives and hidden intentions. Noam Chomsky in his ‘The Responsibility of Intellectuals’ boldly refers that ‘it is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose lies’ along with their ‘role in the creation and analysis of ideology’. The concern of the higher political interference in the political institutions is especially because of the higher attraction to the power and posts, and the unsubstantial impacts education is able to make on those. Ideas can be defeated by power and wealth only when those ideas are precarious and weak, and we are letting the politics of power and wealth defeat the ideas. That’s how most of the political wings of students and teachers in the universities are being led, captivating them within the narrow mindedness of power and validation. Those similar faces once can be freed in a wider realm of political truth, beyond power and authority can bring the essential political changes in education. It is really more about the change in the political and intellectual attitude that needs to be reformed rather than the essence of the separation of politics and education. Education needs to be made more dignified and powerful than the political presence, that’s the reformation required.  

The reformation and success of education is of utmost requisite to distinguish the increasing ‘propaganda system’ based on ‘inequality of wealth and power’, especially its massive effects on mass media interests and choices. There are insurmountable problems ahead of us with very few resources and limited knowledge of the solutions. We can stride when more value is given to the building of the foundation of better education rather than the picayune squabbling over the power and posts. More burden of responsibilities lies on the intellectuals to advocate for the changes and growth that gives the hope for tomorrow, and detach the empty vessels of the propaganda system and illusions from rationality and the truth.