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Gender violence & crimes

The government hopes to reduce gender-based violence through new curbs on alcohol products. Sub-inspector Gita Thapa of Women and Children Service Center (WCSC) of Nepal Police says she fully sup­ports the proposed regulations. For one, her cell is yet to get any complaints about wives who drink and beat their husbands. “Perhaps men feel ashamed to report such crimes,” says Thapa, although she doubts there are many such unre­ported cases. On the other hand, the number of women who report physical abuse from their drunk husbands has been steadily rising.

In each of the past three fiscals, WCSC reports show, alcohol con­sumption is one of the two major reasons cited for domestic violence in Kathmandu. In 2015-2016, for instance, 338 of reported 1,482 domestic violence cases were related to alcohol. A year later, 513 out of 1,839 such cases were alcohol related. Most recently, in 2017-2018, alcohol was cited as a reason for domestic violence in 506 out of 1,968 cases. Nonetheless there are mixed views over whether the pro­posed rules on manufacture, sale, consumption and advertisement of alcohol products will in fact reduce domestic violence. "Alcohol alone does not result in domestic violence. Alcohol consumption plus intense patriarchy can, " Diwas Raja KC researcher.

Diwas Raja KC, a researcher who has closely studied the temperance movement in the US, is against such moral policing. “Alcohol alone does not result in domestic violence. Alcohol consumption plus intense patriarchy can. If you remove patri­archy, alcohol is pretty harmless. The new regulations are inadequate response to such a complex issue.”

Pema Lhaki, executive director of Nepal Fertility Care Center and a woman’s rights activist, sits on the fence. “I think domestic violence is also about power relations. Alcohol allows men to channel their power in a patriarchal society. So while I do not think alcohol directly leads to domestic violence, by compro­mising your thinking, it does create a fertile ground for such violence.”

Lhaki talks about her time in Doti district where she had gone to talk about menstrual hygiene with local Kamaiya women. But besides hygiene tips these women wanted something else. “They wanted a medicine that would make their hus­bands stop drinking. They said their husbands drank and beat them and finished all their money on alcohol and this why they were poor.”

Anil Kumar Thakur, a Secretary at the National Women Commission Nepal, says that the new regulations are not cure-all but they are helpful. “In many districts of Karnali zone, drunk husbands still routinely beat up their wives,” he says. But Thakur also says that in many cases these husbands may have bashed their wives whether or not alcohol was involved. In these instances “alcohol just becomes an excuse.”

Sub-inspector Thapa agrees. “There are prob­lems in every marriage. But that does not give men license to drink, lose control and beat their wives. Afterwards, they blame it all on alcohol,” she says, reflecting on her own experience of dealing with these crimes for the past four years.

Some hope the new rules will create more awareness. “In Rolpa district it was the local anti-alcohol movement that brought women into politics. Perhaps the new rules will push more women into such pub­lic roles,” says KC, the researcher. Lhaki, the activist, believes the reg­ulations “create room for dialogue”.

Not enough

Sub-inspector Thapa goes fur­ther, arguing her women’s cell should be allowed “to jail those who commit gender based violence after consuming alcohol.” Right now, in such cases, the cops can only coun­sel the couple.

“Before this August, we could jail people for 24 hours for inquiry without a warrant. But now we have to take the court’s permission to do that,” Thapa says. Only if the vic­tim of domestic violence is severely injured or on the verge of death can the victim file an ‘attempt to mur­der’ case against the offending male.

In his research titled “Alcohol and drug use in Nepal” Dr Nirakar Man Shrestha, a senior consultant psychi­atrist and former health secretary, finds strong links between alcohol and crimes in general, not just gen­der-based violence.

“Much violence both outside and inside the home has taken place under its influence, and it has been the root cause or precipitant in many antisocial and criminal acts,” says the 2004 WHO Global Status Record on alcohol for Nepal. Studies in India also link alcohol and crimes. For instance one study suggests 57 to 69 percent of the crimes in the state of Kerala are alcohol-related.

But unless the contribution of lopsided gender roles on the scale of violence in patriarchal societies like Nepal and India can be better calculated, alcohol will, rightly or wrongly, continue to be blamed for many of their social ills.

“Like I said, our government is looking for a quick fix. But without addressing other root causes like patriarchy, better laws alone are unlikely to work,” says KC, the researcher on the US tem­perance movement.

Government position

The Home Ministry has recently submitted a draft executive order, titled ‘Controlling Sale of Liquor, and Restricting Injurious Drinking,’ to the Cabinet for its final approval. According to Ram Krishna Subedi, the ministry spokesperson, the goal is to control the rampant sale of liquor and restrict injurious drinking. The executive order, when signed, will be an interim arrange­ment. The producers and distributors of alcoholic beverages, as well as hotel and restaurant operators, have strongly opposed the new regulations. But the government firmly believes they are necessary to maintain peace and harmony in the society.

"Alcohol has been killing the creativity and productivity of our youth, and could hamper with the country’s growth and development," Narayan Prasad Sharma Bidari, joint home secretary.

According to a survey carried out by the Institute for Health Matri­ces and Evaluation (IHME) in the United States, mortality by alcohol in Nepal increased by 376 percent between 1990 and 2016. The study said 21 percent males and 1.5 percent females in Nepal are habitual drink­ers. Liver diseases, cirrhosis, cancers and other ailments caused by excess use of alcohol claimed 3,972 Nepali lives in 2016, according to the survey.

The government also believes that domestic violence, mainly violence against women, is largely the result of alcohol consumption. “In over 50 percent of these cases, the males get violent against their female part­ners when they consume alcohol,” Narayan Prasad Sharma Bidari, joint secretary of the ministry told APEX.

This government has already made special licenses mandatory for shops wanting to sell alcohol, unlike in the past when even groceries openly sold liquor.

While talking to APEX, Joint Sec­retary Bidari pointed out that the country right now has the advantage of a burgeoning youth population. But a large chunk of the youth is out of the country—around four million have migrated to Gulf countries for jobs and another one million are in developed countries for various purposes. This is besides the millions more who are working in India.

“The small youth population that remains in the country will be cru­cial for the government to realize its vision of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’,” said Bidari. “But alcohol has been killing the creativity and productivity of our youth, and could thus hamper with growth and devel­opment of the country.”

The government also argues that use of alcohol largely contributes to violence against women. Analyzing the cases registered with the police, the ministry had come to this con­clusion before drafting the executive order. Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has repeatedly linked increas­ing incidents of rape and other forms of violence against women with alco­hol consumption. He reckons alco­hol is a major impediment to social peace and harmony.

Moreover, alcohol is thought of as a gateway to hard drugs. As such, the government is working on two simultaneous strategies on alco­hol: supply control and demand reduction. Besides tightening rules on production and sale of alcohol, the federal government has already started awareness campaigns in close coordination with subnational governments, according to Bidari. “Such awareness campaigns are being carried out through local gov­ernments, civil society organizations as well as schools and colleges,”he informed.

But that is not the whole story. A source at the ministry, who requested anonymity, informed that the new regulations were partly the result of the state’s failure on law and order. “With the government seem­ingly incapable of solving high-pro­file cases like the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Pant of Kan­chanpur, and the resulting public backlash, the government had to show that it was not sitting idle,” the source said.

Pushpa Raj Acharya heads the business bureau of Annapurna Post

Imposing the kind of restrictions on sale, consumption and adver­tisement of alcoholic beverag­es that the government is mulling will have many ramifications, some good, some bad, and some, as of now, unforeseeable. Restaurants and resorts will suffer. With Nepal on its way to becoming a ‘dry state’, tourism could take a hit. The coun­try could struggle to bring in any­where close to the two million tour­ists it wants to welcome by 2020. But some provisions of the pro­posed regulations—like restricting the sale of alcohol to those under 18 and prohibiting sales near schools and colleges—are good, and thus welcome. There could be other positives of stricter alcohol rules. Domestic violence could go down, as could some other crimes.

With Nepal on its way to becoming a ‘dry state’, tourism could take a hit

Our first ‘APEX series’ hopes to provide some answers to the many questions about the new alcohol reg­ulations that you may have. In this and the next four editions of APEX we explore all the different ways more restrictive alcohol rules could impact the society. We believe this is an important issue that needs to be thoroughly examined before we jump to hasty conclusions.

In this first issue we focus on its likely impact on tourism and econ­omy. To make their point, restaura­teurs we talked to pointed out how prohibition in the US back in the 1920s had backfired, encouraging bootlegging and binge drinking. Event managers reckoned the grow­ing international image of Nepal as a ‘party destination’ could suffer. Meanwhile, according to economist Biswo Poudel, such a “nonsensical” regulation brought without home­work is “bound to fail”. If anything, it will encourage smuggling and bootlegging, he also predicts.

But you, the readers, are the final arbiters. Read our series and judge for yourself.

Proposed alcohol ban could hit economy hard

“There should have been more homework on a policy that will directly affect the lives and livelihoods of the country’s 30 million people,” Economist Biswo Poudel

After a futile attempt in September to ban porn, the communist government is now mulling a new executive order—on control, production, sale, distribution and advertising of alcohol. Ram Krishna Subedi, spokesperson for the Home Ministry, confirmed that the cabinet was considering new alcohol regulations but he refused to divulge anything more.

Regulating alcohol may have its supporters, as it could potentially reduce the number of crimes, including gender-based violence, just like the government hopes. But there could also be many unwanted consequences. For one, the fledgling tourism industry could suffer.

The new executive order will prevent restaurants, bars and hotels from serving alcoholic beverages after 10 pm. With outdoor consumption also banned, drinking in gardens, terraces, rooftops and patios will also be a no-no. Further, someone who has had a drink will not be allowed to use public transport. (Driving under the influence is already banned.)

That is not all. The executive order will keep licensed manufacturers of alcoholic beverages from sponsoring sports, concerts and any other public event, while advertising their products in media outlets or through hoarding boards, flyers, posters and pamphlets will also be prohibited. Liquor stores will be able to sell only between 4 pm to 9 pm, and only two liquor stores will be allowed in each ward of municipality, sub-metropolitan city and metropolitan city. Likewise, rural municipalities will be allowed to have only one liquor store each. 

Inventing a taboo

The Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal and the Hotel Association of Nepal, two umbrella bodies, are under no illusion that tourism will take a big hit. Issuing separate statements they said new regulations will put paid to the government target of bringing two million tourists during ‘Visit Nepal 2020’. Nor are those involved in promotion of Nepali tourism abroad sanguine.

“On the one hand we want tourists to come here and spend money. On the other, the government comes up with plans like these which will directly affect the hospitality businesses and the tourism industry,” says Sarad Pradhan, a media consultant for Nepal Tourism Board, the government tourism promotion body. “For most foreigners, alcohol is a part of their daily life. Making alcohol a social taboo will certainly deter them from coming.”

Pradhan welcomes proposals to set a minimum age limit for drinking and prohibiting entry of underage customers into pubs and bars. He also supports a ban on selling alcohol in close proximity of schools, hospitals and heritage sites. “But the kind of blanket ban that seems to be in the works is uncalled for and regressive,” Pradhan says.

“If tourists are not allowed to drink and locals start drinking at home, many businesses will suffer. Countless jobs will be lost. The government tax receipt will dwindle,” Pradhan adds. In the last fiscal, alcohol manufacturers had paid around Rs 400 million in excise duties alone.

“This is most restrictive and unreasonable,” says Pravin Jung Rayamajhi, a restaurateur who is currently running the De la Soul bar in Thamel.  “Look what happened in the US during the prohibition of the 1920s. Bootlegging, moonshining and binge drinking went up. People will always find a way around and the government will not be able to control them,” he says. Like Pradhan, Rayamajhi too believes restrictions will force many establishments in tourist hubs like Thamel to close, leaving countless folks unemployed.

License to binge?

Another restaurateur, Ranjan Ojha, who runs the Social Café in Gairidhara and is the founder of Nepal School of Entrepreneurship, questions the logic behind the regulations. “So how will people socialize? How will the government teach its citizens to be responsible drinkers, after imposing so many restrictions and actually encouraging them to break rules?” he questions. Ojha suggests that instead of introducing unscientific, restrictive measures on alcohol control, more could be achieved by raising awareness on the health effects of excessive alcohol consumption.

“Tourists come here in their leisure time because Nepal is a fun country. The government wants places like Thamel and Durbarmarg to open for 24 hours and then it puts up so many restrictions. Does it want to spread the message that people can binge-drink between 5 pm to 10 pm?” Ojha questions.

Big event companies are also dismayed. “The new rule will definitely hamper events, nightlife and hence tourism on a large scale,” says Ritesh Marwadi, an event organizer who specializes in hosting the performances of international artists. 

He says that as almost all the events that involve international celebrities are sponsored by alcohol companies, without them, organizing international-standard events will be impossible. “This will also hamper the development of Nepal as a party destination for tourists who like to come because partying here is relatively cheap,” he says. 

The international artistes who visit Nepal also promote the country abroad, he adds, and Kathmandu’s nightlife is already a big tourist attraction. “Government efforts should rather be directed at creating a safe and secure environment for locals and tourists alike to enjoy themselves,” Marwadi advises.

Senior economist Biswo Poudel calls the regulation “nonsensical” and predicts that it is “bound for failure” as it has been brought without any homework. “There should have been more homework on a policy that will directly affect the lives and livelihoods of the country’s 30 million people,” Poudel says. “This executive order will increase smuggling and bootlegging and negatively impact tourism and the economy.”

Just like the porn ban pushed people into the darker reaches of the web, which are impossible to regulate, such poorly-researched restriction on alcohol, while it may do some good, could also have all kinds of wanted and unforeseen consequences.

(The second part of this series that will be published next week will be on the government's rationale behind the proposed alcohol regulations)