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The five-party ruling alliance has unveiled its Common Minimum Program (CMP) laying out its priorities in domestic and foreign realms. The document unveiled on Tuesday has pledged to adopt an independent and non-aligned foreign policy based on the UN Charter, Panchasheel, values of world peace and Nepal’s international commitments. 

The document further states that sovereign equality, mutual benefits and respects will be kept at the center while conducting the foreign policy. According to the document, the alliance will maintain a balanced, trustworthy and cordial relationship with two neighbors and other friendly countries. 

The document says: “The issue of territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence and freedom will be further strengthened. Diplomatic efforts will be ramped up to bring back the Nepali territories such as Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, Kalapani and Susta.”  The document, however, remains silent on the submission of  Nepal-India Eminent Persons Group (EPG)’s report finalized in 2018. During his visit to India in 2023, PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal did not raise this issue stating that it could spoil the environment for taking up other issues. 

The document also talks about effective management of the border. The coalition, however, is silent on reported border encroachment by China. Similarly, the new coalition has said existing treaties and conventions will be reviewed to promote and protect Nepal’s welfare. Mainly communist parties are raising the issue of revision of the 1950’s Peace and Friendship Treaty. The document further states: “Efforts will be made to forge a national consensus on the issues such as sovereignty, national security, foreign policy, main economic issues and strategic infrastructure.” 

Mohammed Aftab Sheikh, an 18-year-old from Birgunj, Nepal, is an up-and-coming rapper. Sheikh, known by his stage name Afu Insane, believes talent and determination will take him a long way. When he was 10, Sheikh found solace at his uncle’s shop, where the mesmerizing beats of Yama Buddha’s ‘Saathi’ left an indelible mark. Inspired by the legendary rapper, a dream began to take shape. Currently pursuing a diploma in Civil Engineering at Birgunj Institute of Technology, Sheikh seamlessly blends academic pursuits with a dedication to his musical career.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Sheikh had time on his side. He delved into the world of rap, sharpening his skills in both writing and delivery. His virtual mentor? “The internet, particularly YouTube, became my classroom,” he says. The journey, however, wasn’t without challenges. “Despite having the knowledge and ideas, turning my passion into reality was difficult due to financial constraints.” The pandemic added another layer of difficulty to Sheikh’s pursuit of producing music. Yet, undeterred by these hurdles, he navigated his musical journey with resilience, determined to overcome obstacles and share his voice with the world.

Despite financial limitations, Sheikh refused to let go of his dreams. Armed with nothing but his smartphone, he took matters into his own hands, recording his music and bravely sharing it with the world via YouTube. Sheikh adds, “I used to record with my smartphone in a peaceful area, then edit the recordings before uploading them to YouTube. I know it might not be considered professional, but everyone has to start somewhere.”

Things changed when Sheikh met a friend who happened to own a recording studio. Seizing the opportunity, he embraced the chance to take his musical career further. With access to professional equipment and guidance, he had the chance to refine and produce high-quality work.

In a society where tradition often decides the path you must follow, Sheikh chose to defy the norm. Many people from his community doubted his choices and intentions. Even his family didn’t want him to get into music. His father, he says, was always angry with him. Despite the negativity and the self-doubt it led to, Sheikh was determined to give music a chance.

“All the criticism made me question myself but I didn’t want to give up,” he says. “Despite societal pressure, I kept going. Deep down, I believed I could do what I set out to do.” He found support from unexpected sources, and society’s critical view gradually turned into admiration and respect.

He comes from the lively Madhesh region, where he gained a deep appreciation for diverse cultures and languages. Fluent in Nepali, Hindi, Maithili, and Bhojpuri, he embodies the essence of Madhesi identity, effortlessly connecting people from different backgrounds.

Sheikh has ventured into the Nepali film industry with his debut in the web series ‘Arati’. Sheikh’s involvement in it marks a significant milestone in his artistic journey. And he couldn’t be happier as the project is aimed at sparking conversations and driving societal change. “By using my platform to amplify the voices of survivors and advocate for justice, I try to exemplify the power of art to bring about social transformation,” he says.

Sheikh’s personal favorite, ‘Khukuri,’ holds a special place in his heart as it reflects his love and pride for his nation. Through this powerful piece of art, Sheikh expresses his profound connection to his Nepali identity. “As a proud Nepali, I use ‘Khukuri’ to honor my roots and pay tribute to the resilience and spirit of the Nepali people,” he says. With heartfelt lyrics and captivating melodies, he weaves a tapestry of love and admiration for Nepal, instilling a sense of patriotism and unity among listeners.

“Balancing the demands of engineering studies and pursuing my passion for rap has been no easy feat,” he says. “But when your vision is clear and you are passionate about something, you find a way to make time for it.”

Sheikh also challenges the stereotype surrounding Bhojpuri music with his unique approach to rap. In a genre often associated with less reputable themes, Sheikh’s Bhojpuri rap stands out for its depth and creativity. As one of the few creators rapping in Bhojpuri, he breaks new ground, captivating audiences with his innovative sound and thought-provoking lyrics.

Despite facing numerous challenges along the way, Sheikh’s unwavering belief in his dreams has helped him advance towards his goal. His resilience in the face of adversity, coupled with his fearless embrace of creativity and individuality, serves as an inspiration for others to pursue their passions with courage and conviction. As he continues to push boundaries and break barriers, his journey serves as a reminder that anything is possible with dedication, perseverance, and a steadfast belief in the power of one’s dreams.

It is often believed that crises open up avenues for opportunities. The whole world witnessed the global health crises of Covid-19 that triggered widespread panic and resulted in loss of lives, while businesses closed down due to the economic downturn. Yet, several governments and people learnt and developed strategies to cope with such situations, and many of them worked well. On the positive side, there is a realization that we need a certain strategy to cope with a certain crisis. This is because crises often trigger a sense of urgency, thus actuating solutions. And when crises mitigation strategies are explored through collaborative deliberations, that would certainly cultivate perspectives for change. A perfect example of this was the International Community Forestry Conference held on March 4-5 in Kathmandu.

The conference was conceived to not only bring together national and international researchers, practitioners, activists and policy-makers, but also to reflect on the achievements and emerging challenges facing the community forestry in Nepal.

An innovative program

Nepal’s community forestry has witnessed four decades of experimentation, adaptive management and expansion across the country. Not only has it evolved into a robust system of devolving management and resource use rights to local communities through legally-recognized and perpetually self-governed institutions, it has also functioned to sustain and improve the lives of those who rely on forests. More than 22,000 registered groups operate across the country, and have benefited 16.6m people through the management of over 1.8m hectares of forests. With decades of experimentation and institutionalization, there is a wider consensus on the positive contributions of community forestry in Nepal. Yet, with fundamental shifts in the socioeconomic context of the country, due mainly to increasing outmigration, demographic changes, shifts in agricultural practices, whether people-forest relations still remain the same is a moot question. One of the central highlights of the conference was that Nepal’s community forestry is at a crossroads, while some emphasized that it is struggling to overcome ‘crises’.

At a crossroads

In recent years, there is a growing concern over efficacy and impact of community forestry, mainly in terms of its economic rationale. In fact, a large body of research has emerged, confirming that community forestry’s contribution to the livelihoods of people is currently much less than its actual potential. Most of the problems have been attributed to arbitrary policy decisions and lack of institutional capacity, both on the part of the government agency as well as the community forest groups themselves. Nevertheless, the problem does not end there. 

The community groups seem to lack enthusiasm to capitalize on the legal space that has been progressive in the last few years, especially following a federal restructuring of the country. Several presenters at the conference argued that we are battling with a crisis, and most importantly the crisis of dwindling ‘collective action’, the fundamental pillar that community forestry of Nepal stood up on four decades ago.

While some presenters underlined the successful contribution of community forestry and ongoing shifts in the priority, others accentuated the factors leading to shifting forest-people relations. Most importantly, the outmigration and remittance economy has dominated the subsistence use of community forests, emerging livelihood opportunities in the domestic market are allowing people to shift their interests to city centers. On the grim side, economic returns from community forests have not been able to compensate for the people’s efforts in managing their forests. One of the presenters stated, the normative shift in people’s priority from “when will the forest open” to “no one comes to the forest these days” is an illustration of changing preferences in engaging with the forest. That has taken a toll on the traditional farming practices that we had for decades, including a decline in the number and type of livestock in rural areas. Several other presentations foregrounded proximate and underlying factors responsible for this, including increasing instances of human-wildlife conflict resulting in economic losses to rural households, forest fires, expanding invasive species within the forests and many more. All these factors, compounded by expired operational plans and lack of local capacity and support for their renewal, have resulted in a declining interest in community forestry.  

The legacy

The narrative on the theory of Himalayan Degradation, popularized by Eckholm in 1975, sparked a global concern about the impact of environmental degradation in Nepal. This in fact drew wider attention of the donors, giving rise to a sense of urgency to revert deforestation and forest degradation. This brought the donors, namely the Swiss, Australian and the British, among others, to provide support for addressing the environmental problem, and thus we witnessed the advent of community forestry in Nepal. With support from various donors, the interventions have had a remarkable impact on environmental, social and economic fronts of community forestry.

Four decades down the line, community forestry is still considered relevant, but rather from a broader perspective of climate change adaptation, biodiversity management and other dominant global environmental agendas that have evolved in recent years. However, the fundamental principles of community forestry that have bound the collective action among forest user groups has remained in the shadows. One of the persistent supporters of community forestry in Nepal is the Australian government.  Launched in 2013, the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research’s forestry project has mainly focused on contributing to the food security and livelihoods of community forest user groups through research in Kavre, Sindhupalchowk, and Lamjung districts, in pursuit of innovative options to silviculture management as well as have developmental impact through better policy outcomes.

The fundamental question is on whether the legacy of supporting core values and principles of community forestry still continues. Not only would this be important in terms of continuing the legacy, but also in terms of revitalizing one of the well-established local institutions of global reputation. So, community forestry is at a cross-roads of crises both in terms of intertwined problems facing it as well as the continuing support that would be supportive in addressing them.    

The author is executive coordinator at ForestAction Nepal

Article 39 of the Constitution of Nepal safeguards the rights of children by completely prohibiting child marriage. The National Penal Code, 2017 has prescribed punishment for those forcing child marriage.

Section 173 of the National Penal Code has prescribed 20 as the legal age of marriage. It states that any marriage below the age of 20 would be scrapped, and a punishment of up to three years and a fine of Rs 30,000 can be handed out in this offense. However, the 2021 Census showed a rather disturbing fact that child marriages are happening all over the country.

The census report shows that a large section of the population got married before they turned 18. Tradition, poverty, dowry, lack of education, and religious and societal pressure are the factors behind growing child marriages. Data shows the rate of child marriage is different depending on geographical regions, educational status, income status of families and ethnicities. Some societies are encouraging child marriages due to societal and religious faiths, the census report shows.

According to the report, the rate of child marriage is high in the Tarai/Madhes region of the country. Twenty districts in the lowlands of Tarai have a high child marriage rate of 42.2 percent. The child marriage rate in the mountainous region is 33.1 percent. Among provinces, Madhesh (42.4 percent) has the highest rate of child marriage, while Sudupraschim (29.1 percent) has the lowest.

Dhanusha (47.5 percent) and Rautahat (47 percent) have the highest rate of child marriage in Madhesh Province. Similarly, the rate of child marriage in other districts of the province is also high—43.3 percent in Mahottari, 42.6 percent in Sarlahi, 42.1 percent in Siraha, 40.2 percent in Bara, 38.1 percent in Parsa, and 34.7 percent in Saptari. Experts say that the rate of child marriage is high in Madhesh Province due to poor economic and social development, poor educational conditions and a high birth rate.

The situation is also disturbing in Karnali Province. According to the census report, 39.9 percent of the population of the province got married before they turned 18. Salyan has the highest child marriage rate of 43.3 percent, followed by Rukum West (42.3 percent), Jajarkot (40.8 percent), Surkhet (38.7 percent), Mugu (35.9 percent), Dailekh (35.2 percent), Jumla (34.7 percent), , Humla (33.7 percent), Dolpa (32.1 percent) and Kalikot (28.1 percent).

Demography Expert and Associate Professor at Tribhuvan University, Dr Padam Prasad Khatiwada, said that the rate of child marriage is high in Karnali and Madhesh provinces because of illiteracy and lack of public awareness. “Along with illiteracy and lack of awareness, dowry is an important factor behind high child marriage rates in Madhes Province,” Dr Khatiwada said. “Because of the high rate of child marriages, maternal and infant mortality rates are also high in these provinces.”

According to Dr Khatiwada, families in Tarai districts are marrying off their daughters at a young age as the society believes the dowry amount goes higher with age.

The literacy rate is also low in Karnali and Madhes. Madhes has a literacy rate of 63.5 percent, compared to the national average of 76.2 percent.

Child marriage rates are comparatively lower in Sudurpaschim (29.1 percent) and Bagmati (29.3 percent) provinces. Kathmandu, the federal capital, has a child marriage rate of 22.8 percent.

According to the census report, 33. percent of Nepal’s population above 10 years of age, or 23.95m, are unmarried. Likewise, 59.1 percent of men and 64.3 percent of women in this age group are married. Similarly, 0.6 percent of this population is divorced, while 5 percent are widows.

According to Nepal Police, 338 cases of child marriage were registered in the last 5 years. Only 52 cases were registered in 2022/23. The highest number of cases was registered in Karnali (16) during the review year, while Gandaki (1) had the lowest.

Impacts of child marriage

Demography expert Dr Khatiwada said that child marriage affects health as well as makes socio-economic impacts. “Child marriage increases maternal and infant mortality rates. Likewise, there are other impacts like problems in reproductive health, gender-based discrimination, financial dependency and disruption in education,” he added.

Statistician and deputy chief of the National Statistics Office (NSO), Dr Hemraj Regmi, said child marriage data were collected on the basis of the age of marriage given by respondents during the 2021 census.

Advocate Sabin Shrestha said child marriage is rampant in different parts of the country due to lack of education and awareness. The law has prescribed strong punishment for those forcing children into marriage, he added.

Shrestha said the trend of elopement weddings was increasing among the young population in the country. “Youngsters are entering into relationships and eloping. There is a risk of them committing suicide if efforts are made to forcefully separate them,” Shrestha said. “Although child marriage is prohibited by law, it is difficult to discourage this trend.”