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 At its heart, the Swasthani Brata Katha is an anthol­ogy of mythical stories nar­rated by Lord Kumar, the elder son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, to Agasthya Muni, a saint. A popular ritual among Hindus, the recitation of Swasthani Brata Katha, which is dedicated to God­dess Swasthani, starts from Poush Shukla Purnima (the full moon day in mid-January) and lasts for a month until Magh Shukla Purnima (the full moon day in mid-February). The month-long celebrations are marked by daily fasts and recitation of mythological stories. The Swasthani Katha book has 31 chapters dealing with how one Goma Brahmani reunites with her son Nawaraj, who later becomes the king of Lawanya, as a result of Goma’s fasts. The stories are mainly about devotees, who commit sins out of ignorance but are redeemed by the grace of Goddess Swasthani. There is also the story of goddess Parvati, who observes the Swasthani rituals hoping to get Lord Shiva as her husband. In fact, Parvati’s story is the main focus of the first few chapters.

A few subsequent chapters are about the sufferings endured by Lord Shiva’s first wife Sati Devi and how Shree Swasthani deliv­ers her from her troubles. It is believed that Goddess Swasthani helped Goddess Sati overcome her troubles after the latter, upon hear­ing about her husband, Lord Shiva, being insulted, immolates herself at Dakhsya Prajapati’s Yagya. The stories can also be read as a form of prayer to Lord Shiva.

A good husband

Many Hindu women worship Goddess Swasthani during the fes­tival. Married women fast (observe Brata) for the well-being of their spouses while unmarried women hope to get good husbands by fast­ing. Women wear red clothes and bangles during the month, as the color red is believed to bring good fortune. The devotees take a holy bath in the morning, wear clean clothes, trim nails, and eat a meal once a day after reading sections of the book.

"It is ironic that we curse Nirmala Pant’s rapists, but remain quiet when Lord Bishnu rapes Brinda"

Raj Kumar Dhungana, a professor of development studies at Kathmandu University

The rituals associated with the Swasthani Katha take place on river banks in various Hindu shrines across the country. Sali Nadi, a river in Sankhu on the northeast­ern outskirts of Kathmandu, is men­tioned in the Swasthani Barta Katha and is considered a sacred loca­tion for devotees to visit during the month. Every year, thousands of devotees flock to this river to wor­ship Goddess Swasthani.

“I follow this ritual because it is what we have been taught since childhood,” says Elina Shrestha, 27, a resident of Tebahal, Kathmandu. “We have learnt that if we recite the story and fast, our wishes will come true and we will get a good life partner.”

Swasthani Katha concludes by offering 108 holy threads, 108 sel­rotis, 108 fruits, flowers, sandal­wood, clothes, money and sindoor (red vermillion powder) to Goddess Swasthani.

Ishwari Malla, 76, a local resident of Patan, says, “Part of the offerings are given to one’s husband or son. But if a woman observing the fast doesn’t have a husband or a son, she should release the offerings on the nearby river.”

Through a critical eye

Raj Kumar Dhungana, a pro­fessor of development stud­ies at Kathmandu University, has a different take. Says the author of the seminal paper ‘Nepali Hindu Women’s Thorny Path to Liberation,’ “On the one hand, God­dess Swasthani is presented as a source of power for all gods and other creatures alike. On the other hand, the story shows a common girl, Goma, being cursed and con­demned for not complying with social norms.”

In the story, Dhungana told APEX, Goma is condemned to marry a 70-year old man when she’s only seven. “Such practice is still being reproduced through the Swasthani Brata Katha, as well as other rituals like the Garud Puran and Kul Devata Pooja,” he laments. But Dhungana also acknowledges that Swasthani Brata Katha has “enhanced the literary skills of many Nepali women” by providing them with an opportunity to read a text regularly for a whole month.

Dhungana, however, wants them to read with a critical eye. “We should question the unaccept­able and unequal power relations between men like Shiva and women like Goma, Parvati and Brinda (Jalandhar’s wife).”

Questioning injustice does not mean we are against our religion, he points out. “Should our society still appreciate the act of Bishnu after he rapes Brinda at her own home? Does Brinda deserve a hei­nous punishment like rape for her husband’s misdeeds? It is ironic that we curse Nirmala Pant’s rapists, but remain quiet when Lord Bishnu rapes Brinda”.

With a month left before the expiry of two transitional justice mechanisms—the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission on Inves­tigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP)—the government has stepped up consultations with opposition Nepali Congress and other stakeholders. The extended tenure of the two commissions expires on Feb 10.

Minister for Law and Parlia­mentary Affairs Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, Minister for Energy Barsha Man Pun and NC leader Ramesh Lekhak are in close consultations to finalize the amended draft of the TRC law. “We are holding consul­tations but the government is yet to clarify its position,” Lekhak told APEX. “Once the government comes up with a clear position on how to amend the law, we will make our position clear as well.”

Senior NCP leader and party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha said discussions are aimed at amend­ing the TRC laws in line with the Supreme Court order. “Consensus has not been achieved yet,” Shrestha said. He added that the current offi­cer bearers of the two commissions are unlikely to be continued.

Shrestha, however, played down the prospect of creation of new mechanisms to replace the two existing commissions. “We will not replace those commissions by new mechanisms. The commissions will be extended but there could be new appointments,” Shrestha said.

There is national and interna­tional pressure to amend TRC Act in line with the Supreme Court order. In 2015, the apex court had struck down amnesty provisions in the Act and sought clarity in provisions related to serious human rights vio­lations. The SC had also criminalized torture and disappearance.

There are two views within the ruling NCP on how to deal with war-era cases. The leaders of former CPN-UML want to prosecute those involved in serious human rights violations such as killing, disappear­ance and rape. The former Maoist leaders prefer blanket amnesty on all war-era cases. Otherwise, they, including Pushpa Kamal Dahal, fear being implicated in war crimes in international courts. The NC, mean­while, is likely to take a position in line with the SC verdict, which will make it difficult to find a solution.

Of late, conflict victims have also sought their involvement in transitional justice. The TRC and CIEDP were originally formed for two years. Their terms have twice been extended by a year. The two commissions have received about 66,000 complaints among them but not a single case has been fully investigated.

Commission members say indirect political interference from political parties crippled their investigation.

Divergent interests of ruling party, conflict victims and international community mean parties will, as an immediate solution, again insert vague positions into the TRC law. If this happens, the TRC will again become a platform to provide jobs to those close to the government and to give continuity to the status quo.

It has been over a decade of prepa­rations to create a bureaucratic structure for federal Nepal. But a solution is nowhere in sight. The Civil Servant Adjustment Ordinance 2075, which was issued in the sec­ond week of December with the aim of deploying civil servants at the provincial and local levels, has instead created multiple problems. Mainly, the provincial and local governments are facing a human resource crunch, hampering service delivery and development projects. The protest over the ordinance has clearly signaled that provincial and local levels will continue to run short of manpower.

 Number of civil servants required

In the federal government : 46,000

In the provinces : 22,000

At the local level : 67,750

Total civil servants at present : 86,000

Constitutional ambiguity

Several commissions have been formed to suggest ways to deploy civil servants under the federal setup. Soon after the promulga­tion of the constitution in 2015, the government formed a high-level committee under the PMO to study federal restructuring. It held several meetings, to no avail.

The government is now facing multiple problems in the deploy­ment of civil servants at the three levels. Kasiraj Dahal, an expert in public administration, says this is the result of ambiguous constitu­tional provisions.

He thinks that as the constitution is silent on specifics, employees in various services are demanding that they be adjusted in an area of their choosing. “It has for instance created difficulties in addressing the demands of employees working at the local level, in Parliament and in the education sector,” Dahal says.

The ordinance on adjustment of civil servants has drawn flak from stakeholders. Representatives of civil servant organizations say they were not consulted. The govern­ment is also facing criticism for issuing the ordinance by bypassing parliament. Nepali Congress, the main opposition, as well as some ruling party lawmakers, have voiced their criticism, putting the government in a tight spot.

In 2017 the then govern­ment had promulgated the Civil Servant Act, but the new Oli government refused to take ownership. “Instead of implementing the previous Act promul­gated when the Nepali Congress was in power, the new government suddenly came up with another law with new provisions. This has created problems,” says NC leader Gagan Thapa.

The Civil Service Act 2074 had a provision of voluntary retirement for the civil servants who do not want to continue on their jobs. But the government did not imple­ment this provision, citing budget­ary constraints. The new govern­ment issued the ordinance thinking that it would take a long time to deploy civil servants.

A major concern of civil servants is that their promotion and transfer to the federal government should not be blocked. They say they are ready to work at the provincial and local levels, but they should not be confined there. They should also be allowed to become Secretary and Chief Secretary in the federal government.

In negotiation with civil ser­vants, the government has agreed to address those concerns through an amendment, but they are not convinced. “The government has blocked the transfer and growth of civil servants. The Act is against the spirit of the constitu­tion,” says Gopal Prasad Pokhrel, Chairman of Nepal Civil Servant Union. He says civil servants will not accept their assignment if their demands are not fulfilled.

No solution in sight

Observers say difficulties in the deployment of civil servants will persist as the government is not serious about coming up with a durable solution, as envisaged in the constitution. As per constitu­tional provisions, provincial and local governments can create their own civil services. The constitution stipulates provincial Public Service Commissions for the selection and deployment of civil servants. But there has been no effort to formulate the Provincial and Local Civil Ser­vice Act. “A draft of laws relating to the basis of provincial Public Service Commissions has been registered in the federal parliament. If the bill is endorsed, it would pave the way for a long-term solution,” says Umesh Prasad Main­ali, Chairperson of Public Service Commission.

Dahal says that forma­tion of the provincial Pub­lic Service Commissions is the only lasting formula for the management of civil servants at the federal, provincial and local levels.

The rigid position taken by civil servant organizations also doesn’t help. Civil servants prefer to work in convenient places. There have been several instances whereby civil servants deployed at the local level have stayed in district headquarters, hampering service delivery. “We have already implemented a federal structure, but civil servants have a centralized mindset and are hesi­tant to work at provincial and local levels,” Dahal says. Civil servants, however, say the incentives to work in rural areas are inadequate.

Observers think that even if the current row is resolved, it would be a herculean task to keep civil ser­vants in rural areas.

Politicization of bureaucracy

Civil servants with right political connections get transferred to urban areas, while those lacking such con­nections are forced into rural areas. Past experience also suggests that civil servants tend to stay in dis­trict headquarters and still enjoy foolproof political protection. Civil servants have also formed unions that stage protests if the government makes an unpopular decision.

“We should go for a win-win formula. The government should assure the concerns of civil servants will be accommodated while endorsing the Federal Civil Service Act. Civil servants should then cooperate,” says Dahal, the administrative expert.

The federal parliament’s National Concerns and Coordinate Commit­tee has invited Law Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal and Minister for Gen­eral Administration and Federal Affairs Lal Babu Pandit to discuss civil servant adjustment. Repre­sentatives of trade unions are also invited in the meeting early next week. But even if the government and civil servant association reach an agreement concerning transfer, career growth and other issues, it will be implemented only after the promulgation of the elusive Federal Civil Servant Act.

Data from ‘xhamster,’ a popular pornographic site, shows an increase in traffic to the site from Nepal starting from the last week of September, when the porn ban started to come into effect. Owing to the countless Virtual Pri­vate Network (VPN) services avail­able today, accessing pornographic content is no less difficult than it was before the ban. VPN services completely mask users identities on the internet, making it impos­sible to track or restrict internet access. Moreover, these services are secure, reliable and easy to use.

With access to sophisticated forms of VPN like the Tor Network comes admission to the dark web. The dark web is a section of the internet that is not indexed by any search engines but can be accessed only within Tor Networks. These dark websites are impossible to track and play host to nefarious activities like child pornography, illegal drug markets and red rooms that live broadcast torture and murder.

Currently, the Nepali dark web community is relatively small. But as more and more people access por­nography through such channels—as suggested by a spike in the number of Tor visits from Nepal following the porn ban—at least some of them may want to explore what else is there on the dark web besides porn. In time, such increased activities on dark web could lead to creation of local online drug markets, prostitu­tion rings, or worse.

“I’ve visited the dark web a few times,” says Manish, a young white hat hacker—someone who hacks into systems to expose their securi­ty flaws—working out of Kathman­du. “I do it out of curiosity. I’m not looking for anything specific. Accessing a space of the internet unknown to normal internet users provides a thrill.”

Into the dengerous world of dark web

They say the internet has always been free. We’re free to look for any information on the internet, be it good or bad. We are just as free to fill it with cat memes, reaction videos and troll comments. Anyone can find just about anything on the platform, including pornographic content.

More and more people are visiting pornographic sites online. Some governments, including our own, find this problematic, as they argue it leads to a host of crimes, including crimes against women like rape and sexual harassment.

It was in 2010 that Nepal first tried to control the viewership of pornographic content online. Blaming the mushrooming cyber cafes of promoting pornography, the government made it mandatory for all such cafes to register with the District Administration Office. Not just that. They also had to provide data on all user logins and logouts. But lax implementation sank the initiative.

Come 2018, following widespread protests against the rape-and-murder of the 13-year-old Nirmala Pant of Kanchanpur district, the government decided that easy availability of pornographic material was one reason for growing incidents of violence against women. It directed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block all porn sites. Today, all pornographic content is banned in Nepal. Should you try to log into one of the porn sites, you a “Sorry the content you’re looking for has been blocked as per the directions of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology” message.

“We have already blocked over 25,000 porn sites with the help of Internet Service Providers,” says Ram Chandra Dhakal, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Information and Communication.

The reaction to porn ban has been mixed. While some traditionalists have welcomed it, others reckon it is a futile quest to deflect blame following the government’s failure to maintain law and order. Whatever the case, with the exponential growth in privacy technology, does a censorship on pornographic content matter?

Data from xhamster (see graph 1), a popular pornographic site, shows an increase in traffic to the site from Nepal starting with the last week of September, when the porn ban started to come into effect. Owing to the countless Virtual Private Network (VPN) services available today, accessing pornographic content is no less difficult than it was before the ban. VPN services completely masks users identities on the internet, making it impossible to track or restrict internet access. Moreover, these services are secure, reliable and easy to use.

There are web browser extensions that provide free VPN services once downloaded, while others, like Opera, come with free VPN services built-in. A few years ago, these services were clunky, hard to use and reduced your internet speed considerably, but with availability of high-speed nodes and technological advances, VPNs can be used with minimal bandwidth loss these days.

Already there are questions popping up on famous forums like Quora and Reddit about bypassing the censorship in Nepal and almost all posts have pointed users to VPN services. It looks like the ban isn’t helping restrict access to pornographic content, which betrays lack of understanding of the internet.

“It doesn’t matter if the government wants to censor information,” says Ashish*, a 26-year-old entrepreneur in Kathmandu. “No matter what techniques they use to block sites, people will always find alternative ways to access content online. The internet is resilient like that.”

This kind of resilience is seen in the long lives of controversial internet sites like The Pirate Bay and Mega. Both sites were ‘taken down’ at various times for their contribution to internet piracy, but both have somehow stayed up, defying censorship.

Attempts at censoring the internet haven’t worked in the past, and with services like VPN, policing the internet has become even more difficult. Also, far from doing good, pornographic censorship might lead to something more sinister. For with access to sophisticated forms of VPN like the Tor Network comes admission to the dark web.

The dark web is a section of the internet that is not indexed by any search engines but can be accessed only within Tor Networks. These dark websites are impossible to track and play host to nefarious activities like child pornography, illegal drug markets and red rooms that live broadcast torture and murder. Currently, the Nepali dark web community is relatively small. But as more and more people access pornography through such channels—as suggested by a spike in the number of Tor visits from Nepal (see graph 2) following the porn ban—at least some of them may want to explore what else is there on the dark web besides porn. In time, such increased activities on dark web could lead to creation of local online drug markets, prostitution rings, or worse.

“I’ve visited the dark web a few times,” says Manish*, a young white hat hacker—someone who hack into systems to expose their security flaws—working out of Kathmandu. “I do it out of curiosity. I’m not looking for anything specific. Accessing a space of the internet unknown to normal internet users provides a thrill.”

When queried on such downsides of porn ban, Dhakal, the information ministry spokesperson, says “With new technologies, new systems and new infrastructures, we are working on making Nepali cyber space more and more secure. But in the larger scheme of things, accessing illegal content on digital space is illegal. In due course we will bring policies to prosecute individuals accessing illegal content, for instance, through VPNs.”

But that could be hard, if not impossible. Even the governments of the countries with developed IT surveillance mechanisms are struggling to police the internet. If anything, by pushing people into the darkest reaches of the web, the government seems to be inviting all kinds of unwanted troubles. 

* Names have been changed to protect the identities of individuals quoted.