• May 30, 2024

Appeal to International Organizations to Respect the Human Rights of Majhi Women

 Supriya Rai, Kathmandu, May 30: Representatives of Indigenous women and international organizations working in the field of human rights have appealed to the government of Nepal and national/international stakeholders to respect the human rights of the women of the Majhi community living in the Sunkoshi river coastal area of Ramechhap district.

At a press conference held in Kathmandu on Thursday, Eloisa Delos Reyes, the Program Officer of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development; Attiya Waris, an independent expert on debt for the United Nations and a professor at Nairobi University; Dr. Maria Ron Balcera, Executive Director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights; and Yashokanti Bhattachan, Vice President of the National Indigenous Women’s Forum (NIWF), collectively called on the Government of Nepal, the Department of Electricity Development, and international investors to address the concerns of Majhi women in the affected areas of the Sunkoshi II hydropower project in Ramechhap. They expressed that the project threatens the very existence of these women.

A joint press conference has been organized to publicize the report of the on-site study visit conducted by the representatives of the international organizations including the National Indigenous Women Forum (NIWF) on May 15th and 16th about the impact on tribal Majhi women of Manthali Municipality’s Ward No. 6 and 7, Kunauri and Bhatauli.

As a 390-meter long and 160-meter high dam will be built in Ramechhap Municipality-5 for the proposed Sunkoshi (II hydropower project) with a capacity of 1100 megawatts. It is said that the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th wards of Ramechhap Municipality will be affected as inundation areas. Because of this, around 1,000 fishers who have been living in the river coastal area for centuries will be completely displaced, so they have been demanding the cancellation of the project.

NIWF and international organizations have jointly studied the impact of feminist human rights on the Kunauri and Majhi communities of Manthali and Bhatauli. The members of the study evaluation team stated in a press conference that when going ahead with the Sunkoshi (II hydropower project). Majhi women were not given independent prior informed consent, the government did not consult with them about future crises and solutions, and they were not involved in public hearings related to the project.

Protecting Majhi and other indigenous peoples is an important part of protecting the earth, the study team said in a press conference, “We urge the Government of Nepal, especially the Department of Power Development, commercial companies, national and international investors and international development partners to implement the United Nations Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ILO. We call for meaningful compliance with international human rights laws approved by the Government of Nepal, including Convention 169, Fundamental Recommendation No. 39 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.”

The study team said that they formed different groups to study the status of the right to participation, access to information and right to self-determination of Majhi women of Kunauri and Bhatauli. Representatives of international organizations expressed their concern at the press conference saying that Majhi women are facing more challenges to support their families in the terrible situation of losing access to all natural resources along with the river.

“Return our river”

Sukumaya Majhi, Purnakumari Majhi and Mamta Majhi, who came from Ramechhap to Kathmandu to participate in the press conference, said that in the name of development, the Sunkoshi river that they have protected is going to be taken away.

The Majhi women expressed their concern that their existence will be reduced to zero after the construction of the Sunkoshi II project dam. Sukumaya, Purnakumari and Mamta Majhi demanded the government to return their river as the river is the basis of life for the Majhis who live on the banks of Sunkoshi.

We open the doors of the International Court of Justice: NIWF President Lama

Suni Lama, president of the National Indigenous Women’s Forum (NIWF), raised the slogan of one-sided development of the alleged development and responded that the act of erasing the existence and identity of fishers living along the Sunkoshi river is highly objectionable. As the endangered Majhi caste has the first rights to the Sunkoshi River, it is unfortunate to proceed with the implementation of the Sunkoshi II project without consulting them.