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  • Published: 01 November 2022

A qualitative study on gender inequality and gender-based violence in Nepal

  • Pranab Dahal 1 ,
  • Sunil Kumar Joshi 2 &
  • Katarina Swahnberg 1  

BMC Public Health volume  22 , Article number:  2005 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Gender inequality and violence are not mutually exclusive phenomena but complex loops affecting each other. Women in Nepal face several inequalities and violence. The causes are diverse, but most of these results are due to socially assigned lower positioning of women. The hierarchies based on power make women face subordination and violence in Nepal. The study aims to explore participants' understanding and experience to identify the status of inequality for women and how violence emerges as one of its consequences. Furthermore, it explores the causes of sex trafficking as an example of an outcome of inequality and violence.

The study formulated separate male and female groups using a purposive sampling method. The study used a multistage focus group discussion, where the same groups met at different intervals. Six focus group discussions, three times each with male and female groups, were conducted in a year. Thirty-six individuals, including sixteen males and twenty females, were involved in the discussions. The study used constructivist grounded theory for the data analysis.

The study participants identify that a power play between men and women reinforce inequality and increases the likelihood of violence for women. The findings suggest that the subjugation of women occurs due to practices based on gender differences, constricted life opportunities, and internalization of constructed differences among women. The study identifies that interpersonal and socio-cultural violence can result due to established differences between men and women. Sex trafficking, as an example of the outcome of inequality and violence, occurs due to the disadvantageous position of women compounded by poverty and illiteracy. The study has developed a concept of power-play which is identified as a cause and consequence of women's subordination and violence. This power play is found operative at various levels with social approval for men to use violence and maintain/produce inequality.

The theoretical concept of power play shows that there are inequitable power relations between men and women. The male-centric socio-cultural norms and practices have endowed men with privilege, power, and an opportunity to exploit women. This lowers the status of women and the power-play help to produce and sustain inequality. The power-play exposes women to violence and manifests itself as one of the worst expressions used by men.

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Violence against women is identified as an attempt by men to maintain power and control over women [ 1 ] and is manifested as a form of structural inequality. This structural inequality is apparent with greater agency among men [ 2 ]. The differences between sexes are exhibited in the attainment of education and professional jobs, ownership of assets, the feminization of poverty, etc., and these differences increase the risk of violence towards women [ 3 ]. The global estimate identifies that thirty percent of women experience physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetime, illustrating the enormity of this problem [ 4 ]. From a feminist perspective, lending ideas of patriarchy [ 5 ] and gender performativity [ 6 ], the understanding of gender roles prescribed by male-dominated social structures and processes helps further explore the violence and abuse faced by women [ 7 ]. According to Heise [ 8 ], men who adhere to traditional, rigid, and misogynistic views on gender norms, attitudes, and behaviors are more likely to use violence towards women. The individual and collective attitudes of men toward different established gender norms, and their reproduction explain men’s use of violence toward women [ 9 ]. It is known that gender norms influence violence, but at the same time violence also directs and dictates gender performance with fear, sanction, and corrective measures for enacting respective prescribed gender functions [ 10 ].

It is difficult for women subjected to violence to enjoy legitimate rights, as most of the infringement of their rights and violence takes place inside a private sphere of the home [ 11 , 12 ]. Violence against women is the major cause of death and disability for women [ 13 ] and globally a major public health concern [ 14 ]. Establishing gender equality is fundamental for fostering justice and attaining sustainable development [ 15 ]; moreover, violence against women has to be acknowledged as a fundamental abuse of human rights [ 16 ]. A report on global violence has identified that violence against women exists at all levels of the family, community, and state. The report recommended the development of frameworks for respecting, protecting, and fulfilling women’s rights [ 17 ]. Fifteen years later, a review of the same identifies that violence continues with impunity, reaffirming violence as a major obstacle to the attainment of justice [ 18 ].

The inclusion of the gender lens to violence against women has provided more contextual evidence to explore these processes of violence. This requires the identification of unequal power relationships and an inquiry into the differences-producing various gender stereotypes [ 19 ]. This analysis of violence requires an understanding of behaviors that promote women’s subordination and factors that favor men to sustain these malpractices [ 8 ]. A closer look at the male-centric structural arrangements embedded in the social, political, and economic organization of life reveals that these structures provide lesser access and lower accountability toward women, promote systemic subordination, and create hierarchies, resulting in the increase of violence against women [ 20 ]. This unequal gender power relationship reinforced and manifested by social approval of men’s authority over women is found operative at multiple levels and helps to produce diversities of inequalities and violence [ 21 , 22 ].

The inequalities faced by women in Nepal majorly stem from socio-cultural, economic, and religious factors and influencers that define traditional roles and responsibilities between men and women [ 23 ]. The inequalities are more evident and pronounced in settings exhibiting prominent patriarchal norms restricting advantages and opportunities for the majority of women [ 24 ]. Women in Nepal are restricted inside their homes, have lesser access to life opportunities, and have limited or no involvement in decision-making on important issues directly affecting their lives [ 25 , 26 ]. Figures indicative of women’s inequalities in Nepal suggest that one-third of women have no education, fifty-two percent of women are involved in non-paid jobs, and women are less likely than men to own a home or land [ 27 ]. The men in Nepalese society are positioned higher and are expected to be the breadwinner and protectors of their families. Most of these men intend to earn respect and obedience from women and are socially expected to discipline women to achieve it [ 28 ]. Many societies across the world including Nepal, recognizes violence as a private affair requiring discussion only within a family. This has led to a serious underreporting of violence committed toward women in Nepal [ 29 ]. The national gender data in Nepal is scarce, the available Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016 identifies that since the age of fifteen, twenty-two percent of women and seven percent of women experience physical and sexual violence, respectively in the past twelve months [ 27 ].

The contributing factors for violence against women in Nepal include the lower social status of women, illiteracy, economic dependency, patriarchal society, sex trafficking, alcohol-related abuse, dowry-related violence, infidelity, extramarital affairs of husband, unemployment, and denial of sex with husband [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Nepalese women have been repressing violence with silence due to the fear of breaking relationships, receiving less love and affection from family, fear of social norms by going against men, lack of faith in the justice system, and the threat of increased violence [ 33 ]. Women and girls in Nepal are sex trafficked to various countries. Sex trafficking in Nepal is prevalent due to persistent gender inequality, violence, stigma, and discriminatory socio-cultural structures; however, the actual extent of sex trafficking is still undetermined [ 17 , 34 , 35 ].

The recent trends in Nepal with the increasing number of out-migration of men for employment have provided women with temporary autonomy, and a shift in the gender roles. Earlier research has identified that migration of male spouses has provided a resistance to the power dynamics for women on the other hand it has limited their mobility, required them to share decision-making with household structures, face continued social vigilance on the money received from remittance, and get central attention with their personal sexual lives [ 36 , 37 ].

Morang district lies in the eastern region of Nepal. A district profile report based on a census survey [ 38 ] identifies that the place is inhabited by a close to a million population, out of which ethnic groups ( close to forty percent) live in the district with a majority (seventy-eight percent) of its population living in the rural areas. Tharu an ethnic group is one of the dominant population in the study area and all study participants for this study were from same Tharu population. A close to thirty-six percent of women in the district are illiterate and the average age of marriage is eighteen years. The report identifies that only twenty-three percent of women engage in economic activities apart from agricultural work and less than fourteen percent of women head the household. Almost eighty percent of the population in the district practice Hinduism.

This study is a part of a large intervention project and it was focused to establish a qualitative baseline of the gender status in the study area. This study aimed to explore participants’ experiences and understanding of gender inequality, violence against women, and information on sex trafficking in the Morang district of eastern Nepal. The selection of sex trafficking topic was motivated to assess the respondents’ general understanding of one of the consequences of inequality and violence faced by women. The study focused to explore factors that help to produce and sustain the practice of gender inequality and violence against women in the local community.

Participants

This study was part of a larger control-comparison project that used Forum Theatre interventions to promote gender equality, reduce violence against women, and increase awareness of sex trafficking [ 39 , 40 ]. The participants for the focus group discussion included the intervention population from one of the randomly sampled intervention sites. A multistage focus group discussion [ 41 ] was used involving the same participants discussing various emerging topics at different periods. The participants were recruited voluntarily during an earlier quantitative data collection for the project. The study used a purposive sampling method for the selection of participants. The local field staff at the study site facilitated the recruitment of the participants. The study formulated separate male and female groups. A total of six focus groups, three each with male and female groups were conducted over twelve months. Two inclusion criteria were set for participation. First, the participants had to be part of the population of the larger study. Secondly, they had to witness and/or participate in the Forum Theatre interventions conducted in between the study. The set inclusion criteria served a dual purpose of understanding the causes of inequality and violence and further helped to develop and determine the efficacy of participatory Forum Theater intervention for awareness-raising among the study intervention groups [ 39 ].

A total of thirty-six participants consisting of sixteen males and twenty females joined the discussions. The first discussion consisted of eight participants each from groups while the second and the third discussion missed two female and four male participants respectively. The majority of the participants were 20–29 years old. Tharu, an ethnic community of Nepal, is a dominant population in the study area, and all the participants belonged to the same Tharu community. Only one female participant was unmarried, and a single married male participated in the discussions. All participants were literate, with four males completing a bachelor's level of education. Seven female participants had education below the high school level. The nuclear family with parents and their children was the major family type identified in both male and female groups. Table 1 provides the detail of the participants.

The focus group discussions were conducted in January 2017, April–May 2017, and January 2018. The discussions were conducted in a place recommended by the participants. An isolated place in an open setting at the premise of a local temple was used for conducting all discussions. The participants were briefed about the objectives of the discussion and written consent was obtained for their participation. Verbal consent was taken for the audio recording of the discussions. Each participant was assigned a unique numerical code before the discussions to ensure anonymity during recording, note-taking, and analysis. The discussions averaged ninety minutes during each session. The discussions were conducted with the same participants and no new participants were added during the follow-ups. A single male and female participant were missing in the second follow up and two male participants missed the final follow-up. The reason for missing participants was due to their unavailability as they were out of the village due to personal reasons.

The discussions were conducted in the Nepali language. The first author moderated all six discussions, a support field staff member took the notes, and the last author observed the discussions. The audio recordings were translated into English, and the transcriptions were checked with the recordings to verify accuracy. The field and the discussion notes were used during various stages of data analysis. The notes provided information on the discussion setting, as well as the verbal and nonverbal expressions of the participants. The notes helped to assess the impressions, emphasis, and feelings of the participants during the discussions.

The discussions used pre-formulated discussion guides with open-ended questions on inequalities, gender practices, violence, and sex trafficking. The guiding questions were based on the theoretical premise of discrimination, patriarchy, oppression, hegemony, and participation of women. Three separate discussion guides were developed for each of discussions. The guides were developed by the first and last authors. Probing was done on several occasions during the discussion to gain more clarity on the issue. Cross-checking among the participants and between the groups was done to triangulate received information. Any topic deemed appropriate for discussions and/or any unclear issues identified during the initial data analysis came up subsequently in the discussion guide during the follow-ups.

Data analysis

This study used the constructivist grounded theory method. This method adheres to a constructivist philosophical approach wherein both researchers and participants mutually co-construct the meaning of a phenomenon [ 42 ]. This interaction is important since it helps to impart the meaning of shared experiences [ 42 ]. The constructivist grounded theory made it possible to (re) discover gender issues, important for both the researcher and the study participants. This method allowed the study to progress with responsiveness to emerging issues with an in-depth exploration of the identified issues. This clarity was achieved through repeated interactive discussions, analysis of explanations, and sharing of emergent findings with the study participants.

The audio recordings were translated and transcribed into English. Six transcripts from discussions were initially analyzed using a line-by-line coding process. The coding process helped with the fragmentation of data through interactive comparisons. Fifty-two initial codes such as gender differences, restricting women, alcohol-related violence, underreporting of sexual violence, coping, etc. were identified. The later stage of focused coding helped to achieve categorized data, providing logical sense to the developed initial codes. Three focused codes, namely, the subjugation of women, violence, and chasing dreams were formulated during the analysis. The abductive reasoning from the codes, memos, and discussion notes helped to develop the theoretical concept. The development of conceptual abstraction involved an iterative comparison of the data, codes, categories, memos, and discussion notes.

The constant communication between the authors during the stages of data analysis such as the formulation of codes, explanations of concepts, and categories helped to refine the analysis. The shared experiences of the participants and the description of the data collection and analysis included substantial details, enabling comparisons for future research and application to other similar contexts. The reliability of the study is warranted by the theoretical saturation [ 42 ] achieved by this study. This is supported by prolonged engagement with the study participants with communication on the emerging findings, and triangulation.

Reflexivity has a greater significance for the constructivist approach. The first and the second author of Nepalese origin were aware of the socio-cultural norms, stereotypes, values, and stigmas associated with gender in the local context. This helped the study to ascertain the depth of inquiry within the acceptable local normative limits. The non-Nepalese author, familiar with the study participants and Nepalese contexts, witnessed the discussions as an observer. The prior knowledge of the authors helped to critically assess different schemas, perspectives, and explanations shared by the participants. The universality of gender inequality and violence against women and its re-examination in the local context helped the authors to build upon existing knowledge by providing contextual explanations. The diversities among the authors and research participants established a basis for co-creating the perceived and observed realities.

The section below describes the participants’ perceptions and understanding of inequality and violence. The section contains subheadings that were derived as themes in the data analysis. The first theme subjugation of women; discusses how norms, beliefs, and practices produce inferior status and positions for women. The second theme domestic and gender violence; provides a narrative of interpersonal and socio-cultural violence present in the study area. The theme of chasing dreams; discusses the process of sex trafficking as an outcome of violence. The theoretically abstracted concept of power-play identifies the cause for the generation of power imbalance producing inequality and the use of violence by men.

Subjugation of women

The subjugation of women reflected practices and beliefs imparting positional differences for women and their social situation compared to men. The participants shared a common understanding that belief systems adhering to male supremacy have positioned women in a lower status. They provided examples of social practices of male supremacy such as males being considered as the carrier of a family name, legacy, and heritage, while women were referred to as someone else’s property. The socialization of the idea that girls will be married off to a husband and relocate themselves to their homes was identified as the major reason for instilling and perpetuating early gender differences. The participants mentioned that discriminatory practices and seclusion have situated women at the bottom rung of the gender hierarchy, establishing them as socially incompetent individuals or groups. Moreover, they inferred that selective preferences provided preparatory grounds for inequalities, and they remain attached to women throughout their lives. The participants provided examples of unequal access to education and life opportunities as a practice of selective preferences occurring in the community. They mentioned that socialization with these discriminatory beliefs and their practice helped to develop specialized gender roles from an early age. The participants provided an example of how gender intersected with mobility and resource generation in the community, it was clear from the discussions that this has restricted women inside homes but provided freedom and opportunities for men. A female participant expressed,

A woman from a poor family is more than willing to work and support her family. But she is not allowed by the men in the family to work outside of the home.

The participants informed that differences between the sexes were visible for women from a young age. Sharing practical examples from the community, the participants from both groups stated that girls received education mostly in low-cost government and community schools, while boys were enrolled in expensive private schools. They raised concerns that this selective investment for education, cited as the ‘building block of life’ by the participants, installed lesser capacity, and negotiating abilities in girls. A female participant stated,

There are differences in educational opportunities for boys and girls in our community. Family provides more support for a boy’s education by enrolling him in private schools, while a girl mostly gets her education in a community school together with engagement in household work.

The discussions revealed that women required several male anchors for their survival during their various stages of life. The participants provided examples of the shift of anchors for women which traversed from a father to a husband during marriage and later to the male child during her old age. They believed that this tradition of transferring women’s identity established men as a higher social category and stripped women of their individuality and identity. A male participant added,

Women have to remain dependent on men throughout their lives, first with their fathers and later with their husbands. They remain completely dependent as they are not economically active. This makes men believe that they have higher authority.

The female participants provided an example of marriage to illustrate how someone else’s decision-making had been affecting women’s lives. A participant explained that women were held responsible for household activities after marriage and any support for career progression or education was restricted despite her desire for its continuation. It was inferred that women had to drop their hopes and aspirations as the husband and his family made decisions for them. The female participants agreed that this continuous exposure to the ideas of male supremacy makes them start to believe and internalize the idea that women have lesser cognitive abilities and intelligence compared to men. A female participant stated,

Men and women certainly have different mental abilities. Men think and act differently often in a smart way compared to women.

The participants from both groups expressed that youth in the community were developing flexible attitudes and beliefs towards gender roles and responsibilities. They agreed that both young men and women were observed altering their roles and responsibilities shifting from traditional gender ideologies. The participants expressed that instilling these fluidity and flexible approaches in the older generation was impossible as they strictly followed traditional beliefs and practices. Few of the female participants admitted that at times young women also fail to accommodate the situation and reap benefits from available opportunities. The discussions revealed that a few of the women in the community received opportunities for independence and economic empowerment. These women had received entrepreneurial training and various skill development activities for sustaining livelihoods with practical skill-based training in tailoring, beautician, and doll-making. The female participants expressed that opportunities for independence and growth slipped away from them due to a lack of family support, financial constraints, and self-passivity. They explained that starting a business required approval from a family which was difficult to obtain. Moreover, if women made a self-decision to start up on their own, they lacked the initial capital and had to rely on men for obtaining resources. The participants further explained that the denial of men to support women were majorly due to the fear that norms of staying indoors for women will be breached and economic independence may enable women to have a similar financial footing as men. The participants stated that self-passivity in women emerged due to their engagement in household multiple roles, dependency upon males, and lack of decision-making power and abilities. A female participant summed it up by stating,

Some of us women in the community have received entrepreneurial skills training, but we have not been able to use our skills for our growth and development. Once the training finishes, we get back to our household chores and taking care of the children.

The female participants admitted that acceptance of belief systems requiring women to be docile, unseen, and unheard were the reasons for this self-passivity. The female participants resonated that the external controlling and unfavorable environment influenced by practices of discriminatory norms and beliefs developed self-passivity for women. A female participant expressed the cause and consequence of self-passivity as,

Women have inhibitions to speaking their minds; something stops us from making our position clear, making us lose all the time.

The discussions identified that gender norms were deeply engraved in various social interactions and daily life, and any deviance received strict criticism. The participants shared common examples of sanctions for women based on rigid norms like restrictive movements for women, social gossiping when women communicated with outsider men, prohibition for opinion giving in public, and lesser involvement during key decision-making at home. The participants shared that norms dictating gender roles were in place for both men and women with social sanctions and approval for their performance. A male discussion participant who occasionally got involved with cooking which was a so-called “women’s job” faced outright disapproval from his female relatives and neighbors. The male participant stated,

If I cook or get engaged in any household jobs, it is mostly females from the home and neighborhood who make fun of me and remind me that I am a man and that I should not be doing a woman’s job.

The foreign migration of youth looking for job opportunities has affected the Tharu community. It was known that a large number of men were absent from the community. The participants stated that women in such households with absent men had gained authority and control over resources, moreover, these women have been taking some of the men’s roles. The participants disclosed that these women had greater access and control over resources and were involved in the key decision-making positioning them in a relatively higher position compared to other women. It was known that this higher position for women came with a price, they were under higher social vigilance and at higher risk of abuse and violence due to the absence of ‘protective men’. It was known that women's foreign employment was associated with myths and sexist remarks. The participants shared that women had to face strict social criticisms and that their plans for livelihood and independence were related to an issue of sexual immorality and chastity. The participants from both groups strictly opposed the norms that associated women with sexual immorality but lamented that it continues. A male participant provided an insight into the social remarks received by women if she dares to go for foreign employment,

If a woman wants to go for a foreign job, she is considered to be of loose character. The idea that she is corrupt and will get involved in bad work will be her first impression of anyone.

Although the participant did not explicitly describe what bad work referred to as but it was inferred that he was relating it to sex work.

Domestic and gender violence

The participants identified violence as control, coercion, and use of force against someone will occurring due to unequal status. They primarily identified men as the perpetrators and women as the victims of violence. They explained that two types of violence were observed in the community. The first type occurred in an interpersonal relationship identified as physical, emotional, and sexual violence. The second type, as explained by the participants had its roots in socio-cultural belief systems. They provided examples of dowry exchange and witchcraft accusations for the latter type. The participants identified women as primary victims and listed both men and women as the perpetrators of both types of violence. They reported that physical violence against women by men under the influence of alcohol was the most commonly occurring violence in the community. The participants from both groups confirmed that wife-beating, verbal abuse, and quarrel frequently occurred in the community. It was known from discussions that alcohol consumption among men was widespread, and its cultural acceptance was also increasing episodes of violence. One of the female participants clarified further,

The most common violence occurring in our society is wife-beating by a husband under the influence of alcohol. We see it every day.

The participants reported the occurrence of sexual violence in the community but also pointed out that people refrained from discussing it considering it a taboo and private affair. The participants had hesitation to discuss freely on sexual violence. During the discussions, participants from both groups informed only of rape and attempted rape of women by men as sexual violence present in the community. Despite repeated probing, on several occasions, none of the participants from either group brought up issues and discussions about any other forms of sexual violence. Participants from both groups confirmed that stories about incidents of rape or attempted rape emerged only after cases were registered with the local police. The participants presumed that incidents of rape and attempted rape were not known to the wider community. A female participant stated,

Sexual violence does occur in our community, but people mostly do not report or disclose it, but they tend to keep it amongst themselves and their families.

The participants explained the identity of the rape perpetrator and victim. They identified the perpetrator as a rich, influential, and relatively powerful man from the community. The victim was portrayed as a poor and isolated woman which lesser social ties. It was known from the discussions that most of the rape cases in the community were settled with financial negotiations and monetary compensations for the victim rather than finding legal remedies. It can be inferred that the victimization of women intersects with gender, wealth, social stature, and affluence. The participants feared that this practice of settlement of rape with money could make rape a commodity available for the powerful, rich, and affluent men to exploit and victimize women. A male participant clarifies,

Recently, a man in his sixties raped a young girl near our village. The victim's family was ready to settle with monetary compensation offered by the rapist, but the involvement of the community stopped it and the rapist was handed over to the police.

The participants shared available coping mechanisms against violence practiced in the community by women. It was learned that the victim of household violence mostly used community consultation and police reporting to evade further violence. They divulged that community consultation and police reporting resulted in decisions in favor of victim women, directing abusive husbands to show decency and stop committing violence. The fear of legal repercussions such as spending time in police custody and getting charged under domestic violence cases was understood as the reasons for husbands to stop abuse and violence. The discussions revealed that women who file a formal complaint about their husband’s violent behavior could face an increased risk of violence. The participants disclosed that sharing such incidents publicly brought shame to some of the men and increased their anger, and often backlashed with increased violence. The participants in both groups stated that not all women in the community reported violence. They identified that women tend to be quiet despite facing continuous violence due to the fear of encountering more violence and to keeping their families together. A female participant clarifies,

Lodging public complaints against the abusive husband can sometimes escalate the violence. The husband’s anger for being humiliated in public must be faced by the woman inside the closed doors of the house with more violence and the men’s threat of abandoning the relationship.

The participants stated that socio-cultural violence against women in dowry-related cases was widespread and increasing. The dowry exchange was explained as a traditional practice with the family of the bride paying cash and kind to the groom's family. The participants clarified that the practice of dowry in the earlier days must have been an emergency fund for the newly wedded bride in a newer setting. According to the participants, the system of dowry has now developed and evolved as a practice of forced involuntary transfer of goods and cash demanded by the groom’s family. The discussions disclosed that the demands for dowry were increasing with time and failing to provide as promised immediately resulted in violence for the newly wedded bride. The participants described that dowry-related violence starts with taunts and progresses to withholding of food, verbal abuse, and finally, physical violence. They added that perpetrators of such violence were both men and women from the groom’s family. They stated that due to poverty not all bride families in the community were able to supply all demanded dowry which has exposed a large number of women to face dowry-related abuse and violence. The discussions also informed of a newer trend among girls by demanding goods during their wedding. It was shared that this new emerging trend had increased a two-fold financial burden on the bride’s family with heavy marriage debts. The male participants when questioned about the dowry demands cunningly shifted the responsibilities towards family and stated that it was not the groom but their families who were making such dowry demands. The discussions verified that dowry practice was so engraved in the community that it was impossible to even imagine a marriage without any dowry. A male participant reflected,

If I marry without any dowry, my family, neighbors, and all whom I know would consider that I am insane.

The participants also discussed and identified harmful traditional practices present in the community. The participants informed a common practice of accusing women of as witches existed in the community. It was mentioned that women faced witchcraft allegations in different situations. They provided examples of witchcraft allegations in common situations such as when someone’s cow stops producing milk when a child has a sore eye, when someone is bedridden due to sickness for days, or when a woman undergoes a miscarriage, etc. The participants stated that women accused of witch were always elderly/single women living in seclusion, poverty, and with fewer social ties. They also shared that the witch doctors, who ascertain whether a woman is a witch or not, were surprisingly mostly always men and hold higher status, respect, and social recognition. The consequences of being labeled as a witch, as explained by the participants, haunted victim women with torture, name-calling, social boycott, and extremes of physical violence. The participants informed that inhumane practices such as forceful feeding of human excreta prevailed during the witch cleansing sessions. A female participant explaining the witchcraft situation stated,

Witchcraft accusation is very real in our community; I know someone who has tortured his mother, citing reasons for his wife being childless. The old woman was called names, beaten, and later thrown out of the home.

The participants felt that men’s use of violence and its legitimization primarily existed due to gender hierarchy and internalization of the belief that violence was the best method to resolve any conflict. They inferred that men’s use of violence was further reinforced by women's acceptance and belief that violence had occurred due to their faults and carelessness. The female participants shared examples of common household situations that could result in an episode of violence such as women cooking distasteful food, failing to provide timely care to children and the elderly due to workload, and forgetting to clean rooms. These incidents make women believe that violence majorly occurred due to their mistakes. Furthermore, the participants believed that this self-blaming of the victim resulted due to constant exposure to violence and a non-negotiable social positioning of women for raising questions. The participants stated that beliefs instilled by religion increased the likelihood of victimization for women. They explained that religious practices and ideologies required women to refer to their husbands as godly figures, and a religious belief that anything said or done against husbands was a disgrace bringing sin upon her and family positioned women in an inferior position. A male participant added,

We belong to a culture where females worship their husbands as a god, and this might be an important reason for men to feel powerful as a god to exploit and abuse women.

The discussions put forward the idea that the existence of discriminatory beliefs, reinforcement of such beliefs, and a blind following of such practices produced differences and violence. The male participants acknowledged that the idea of male supremacy not only produced violence but also established a belief system that considered violence as an indispensable way to treat deviated women. One male participant stated this idea of male supremacy and privilege as,

The language of the feet is essential when words fail.

The participants also discussed violence committed toward men by women. The male participants burst into laughter when they stated that some men were beaten by their wives when they were drunk. The male participants admitted that intoxication reduced their strength and they got beaten. The female participants, on the other hand, assumed that women hit intoxicated men due to frustration and helplessness. They further clarified that the act of husband beating was a situational reaction towards men who had spent all of their daily earnings on alcohol. They stated that women with the responsibility to cook and feed family find themselves in an utterly helpless situation by the irresponsible drinking behavior of men. The male participants shared incidences of violence against men due to foreign migration. It was revealed in the discussions that some of the migrating men’s wives had run away with remitted money, abandoning marriage, and breaking up the family. The male participants identified this as a form of victimization of men, furthermore, the spreading of rumors and gossip caused emotional instability in those men. The female participants confirmed that some returning men failed to find their homes, property, money, and/or their wives. The discussion participants in both groups identified that this practice was on the rise in the community. It became apparent from the discussions that this increasing trend of women running away with the money and breaking away from family was a personal issue requiring social remedies.

Chasing dreams

The participants referred to sex trafficking as the exploitation of women, arising from poverty, illiteracy, and deceit. Explaining the causes of trafficking, the participants stated that women living in poverty, having dreams of prosperity and abundance were tricked by the traffickers making them victims of sex trafficking. The participants mentioned that women who had dreams larger than life and yearned for a comfortable and luxurious life in a short time were at a greater risk for sex trafficking. The participants from both groups resonated that the traffickers had been manipulating the dreams of poor women and deceiving them into trafficking. A female participant elaborated,

Women in poverty can be fooled easily with dreams. She can be tricked by a trafficker by saying I will find you employment with good pay abroad, and she gets into the trap easily.

A male participant further clarified,

Women readily fall into fraud and trickery shown by the traffickers who assure of luxurious life with foreign employment and this bait often leads to sex trafficking.

They identified that false hopes for foreign jobs were primarily used as an entry point by the traffickers to trap potential victims. Besides, they stated that some traffickers tricked women with false romantic relationships and marriages to win over their trust enabling traffickers to maneuver women as they wished.

It was identified that traffickers were not always strangers but known and familiar faces from the community, allowing the traffickers to gain the victim’s trust. The discussions divulged that traffickers strategically chose women who were less educated and poor. The participants explained that sex trafficking mostly occurred among women from a lower caste (the caste system is hierarchy-based in Hindu society which is determined by birth and unchangeable). They further explained that if one of these lower caste women went missing, it seldom raised any serious concerns in society, making these women easy targets for the traffickers. The discussions revealed that life for the survivors of sex trafficking was difficult. They identified that the survivor had to face strong stigmas and stereotypes which further increased their risk for re-victimization. The participants explained that the social acceptance of the trafficking survivors was minimal and finding a job for survival was very difficult. It was reported that social beliefs, norms, and practices were rigid for sex trafficking survivors and provided lesser opportunities for complete social integration. A female participant stated,

The story of a sex-trafficked woman does not end after her rescue. It is difficult for her to live in society, and this increases her chances of being a further victim.

The discussions in both groups highlighted that education and awareness were important for reducing sex trafficking. The participants felt that securing a livelihood for women was essential, but they identified it as a major challenge. The female participants recommended the use of education and awareness for reducing sex trafficking. They demanded effective legal actions and stringent enforcement of the law with maximum punishment for offending sex traffickers. They mentioned that the fear of law with maximum punishment for culprits could help decrease cases of trafficking.

The theoretical concept of power play

The discussions identified that gender inequality and violence against women occurred as men possessed and exercised greater authority. The participants explained that the authority emerging from male-centric beliefs was reinforced through established socio-cultural institutions. It was known that oppressive practices toward women in both public and private life have led to the domination and devaluation of women. The differences between men and women were known to be instilled by evoking discriminatory beliefs and due to internalization of them as fundamental truths by women which further helps to sustain these created differences.

The concept of power-play developed from the study has its roots in the belief systems and was found constantly used by men to maintain created differences. The power-play rise due to patriarchy, guiding discriminatory norms and unequal gender practices. These norms and practices in the canopy of patriarchy positions women inferior to men and impose control and restrictions. The power play possessed multi-dimensional effects on women such as creating further barriers, restricted life opportunities, the need for men-centered anchoring systems, and exclusion from the public arena. The power play gains its strength from the strict enforcement of stereotypical practices and committed adherence to gender performances. This leads to internalization of subordination as a natural occurrence by women. These further isolate women putting them into several non-negotiating positions. The power play at an individual level provides restrictive movement for women, barring them from quality education and other life opportunities, and is exhibited in alcohol-related assault and sexual violence. At the structural level, this power play limits women from economic opportunities, access to resources, and decision-making, and induces socio-cultural inequality exhibited in dowry and cases of witchcraft. The socio-cultural acceptance of power-play allows men to use violence as a misuse of power and use it as an effort to maintain authority. The use of power-play for committing violence was identified as the worst display of exercised power play.

Figure  1 describes the concept of power-play developed from the study. The power-play model is based on discussions and inferences made from data analysis. The model provides a description and explanation of how women are subjected to inequality and face violence. The concept of power play derives its strength from the subjugated status of women which are based on selective treatment, self-embodiment of inferiority, imposed restrictions and due to lesser life opportunities. The power play gain legitimacy through social approval of the status differences between men and women and through social systems and institutions majorly developed and favoring men. The status difference between men and women and its approval by developed social institutions and processes give rise to the concept of powerplay. It identifies that status differences allow men to gain and (mis)use power play not only to maintain differences but also enable men to use violence. The use of power-play exists at both interpersonal and cultural levels. Further, the model elaborates on influencers causing subjugation of women, display of power-play, and violence. The model identified that lodging public complaints and seeking legal remedies are the influencers that suppress violence against women. The influence of Forum Theater was perceived to have greater influence for victim, perpetrator, and bystanders. The influencers that aggravate violence are fear of further violence, the nature of the interpersonal relationship, alcohol-related abuse, and remaining silent especially on sexual violence. The cultural violence mentioned in the model refers to dowry and witchcraft-related violence and stands as systemic subordination. In the model, sex trafficking is depicted as one of the outcomes of inequality and violence faced by women majorly occurring due to deceit and fraud.

figure 1

The theoretical concept of power-play developed in this study identifies that inequality produces violence and violence further reinforces inequality, creating a vicious circle. The power play situates hierarchy based on gender as the primary cause and identifies violence as an outcome of this power asymmetry. The authority to use power by men is received by social approval from embedded structures and institutions. The functioning of associated structures and norms is designed and run by men helping to perpetuate the dominance and subjugation of women. The study identifies that both interpersonal and socio-cultural violence emerges due to the positional differences and use of power. The study found that an element of control exists in interpersonal violence. The findings show that few victim women in the community took advantage of consultations and rely on the law to evade and /or cope during the occurrence of interpersonal violence. A large number of victims women however suffer silently as they are unable and unwilling to take a stand on violence due to their perceived positional differences and strict norms following. The study finds that violence originating from socio-cultural systems is widely accepted and no established means of control exists. The practice of heinous acts against a fellow human during witchcraft allegations and dowry exchanges is prohibited by the law of Nepal but is widespread. This situates that practices which are based on belief systems are more effective than prevailing national laws which try to stop them. Sex trafficking as a form of sexual violence use deceit and fraud against women. Poverty and illiteracy compel women to search for alternatives, and they become easy victims of sex trafficking when their dreams of a better life are manipulated by the traffickers. The false promise of a better life and highly paid job put women in a non-negotiating position with traffickers. The cherished dream of escaping the prevailing status-quo of oppression, subordination, violence, and poverty mesmerizes women to take risky decisions, falling into the risk and trap of sex trafficking.

The socio-cultural norms are the unwritten script of social operatives and functioning. These social norms function as codes of operation and are a major determinant for behavior and interactions between people [ 43 ]. The study has found that these norms were skewed, and most favored men, giving rise to status differences and producing inequalities for women. This is observed with lesser life opportunities, lower participation in decision-making, and a constant need to anchor women. This further helps men to maintain their hierarchical positional status and use violence. The subjugation of women does not occur in a linear process, it is influenced by the internalization of discrimination resulting in lower self-esteem, suppression, and domination of women based on norms and unequal practices. Earlier research has identified that norms and beliefs encourage men to control women, and direct them to use force to discipline women which increases the risk of violence occurrence [ 44 , 45 ]. An earlier study shows that traits of masculinity require men to become controlling, aggressive, and dominant over women to maintain status differences [ 46 ]. The study confirms that men upon receiving both normative and social approval for using violence against women can do so without hesitation.

Violence against women in Nepal mostly occurs inside the home and is only reported when it reaches higher levels of severity. The acceptance of violence as a private affair has restricted women from seeking support and discourages them from communicating their problems with outsiders [ 47 ] this increases more likelihood for men to use violence. The study finds issues related to sex and sexual violence is a taboo and are seldom reported. The study could only identify cases of sexual assault registered with the police and other cases known to the wider community as sexual violence. A community with known incidents of rape may have other cases of abuse, harassment, incest, forceful sexual contact, etc. Failure to report incidents of sexual violence infer that a large number of women could be suffering in silence. Earlier research identifies that increased stigmatization associated with sexual violence, and fear of seclusion cause reluctance in victims to report or seek support [ 48 ]. This silencing of victims provides men with greater sexual control over women [ 49 ] increasing more likelihood of use of violence. Gender-based inequality and violence intersect structures, institutions, and socio-cultural processes, making inequality and violence visible at all levels. The dowry-related violence and witchcraft allegation intersect interpersonal and structural violence. This cultural violence forces women to be a victim of lifelong abuse and trauma. The intersecting relationship between gender norms, social structures, and individual is so closely knitted that it produces varieties of inequality and violence at all levels [ 50 ]. Emotional violence in this study only emerged as a type of violence, during discussions in both groups. It did not emerge as a major concern for the participants except for dowry-related violence and violence against men. The intertwined nature of emotional violence and its occurrence with each abusive, exploitative, and violent situation may have influenced the participants understand it as a result, rather than as a specific type of violence.

The power play between sexes was found in synchronicity with the established norms and prevailing stereotypes, helping to perpetuate gender power imbalance. The gender system is influenced and governed by norms and the social arena becomes the site of its reproduction through the interaction and engagement of people. This interaction provides approval to the institutions and processes that are based on constructed differences between men and women [ 51 ]. The power, as identified by Fricker [ 52 ], controls a social group and operates and operates through the agent or established social structures. A man can actively use the vested power to either patronize and/or abuse women while passively women’s internalization of social settings and embedded norms can put them docile. The social controls as reported by Foucault [ 53 ] work with the embedded systems of internalization, discipline, and social monitoring and uses coercion rather than inflicting pain. The internalization of status differences among women as indicated by the study confirms this schema of social control. The dominance of men over women with patriarchal beliefs establishes the significance of male-centered kinship. This requires women to constantly anchor with men providing grounds for inequalities to perpetuate further. This idealizes men and reinforces the belief that women are non-existent without their presence. The requirement for male anchorage has an attachment to prevailing structural inequality. The family property and resources are mostly controlled by men and it usually transfers from father to son limiting inheritance to women [ 51 ]. These glorified idealizations of men's competence as described by Ridgeway [ 54 ] idealize men as individuals with abilities, status, power, and influences. The need for women to rely on men as anchors, fear of going against the norms and social sanctions explains the positional difference and show that men possess greater competencies. The internalization of men-centric superior beliefs by women occurs due to self-passivity and devalues women creating false impressions of their abilities. The gender roles and responsibilities were strict for both sexes but provided greater flexibility, privilege, and opportunity for men. Earlier studies in congruence with this study find that socio-cultural expectations limit women from deviation, and strictly adhere to their prescribed role and expectations [ 55 , 56 ] providing an upper hand to the men. The unequal social positioning of women, as defined by a few of the participants, can help define men's use of violence. As inferred by Kaufman [ 57 ], the disadvantageous position of women and support from the established structures enable men to use aggression and violence with considerable ease. The concept of power-play derived from this study also reflects that inequalities not only create hierarchies, putting women into a subordinating position but also legitimize norms of harmful masculinity and violence [ 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ] creating a vicious cycle of inequality and violence. The concept of power-play developed by this study requires further exploration of gender relations, injustice, and patriarchy to identify multiple operatives of power with an outcome of inequality and violence.

Strengths and limitations of the study

The study followed the same participants over a period, which helped the study to achieve clarity on the topics through constant engagement. The data collection and the initial data analysis of the study were conducted by the same person, which reduced the risk of misrepresented findings. The study used follow-up discussions, which provided an opportunity to meet the participants again to resolve any ambiguities. The constant engagement with the participants helped to develop rapport and trust, which is essential to enable meaningful discussions. The study gathered rich data for developing the theory of power play in the Nepalese context. The study has attempted to explain the interplay of men’s use of power play, gender inequality, and violence against women, which, in itself, is a complex, but important issue. The study helped to develop a platform by identifying a level of awareness and needs for a Forum Theatre intervention study, a first of its kind in Nepal.

The major limitation of the study is that it was conducted with only one of the ethnic populations of Nepal; thus, the findings from this study cannot be generalized to a completely different setting. However, the transferability of the study is possible in a similar setting. The incidences of inequality and violence shared by the participants were self-reported, and no other means of verification were available to crosscheck those claims. The differences among the participants both in and between groups based on education and marital status might have influenced the study participants to understand, observe, and experience the phenomenon. The possibility of social desirability bias remains with the study, as a constant engagement with the study participants might have influenced them to answer differently. Furthermore, the discussions were conducted in groups, and participants might have had hesitation to bring up any opposing views. The study relied on collecting information on social norms and individual experiences and the perceptions of the study participants. It cannot be claimed that the study is devoid of any data rigidity as participants were free to choose what they wanted to share and express.

Study implications

The study explains gender practices, norms, violence against women, and sex trafficking in Nepal. The study helps to increase the understanding of how gender systems are operative in the daily lives of the Tharu community in the Morang district of Nepal. Future studies can explore the established linkages of interpersonal and socio-cultural violence. Like the complex link existing between gender inequality and violence against women, interpersonal violence and socio-cultural violence cannot be studied in isolation. The study provides an opportunity for future research on exploring how changing norms have been altering the position and victimization of women. The study finds that changing gender norms and responsibilities have, on the one hand, provided agency and empowerment for women, but on the other hand, they have also increased their risk of being a victim, an area that requires further exploration. The study has identified that constant engagement with the study participants through follow-up studies ensures the richness of data, which can be useful information for a future research study design. The study can be helpful for policy development, social activists, leaders, and researchers as it discusses prevalent gender oppressions and victimization, which need to be addressed. The findings from the study can be helpful for dialogue imitation and for designing intervention projects aimed at providing justice and equality to women.

The study identifies the presence of gender inequalities and violence against women in the study area. The positional differences based on norms, institutions, and practices have assigned greater privileges to men. The concept of power-play devised by the study ascertains the maintenance of gender hierarchy to produce inequality further and victimization of women. The subjugation of women based on the social-cultural process, embedded belief systems, and norms prevent women from life opportunities and dignified life. It situates men at the highest rung of the gender and social ladder providing a comparative advantage for men to use power. Violence emerges as men’s use of power play and as a strategy for the continued subjugation of women. Sex trafficking as a consequence of inequality and violence has its origins in illiteracy and poverty with women falling prey to the deceit of traffickers. It is important that dreams for progression provide motivation for women to develop further but at the same time, dreams should not be exchanged with trickery and fraud offered by the traffickers. Awareness and attitudinal changes are imperative to challenge unequal norms, and practices, and reduce the risks of sex trafficking. This can help to develop negotiations for power-sharing which helps to reduce inequality, violence, and preparedness in chasing dreams. Changes at both individual and societal levels are necessary to develop a collective action for establishing belief systems and practices providing women with an equal position and reducing the risk of violence.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to privacy but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all the focus group discussion participants. The authors are indebted to Bhojraj Sharma, Deekshya Chaudhary, Subham Chaudhary, and Dev Kala Dhungana for their coordination and facilitation in reaching the discussion participants.

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PD, SKJ, and KS were involved in the study design. PD and KS developed the discussion guides. PD was responsible for the data collection and the data analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Dahal, P., Joshi, S.K. & Swahnberg, K. A qualitative study on gender inequality and gender-based violence in Nepal. BMC Public Health 22 , 2005 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14389-x

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gender discrimination essay in nepali language

Gender equality in Nepal: at a crossroads of theory and practice

Participants discussing the constitution of Nepal. Image: International IDEA/Rita Rai

Disclaimer : Views expressed in this commentary are those of the staff member. This commentary is independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the institutional position of International IDEA, its Board of Advisers or its Council of Member States.

Balancing power relations, reducing disparities, ensuring equal rights, opportunities and respect for all individuals regardless of their sex or social identity is a must to bind a nation together and establish the foundation for social development and nation building.

Nepali women, as more than 50 per cent of the total population, are still lagging in terms of meaningful participation and representation in political, social, economic and educational aspects of life. The 33 per cent quota system for female candidates introduced by the Constitution of Nepal has indeed managed to increase their political representation, but it is not far from criticism, as it is seen as having favoured quantity over quality.

The voice of the people

International IDEA had the opportunity to recently conduct 7 workshops on the provincial level focusing on how to assess a constitution from a women’s equality perspective. During the workshops, Sarswati Aryal (Coordinator, Inter-Party Women Alliance, Nuwakot, Province 3) expressed her opinion on the current constitutional conflicts between theory and practice:

“Allocating 33  per cent​ of seats for women should be mandatory for both the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system and for the proportional representation system. During the elections, all political parties nominated female candidates only for the proportional seats. Only a few female candidates were elected through the FPTP system. This again helped place men in decision-making positions and places.”

Aryal argues that female candidates are selected for the sake of participation, to fulfil the 33 per cent quota system rather than to empower them. Seats are being filled in the personal interest of top leaders, rather than capacity and contribution to the party.

“ Although the Constitution has ensured equal pay for equal work, women usually are paid less than their male colleagues are. The situation is worse in the private sector and in informal sectors, such as construction, garments, cement factories, brick kilns etc. This is a serious human rights violation. Proper law enforcement and regular monitoring from the concerned authorities is necessary.”

- Nitu Gartaula, Deputy Director, National Human Rights Commission, Gandaki Province, Kaski, Province 4. 

The experience shows that ensuring the provisions of equal rights in a constitution is important, but at the same time, proper implementation of those provisions is equally important to balance the theoretical and practical gap of gender development.

Contextual Analysis

Recent local elections saw 753 Deputy Mayors/Chairs from 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities elected. The fact that 700 of these were female is a major achievement. If you look at the details though, out of 753, only 18 of the elected Mayors/chairs were female. The question is, why only 18 female Mayors/Chairs out of 753 seats? Why must women candidates be limited to deputy positions?

Why there are only 3 female ministers out of 22 at the federal level? Why are there no females leading political parties? Why there isn’t a single female Chief Minister in any of the provinces? Is it because there are no capable women, or can other reasons explain this phenomenon?

Multiple factors are in play in this context: such as historically institutionalised gender discrimination, patriarchal mindset, socially constructed exclusion and practices and economic status. The Constitution of Nepal however, has guaranteed equal rights for every citizen and some special rights for women and disadvantaged groups. The truth is that formal equality is not enough, as women and disadvantaged groups are not on equal footing to utilise these formal opportunities.

Meeting point

Various formal and informal approaches should be applied to exercise equal rights and opportunities. This should include the effective implementation of the Constitution through the formation of proper laws with enforcement mechanisms. Differential treatment and positive discrimination, advocacy aimed at changing mindsets, beliefs norms and practices towards women, can help to practically rebalance the power.

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gender discrimination essay in nepali language

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If I bring here some objects focusing a small village containing 30 families related to Women's Education, this village has a pre-primary school until grade 2. After that they have to walk for 15 minutes until grade 5. And, after that they have to walk down for more than 2 hours crossing forests, rivers and villages to reach secondary level school. Picturing this view, children stop attending school because of the struggles uncounted by the school. Parents are also worried their teenagers could face various social causes and unwanted risks. Those who are married were expecting to continue education but, that has been a challenge after handling households responsibilities and playing different roles in family. Beside this, female internship students from colleges, spend time waiting for marriage proposal. And for some in positions in the institutes and planning to complete tertiary education don's want to marry because they will not fulfill their dream and goals. Console Mission, a grassroots NGO is focusing in the Children Sustainable Education and concentrating to teach the VALUE of life and living. Girls do not have to be worried if they do not get married. They have multiple options. Again talking about the village located at the top of the hill, an indigenous community, about the population of 150. There is only one girl who is studying Bachelor level education living away from the village. Education develops systems but, the Government need a master plan by treating the school going children as an entity for the sustainable development. And, should provide basic facilities like hostel, food and required materials for the children until they handles responsible jobs within the country. Without providing security and safe way to complete the education, just establishing schools in the relevant places and developing standards. As well as just guiding the student by providing coaching is not integral for the progress.

Gender inequality is the primary cause of poverty among women across the developing world. Women in countries with low gender equality face the denial of equal rights to education, political involvement, and participation in economic activities. Gender inequality contributes to slower economic growth. To address this concern, the government of Nepal is working towards incorporating gender equality in all its economic policies and programs. The fact that currently, three women hold key leadership positions in the country (The President, Chief Justice, and Speaker of the Parliament) indicates strides taken so far by the Nepalese government in promoting gender equality. Ensuring gender equality in Nepal would increase economic growth in the country as can be seen in the case of Finland. The government of Finland incorporated gender equality in all its activities and programs through the prevention of discrimination against women, elimination of violence against women, and the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights (Eräranta & Kantola, 2016). Gender equality has led to the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities, increased women’s participation in political decision making and the labor market, and increased women’s level of education. Equality in political participation, the labor market, and levels of education have played a significant role in the growth of the Finnish economy (Kantola & Lombardo, 2017). The level of education among women increased the number of laborers available in the production industry. Finnish women are now in a position to contribute to economic activities rather than spending too much time on household and child-bearing activities. Different genders usually exhibit a comparative advantage in distinct areas in the labor market. Also, the incorporation of women in the labor market has reduced dependency levels (Thévenon & Del Pero, 2015). Women no longer depend on men’s funds or government aids for survival. The integration of Finnish women in all programs and activities ensured more women engage in economic activities leading to positive economic growth for the country as a whole. References: Eräranta, K., & Kantola, J. (2016). The Europeanization of Nordic gender equality: A Foucauldian analysis of reconciling work and family in Finland. Gender, Work & Organization, 23(4), 414-430. Kantola, J., & Lombardo, E. (Eds.). (2017). Gender and the economic crisis in Europe: Politics, institutions, and intersectionality. Springer. Thévenon, O., & Del Pero, A. S. (2015). Gender equality (f) or economic growth? Effects of reducing the gender gap in education on economic growth in OECD countries. Annals of Economics and Statistics/Annales d'Économie et de Statistique, (117/118), 353-377.

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Gender equality in numbers: progress and challenges in achieving gender equality in nepal, attachments.

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1. Introduction

Nepal promulgated its new Constitution in September 2015, in which it committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination, building an egalitarian and inclusive society, and achieving economic equality, prosperity, and social justice. In the same month, the member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, resolving to combat inequalities, build just and inclusive societies, protect human rights, and promote gender equality. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in that Agenda include achieving gender equality by 2030.

In Sustainable Development Goals: Status and Roadmap – 2016-2030, Nepal’s National Planning Commission (NPC) emphasised the alignment between the SDGs and “the fundamental rights of the citizens enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal and… the country’s roadmap of transitioning swiftly to an equitable middle-income country.” The report considers Nepal’s development status and highlights the opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve the SDGs. The need for “a strong monitoring system with credible data” is recognized, including the need for disaggregated data (by sex, age, ethnicity, disability, location, administrative units, and wealth) to ensure no one is left behind. Without data that capture the realities of different groups of women – including women who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination – inequalities remain invisible. To monitor progress for women and girls, the collection of quality and comparable gender statistics is required.

This report compiles the data currently available for the gender-related SDGs and important indicators concerning the situation of women and girls in Nepal, with the purpose of examining the status of gender equality in Nepal five years after the SDGs were adopted (and 25 years after the Beijing Platform for Action4 ). Later in 2021, a Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP) for Nepal will be published with detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis on progress and challenges in achieving gender equality

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Advancing social justice, promoting decent work

Ilo is a specialized agency of the united nations, equality and discrimination in nepal.

gender discrimination essay in nepali language

Within the current DWCP, improved labour market governance and industrial relations have been identified as one of the key priority areas in Nepal. A set of new legislations related to the world of work is being drafted which ensures gender equality at the workplace, in terms of employment opportunity, promotion, training and access to information and benefits.

The draft new Labour Act (bill) incorporates provision for gender equality and non-discrimination in the world of work. Some new provisions are added which are directly related to women workers. For example, women workers are given public holidays on 8 March (International Women's Day) and maternity leave has been extended to 98 days. While employment contracts based on discrimination and against the freedom of association will be nullified.

Policy reform initiative of the ILO consistently advocated with the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) to ensure participation of women and other disadvantaged groups when conducting stakeholders' consultation for the National Employment Policy. The process has been fruitful in mainstreaming gender and social inclusion issues in the Policy. The National Employment Policy has been endorsed by the Government of Nepal in March 2015.

The ILO has been closely working with the employers’ and workers’ organizations to promote gender equality and non-discrimination in the world of work in Nepal. The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has been promoting gender sensitive human resources policies through a series of training activities. Trade unions have been well sensitized on the issues of gender equality and non-discrimination through various training courses on trade union education and ILO Conventions.   They have also been sensitized on recommendations related to gender equality as well as other tools like gender mainstreaming and analysis, sexual harassment at the workplace, HIV and AIDS Education at the workplace and gender audit.

As a part of its Work in Freedom project, the ILO developed community awareness and women empowerment modules for prevention of trafficking in Nepal. The strategy adopted by the programme is benefiting women directly and indirectly even men of the same community—in providing conceptual clarity on why women have to be empowered.

The ILO Office in Nepal was one of the first field offices to conduct the ILO’s Participatory Gender Audit in October 2001. It conducted the “Gender Audit Facilitators” Training Workshop for its constituents. The Workers’ and Employer’s organizations have requested technical support to conduct Gender Audits in their respective organizations.

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Brief Essay on Gender in Nepal - A Personal View

Profile image of Cai J. Heath

Nestled high in the Himalayas between the emerging economic superpowers of India and China, Nepal lags far behind its maturing older brothers. At times in Nepal's history the country played the clever trader between it's two neighbours, at times it was threatened by invasion. In current times Nepal's struggles have been within its borders, struggles for freedom, rights and representation. Nepal is currently in a transitional phase, the monarchy has been deposed and the Maoists are undergoing an unsure transformation from insurgents to elected leaders. In this tussle for power the common people of Nepal have been largely forgotten, all hoping that each new act in the saga will be their chance to be heard. Nepal stands at a critical point in its history; yet it remains to be seen whether the newly fledged republic will be able to create lasting calm and prosperity.

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Childhood studies is still a debatable and hot issue in the Asian context comparing with the U.K, the U.S.A, and the European context. Male preference is still a debatable issue in the Asian society. The government of Nepal has already announced the implementation of equal opportunity for both male and female but the Nepalese societies still believe that men are the pillars of the family, most capable of managing economic activities. This preference can be seen in the quality of education available for women in comparison to men. This mixed methods pilot study assessed the relationship between genders of the students and the type of institutions (Government or Private) they enrolled in. The study was conducted in Ratnanagar 7, Chitwan District Nepal using data collected by the District Education Office for the year 2015. Qualitative data was corroborated with n=5 key informant interviews. Content analysis revealed that parents prefer to send their sons to private schools and their daughters to government schools because of traditional beliefs about gender roles and the daughter’s inability to care for her parents in their old age. For the year 2015, the proportion of students enrolled in government versus private schools was dependent on gender (INSERT P VALUE), with girls more likely to be enrolled in government rather than private schools.

gender discrimination essay in nepali language

Sushan Acharya

Gender, Jobs and Education: Prospects and Realities in Nepal is part of the series of studies undertaken in Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal and Vietnam. Consolidating all the country studies, UNESCO Bangkok has published a synthesis report entitled ‘Gender, Jobs and Education: Prospects and Realities in the Asia-Pacific’. In Nepal, as in other participating countries, an empirical study was undertaken in 2013 to understand the relationship between Nepal’s labour market and the education system. Major lens used to see this relationship was gender. This report focuses on the involvement women and men participating in education and the labour market,Nepal’s education system; and female and male students’ perceptions about suitability of different occupations. The report then analyzes the relationship between different dimensions of education and the labour market. The study was conducted among 319 (158 female, 161 male) grade 10 students and 470 women and men engaged in different occupations. Research was conducted in 8 districts including Kathmandu Valley. Nepali women’s participation in education, the labour market, governance and politics has increased over a period a time. Women are gradually entering into occupations that are perceived to be suitable for men only. The political changes and deliberate effort made by the government and non-government sectors have largely contributed to this positive change. However progress is unevenly distributed among caste, ethnicities and locations.

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This book reviews the current state of knowledge on various aspects of trafficking and forced labour in Nepal. Based on fieldwork across five districts in western, mid-western and far-western Nepal, as well as comprehensive analysis of the literature, the first part analyses issues related to different forms of labour exploitation including trafficking for sexual exploitation, labour migration, and traditional forms of forced and bonded labour. It identifies the main obstacles to addressing associated problems and also highlights some of the best practices, before concluding with recommendations that could help make planned interventions more effective. The second part consists of a detailed annotated bibliography of 256 books, papers and articles on the subject. It is divided into four broad categories of trafficking, forced labour, migrant labour, and traditional forms of bondage. The authors believe this will serve as a handy resource to both researchers and practitioners.

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The recent glacier lake outburst that triggered the devastating Seti-flood around Pokhara valley has encouraged making this attempt to discuss on the associated topics urbanization and climate change. Most of us intuitively understand the importance of these topics, yet often a full understanding and appreciation elude us. When climatologists and practitioners talk about climate change in terms of mitigation, adaptation, carbon credits, landscapes and so on, often many eyes glaze over the issue to fully grasp about the issue and consequences. Surely, it is good that climate change awareness across the world has increased but response to the opportunities and threats posed towards climate change still remains far. Therefore, this article is an attempt to review and explore the recent development in adaptation of climate change and acknowledge the need for urgent response to climate change for sustainable urban life in Nepal. Keywords: urbanization, climate change, greenhouse gases, adaptation

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research papers of genetically modified

Genetically modified crops: current status and future prospects.

  • Published: 31 March 2020
  • Volume 251 , article number  91 , ( 2020 )
  • Krishan Kumar 1 ,
  • Geetika Gambhir 1 ,
  • Abhishek Dass 1 ,
  • Amit Kumar Tripathi 2 ,
  • Alla Singh 3 ,
  • Abhishek Kumar Jha 1 ,
  • Pranjal Yadava 1 ,
  • Mukesh Choudhary 3 &
  • Sujay Rakshit 3  

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Main conclusion

While transgenic technology has heralded a new era in crop improvement, several concerns have precluded their widespread acceptance. Alternative technologies, such as cisgenesis and genome-editing may address many of such issues and facilitate the development of genetically engineered crop varieties with multiple favourable traits.

Genetic engineering and plant transformation have played a pivotal role in crop improvement via introducing beneficial foreign gene(s) or silencing the expression of endogenous gene(s) in crop plants. Genetically modified crops possess one or more useful traits, such as, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, disease resistance, and nutritional improvement. To date, nearly 525 different transgenic events in 32 crops have been approved for cultivation in different parts of the world. The adoption of transgenic technology has been shown to increase crop yields, reduce pesticide and insecticide use, reduce CO 2 emissions, and decrease the cost of crop production. However, widespread adoption of transgenic crops carrying foreign genes faces roadblocks due to concerns of potential toxicity and allergenicity to human beings, potential environmental risks, such as chances of gene flow, adverse effects on non-target organisms, evolution of resistance in weeds and insects etc. These concerns have prompted the adoption of alternative technologies like cisgenesis, intragenesis, and most recently, genome editing. Some of these alternative technologies can be utilized to develop crop plants that are free from any foreign gene hence, it is expected that such crops might achieve higher consumer acceptance as compared to the transgenic crops and would get faster regulatory approvals. In this review, we present a comprehensive update on the current status of the genetically modified (GM) crops under cultivation. We also discuss the issues affecting widespread adoption of transgenic GM crops and comment upon the recent tools and techniques developed to address some of these concerns.

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research papers of genetically modified

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Acknowledgements

The maize transformation and genome editing work in the laboratory of the corresponding author is funded by National Agricultural Science Fund (NASF; competitive Grant no. NASF/GTR-5004/2015-16/204). The funds from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are gratefully acknowledged. GG, AD and AKJ acknowledge NASF support in the form of SRF, RA and LA fellowships, respectively.

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  • Published: 05 June 2018

Public perception of genetically-modified (GM) food: A Nationwide Chinese Consumer Study

  • Kai Cui 1 , 2 &
  • Sharon P. Shoemaker 1  

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After more than 25 years of research and development on the genetic modification of a wide range of crops for food and fodder, China has reached a decision point as to whether it should accept, reject, or go slow with the use of genetically modified (GM) technology to produce the food and feed needed to sustain its population growth and economic renaissance. Here, we report a consumer survey on GM food that includes input from all provinces in China. Chinese consumers were surveyed for their awareness, knowledge, and opinion on GM food. The survey resulted in 11.9, 41.4, and 46.7% of respondents having a positive, neutral, or negative view on GM food, respectively. A minority of respondents (11.7%) claimed they understood the basic principles of GM technology, while most were either “neutral” or “unfamiliar with GM technology”. Most respondents (69.3%) obtained their information on GM food through the Internet and 64.3% of respondents thought that media coverage was predominately negative on GM food. The reasons given by consumers in favor of, or against, the use of GM food, were complex, as seen by the response of 13.8% of respondents who felt GM technology was a form of bioterrorism targeted at China. China’s Ministry of Agriculture and the science community generally expressed a positive attitude toward GM food, but the percentage of respondents that trusted the government and scientists was only 11.7 and 23.2%, respectively. Post-survey comments of respondents made suggestions on how the industrialization of GM technology might impact the future of China’s food supply and value chains. Finally, the impact of emerging technologies like genome editing and genome-edited organisms (GEOs) on the GM food debate is discussed.

Introduction

Genetically modified (GM) technology is a highly controversial topic for today’s global food consumer. The commercial development of GM crops began in 1996 with GM corn and has expanded every year with the cultivation of GM crops. In 2016, global land use for GM crops reached 185.1 million hectors. 1 Although GM foods had helped sustain the nutritional needs of human beings and farm animals and mounting evidence showed that GM foods were substantially equivalent to traditionally bred food sources, it has also sparked fierce debate about its safety. This has generated worldwide interest in finding a common and harmonious narrative to deal with new opportunities and challenges of biotechnology. A recent review of public perceptions of animal biotechnology, 2 provides an excellent context for understanding public knowledge, attitudes, and perception of GM Food in China.

China comprises 20% of the world’s population, 25% of the world’s grain output, 7% of the world’s arable land, and 35% of the world’s use of agricultural chemicals. 3 Consequently, China faces risks to its food security and pollution of the environment. The government has invested heavily in research and development of technologies to improve quality and increase the output of its foodstuffs, especially grains. GM technology provides a such feasible approach 4 , 5 to realize these goals. As the complexity of the GM issue mounts, the controversy surrounding GM food has moved farther away from science. While China’s president calls for its scientists to “boldly research and innovate [and] dominate the high points of GMO techniques”, 6 the people of China are largely opposed to GMO foods, but are not sure why. 7 Thus, this nationwide survey on the current Chinese public perception of GM food should be helpful to policy-makers, technology developers, as well as to consumers.

Consumer attitudes about GM food are complex and interwoven with the consumer’s knowledge of the science, lifestyle and public perception. Since 2002, surveys have been conducted in China on public acceptance of GM food from the perspective of consumer behavior, such as intent to purchase, presence of GM markers, and sensitivity to price point 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 (Table 1 ). There has been a general lack of fundamental studies on the public’s scientific perception and policy interpretation of GM food. Moreover, the scope of previous surveys has been limited to a few of the largest cities in developed areas of China, with little or no coverage of rural areas. In all cases, the number of respondents in most of these earlier surveys was less than 1000. This study summarizes the status of GM food in China and provides the results of questionnaires that surveyed consumers from every province on their knowledge level, present attitudes, and future thoughts of GM food in China. A statistically relevant sample size of 2063 questionnaires were satisfactorily completed. The findings in this survey provide insight into Chinese consumers and offer a possible path for “smart” industrialization of GM technologies in China.

General consumer attitudes of GM food

The first six questions of the survey asked about the respondent’s background, followed by 18 questions that addressed their awareness, knowledge, and opinion on GM Foods. The seventh question asked, “In general, will you support GM food?” The percentage of those who supported, opposed or were neutral were 11.9, 41.4, and 46.7%, respectively. These results suggest that the overall attitude of the Chinese consumer is cautious of GM food.

GM technology was first introduced in the pharmaceutical industry and then applied to agriculture. Did the public’s skepticism originate from GM food safety or GM technology itself? Question #8 was designed to address this question. “If GM technology is applied in medical area to produce medicine, such as insulin and hepatitis B vaccine, what is your opinion?” The percentage of those who supported, opposed or were neutral to GM pharmaceuticals was 46.8, 12.8, and 40.4%, respectively. Support for GM pharmaceuticals was higher than that found for GM food and again, there were many in the neutral category. This result suggests that some respondents were against GM food but not against GM technology. Still, there were 12.8% of respondents that took a negative view about GM pharmaceuticals, although they may not have known that the insulin and hepatitis B vaccine widely used today are GM-derived pharmaceuticals.

Since 2002, the year when China implemented legislation mandating the labeling of GM food products, numerous surveys in China were carried out to gain insight into the public’s attitude to GM food. The results from these early surveys were compared to the results of the present survey (Table 1 ). Significant differences were found between the surveys, likely due, in part, to differences in the number of respondents, where they resided, and when the surveys were conducted. The results were also difficult to interpret because of differences in content of each survey and in the respondents. The respondents in the surveys represented the public, media, private enterprise and government. Overall, the trends were interesting even with this inherent variability, and reflected consumer preferences about GM food. The ratio of “support” vs. “oppose” GM food was used as a measure to compare the different surveys (Table 1 ). This measure suggests an interesting trend in that the ratios before 2012 were larger than 1.0 (with one exception) and thereafter, were less than 1.0. The survey reported here gave the lowest ratio, 0.29. In summary, the initial positive attitude towards GM food in 2002 generally decreased in subsequent years.

To gain further insight into consumer attitudes toward GM food among the respondents, six factors were selected as research variables. As shown in Table 2 , respondent’s attitudes towards GM food were correlated to their age, sampling location, educational level, major in college and income. A negative attitude toward GM food was more frequent among those respondents born before 1969 (59.3%). The public-sector group from Western China reported 51.3% against GM food, compared to 29.7% from those located in the center and in northeastern China. The percentage of those respondents with college degrees who supported GM food was 9.5%, which was the lowest number relative to any other group. The percentage of respondents with a positive attitude was higher for those with a science background (14.1%) compared to those with a liberal arts background (7.5%). The percentage of respondents with a negative attitude was higher (51.6%) with those who reported an annual household income above one million Chinese Yuan (RMB), compared to those with an annual household income below 80,000 RMB (34.2%). Gender was not found to be a factor in shaping attitudes towards GM food.

We further queried the state of Chinese public opinions on GM food and determined the main reasons for the either their support (Question #9) or opposition-against (Question #10) to GM food, from what was known previously. The statistical results showed that the total number of “support” and “oppose” was 3248 and 4751, respectively. This demonstrates again that the public is cautious about GM food. The relative percentage of choice, “frequency” (defined as the number in support or against divided by the total number in the respective area) is listed in Table 3 .

GM technology is potentially a paradigm shift for farmers in developing countries and is an important tool in the toolbox for addressing global challenges, such as persistent poverty, climate change, and the challenge of feeding 9.7 billion people by 2050. Some studies suggested that efforts to change consumer perception about GM food should address risk perception factors and promote the beneficial effects of biotech crops. 24 As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S held a TV debate on December 4, 2014 on whether the world is better off with or without GM food. The discussion was whether GM food is safe, how it impacts the environment and can it improve food security). Both the positive and negative sides had experts debating for or against GM food. Among the attendees who were present, the percentages in favor or against “genetically modified food” were 32 and 30%, respectively, before the debate, but this changed to 60 and 31%, respectively, after 100 min of debating the topic. This result suggests that efforts to change public perception about GM food should address risk perception factors and promote the beneficial effects of biotech crops. It should be noted that some opponents of GM food have started to rethink their prior attitudes about GM food. 25 On the other hand, some research suggested that many opponents are evidence-insensitive and will not be influenced by arguments about risks vs. benefits. 26 Food Evolution, a 2017 documentary film directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy and sponsored by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) vividly illustrated the polarizing worldwide debate, “for and against” GM food. Its fact based, story telling narrative delivered a powerful educational message on new technologies and the process of acceptance by consumers. People involved in the making of the film tried to encourage audiences to think critically and reexamine their information sources and beliefs regarding GM food.

Factors shaping public perception of GM food

How much did the public know about GM technologies? Some earlier studies 12 , 17 , 27 , 28 , 29 based their conclusions on individual and subjective questioning, and only asked the respondents: “Do you know GM technologies?” The authors in this study agree with Hallman 30 that the self-reported awareness of GM does not necessarily mean respondents understand the principles and purpose of GM food. Thus, Question #11 was asked in this survey: “Do you know the principle of GMO such as introducing foreign genes, genetic recombination and gene expression? “

The result of our survey showed only 11.7% of the respondents self-reported that they were familiar with the general scientific principles of GM technology, contrasted to 49.5 and 38.8% saying they know something and nothing, respectively, about the subject. In the absence of sufficient understanding of biotechnology, the public’s attitude towards GM food safety can be misleading. Thus, we carried out a correlation analysis between the public’s perception (Question #11) and attitudes towards GM technology (Question #7). The results are given in Table 4 .

The design of this questionnaire was based on the following hypothesis: The opinion of consumers to GM food will be related to their knowledge of GM food. This was confirmed in this survey. There were positive correlations between “know a lot” and “support”, “know nothing” and “oppose”. At the same time, there were negative correlations between “know a lot” and “oppose”, “know nothing” and “support”. The lower the understanding of GM technology, the more hesitant the respondents were to accept GM food. These results also highlight the influence and importance of studies on the public perception of science in China.

Chinese food safety scandals have been a growing concern for Chinese consumers in recent years. The incidences of illegal “gutter oil” used in cooking, pesticide residue contamination, use of feed additives and polluted water along the food chain are common problems and even with proper regulatory oversight, the risk for criminal activity is ever present. The consumers in China, as well as consumers in other parts of the world, are increasingly risk adverse and seek out “clean, natural food”. Thus, the perceived risk of GM food was heightened because of these scandals, even though perceived risk of GM food is mostly based in perception rather than in practice. How deeply does the Chinese public think about the safety of GM food? Question #12 was asked to reflect this: “Compared to other food safety issues in China, such as illegal cooking oil, pesticide residue, feed additive and water pollution, your concerns on the safety of GM foods are?” The result illustrated that 20% of respondents thought the safety issue of GM food was more severe than other issues compared 31.8% of respondents thought “nearly the same”, 22.5% of respondents thought “not as severe” and 25.7% of respondents “have no idea”. These results mean that more than half of the respondents were concerned about the safety of GM food, of which 20% were deeply concerned, above and beyond any other food issue facing China.

Source of information on GM foods

The respondents were asked, “Have you actively searched for information on GMO’s using web search, reading books and verbal inquiries after graduation?” (Question #13). The result showed that 38.7% chose “yes”, compared 36.2% who chose “No, but I really care about GMO”, and lastly, 25.2% who chose “No, I don’t care about GMO”. When asked, “How do you acquire information on GM Food?” (Question #14), the result showed that 69.3% of respondents acquire information from the Internet as compared to 45.3% from television, 27.8% from books and periodicals, 22.8% from communication from relatives and friends, 22.4% from learning at school and 9.6% from public lectures. It is well known that GM food is a complex issue, and information from the Internet is often unverified and inaccurate. Thus, there is an urgent need in China to educate the public on GM technology and GM food by providing balanced, evidence-based perspectives of the technology to consumers through presentations, written materials, documentaries and educational courses that are made widely available through various media. The government can play a key leadership role by supporting educational programs, particularly targeting young people. It also crucial to put in place safeguards and the communication needed to ensure to the public that GM foods are thoroughly tested and regarded as safe. Regulatory groups worldwide must demonstrate their ability to ensure the safety of “new” foods and food ingredients, in a harmonious and transparent manner. Another question (#15) asked was, “Based on your experience, you have found that the media reports and Internet rumors about GM Food generally tend to be?” The results showed that respondents answered the question of media atmosphere as negative (64.3%), positive (11.5%) or neutral (24.2%).

Other studies have shown that the public tends to build upon its negative impression of GM food even in the face of positive information. 31 , 32 The lack of understanding of the principles and benefits of GM technology, make the general population more susceptible to negative media reports. The debate around GM food has become increasingly one-sided in recent years, with activists spreading misinformation via social media about the human health dangers of GM food as well as the negative environmental impact of GM crops on transitional agricultural eco-systems. Additional negative information on social media had a great impact, driving down the willingness to accept GM food. This led to food-centered non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) directing their attention to generating debates, educational packages and other formats to reach out to the general public (e.g., work of US based Farmer’s and Rancher’s Association and IFT). Research supported by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences showed that rumors about food security accounted for 45% of all Internet rumors which severely influenced the public’s trust. 33 Our study also attempted to probe into the public attitudes toward rumors about GM food on the Internet. For example, in China, rice is the main staple food for 60% of its people, and hybrid rice accounts for about half the planting area of rice. Rumors were spread that hybrid rice is a GM crop. Through self-interest, some non-GMO food producers condemned GM food with malicious gossip and misplaced nationalism, fomenting the notion that GM technology originated in the U.S. as a form of bioterrorism against China. What did the public think about this? (Question #16, 17 and 18). The result (Table 5 ) showed that 15.8% of respondents think that hybrid rice is one kind of GM crop, 25% of respondents think that there is unfair business competition with GM food, 13.8% of respondents agree that GM technology maybe considered as bioterrorism to China. These results pointed to an underlying problem that the debate on GM food in China has deteriorated. It is worth mentioning, however, that more than half of the respondents (54.4%) believed that debate on GM food should be based on science. This is the basis for why the debate about GM food should be based on scientific evidence.

Since the GM food debate should be evidence-based, the public needs to put more trust in scientific explanations and research data that can be understood by the average consumer. Many scientists including 110 Nobel Prize winners openly support GMO technology in the recent years. The 2016 Report 34 issued by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found “no substantiated evidence of a difference in risks to human health between currently commercialized genetically engineered (GE) crops and conventionally bred crops.” What do the American public think about the above report? A survey carried out by University of Pennsylvania 35 showed that only 22% of those surveyed agreed that scientists have not found any risks to human health from eating GM foods, while 48% of the people disagreed with that statement. What is the situation in China? The result (Question #19) showed that 23.2% of the respondents chose to “believe in biologist’s opinion” compared to 45.5% who chose to “do not trust biologist’s opinion” and 31.3% who chose to “have no idea about this.” This result reflects that scientists are “under suspicion” on the issue of GM food both in China and the US. The film, Food Evolution, and other educational materials are helping to change this viewpoint. “What is the most important information that the public wants to know about GM food?” We asked this question (#20) in the survey. The result (Table 6 ) showed that more than two out of three respondents (68.9%) wanted to know more about the safety of GM food.

Public perception and attitude to policy

The Dean and Shepherd study 36 found that participants’ perceptions of risk lessened when governmental agencies presented a consistent message to the public. China’s Ministry of Agriculture claimed in 2016 that there is no substantiated evidence showing that genetically modified foods are unsafe during the past 20 years of commercial cultivation. But according to our survey (Question #21), only 11.7% of respondents thought that the government’s statement was an “authoritative interpretation”, compared 10.9% who chose “that is concealing the truth” and 77.4% who chose “No evidence now does not mean no evidence in the future. We should still be cautious to GM foods.” To a certain extent this result demonstrates that the public does not consider the government as a credible source of information on the issue of GM food.

Question #22 addressed the following, “What kind of GM crops were approved by the government to cultivate and produce in China?” Seven options were provided, including corn, rice, wheat, soybean, cotton, rape, and papaya. Only GM cotton and GM papaya have been approved for commercial cultivation in China. According to our survey, disappointingly few, only 1.2% of respondents chose the right answers. Apparently, government sources of information on GM crops has not been effective in educating the Chinese public about GM food.

In Question #23, the respondents were asked “What do you think of the force of government supervision for the production and import of GM food?” The result showed that 47.1% of respondents felt that the government should “strengthen supervision force, it is best to totally ban the GM foods”, compared that 43.3% felt “supervision force is appropriate” and 9.6% felt “supervision force is too tight.”

“The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture claimed that GM crops and GM food are advanced technologies that can serve as the foundation of a new industrial sector with broad implications for human health and wellbeing. As a large agricultural county, China should have a place for transgenic (GMO) technologies. What do you think about this?” (Question #24) The result showed that only 28.8% of respondents “support” this policy, compared 18.9% that chose “opposed” and 52.3% that chose “neutral”. In the face of widespread suspicion and misinformation about GM foods, more effort is needed to gain the confidence, trust and support from the public domain.

GM crops and the foods derived from them are considered the most immediate solution to alleviate global hunger and malnutrition. The benefits of GM crops such as greater productivity, reduced need for pesticides and herbicides, increased economic benefits for large and small farmers alike, have been extensively reviewed. 37 However, public attitudes toward GM food from country to country in different regions of the world continue to vary. The recent review by Van Eenennaam and Young 2 gives an excellent summary of the complexity of surveying and interpreting global public opinion on GM foods. In short, the authors noted the negative view of GM food in Europe, was exacerbated by the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis first in the late 1980s and again in the 1990s. It was thought that GM technology might be used to mask the effects of poor housing of animals, not to mention the sense of supporting global agro-business rather than smaller family farms which are typical in Europe. In contrast, the United States, Canada and some Latin American countries (namely Brazil and Argentina) have widely adopted GM crops. Brazil is the second only to the United States in the land used for GM food crops. A review of acceptance, policies and actions in the African countries illustrated the complex and myriad issues that slow the adoption of GM food, thereby deleteriously impacting African countries. 38 Though the progress is slow, there seems to be a new receptiveness for GM food amongst some of the African countries. It is interesting to note that a study in Africa in 2005, showed that of the 7000 people surveyed, 80% did not know the meaning of the word “biotechnology”. 2 In Asian countries, it has been noted that China’s initial lead position in GM food has slowed over time due to global resistance 39 to GM food. However, signs of acceptance of GM food in China are encouraging. 40 , 41 Finally, Van Eenennaam and Young 2 compared China with other Asia countries (India, The Philippines) where bans on GM foods or vandalism on GM crops have occurred. On the other hand, Bangladesh has successfully adopted insect-resistant GM eggplant and has become a success story for the adoption of GM crops. 2 , 42

In our analysis, public attitudes toward GM food continue to swing widely across China from opposition to acceptance. On one side, some socialistic organic farmers, environmentalists and NGO’s have questioned the security of GM food, with some even calling for a ban on growing most GM crops. On the other side, agricultural specialists and biotech industry representatives highlight the benefits of GM technology to concerned consumers. The survey reported here was intended to be very broad in the type and range of questions asked. The authors plan to follow up with a more focused survey on safety issues related to GM food. Transparent and harmonious regulatory oversight is helping to further ensure the safety of GM technology and GM food but this must be understood and agreed by consumers as well as scientists. We should not expect, however, any convergence of opinions in the very near future. Based on the results of this study, suggestions about the future industrialization of GM technologies and GM food in China are presented as follows.

Strengthen communication to the public, making order out of confusion

Chinese consumers, in general, were found to be unfamiliar with GM technologies and the benefits they provide. They were also skeptical of scientists and the government on the topic of GMO, GM technologies and GM food. Fortunately, there is consensus in the public domain that more discussion on GMO and GM technologies is needed to better understand the scientific and social implications of GM food. Accordingly, public lectures and other educational formats need to be expanded in China to help the public develop evidence-based attitudes about GM foods. Until public doubts about GM food are addressed in a balanced and evidence-based manner, it will be difficult for China to develop sound policies and programs that will benefit the agribusiness industry and consumers. All forms of the media in China should be encouraged to incorporate scientific facts in their reporting and to discourage exaggerated reports and “fake” news. There should be a constructive vision and plan for building a future society that includes rational attitudes and a foundation for a food secure global society with adequate safety safeguards in place.

Government work should transform passivity into initiatives

China’s central government recently issued a document calling for more research, development and supervision of agricultural GMO and GM technologies, and the careful promotion of GM food that is safe, affordable, and healthy. From the result of the surveys taken in recent years, it was found that the percentage of respondents who opposed GM food is on the rise, and significant effort is needed to overcome that trend. The issue of GM food is very sensitive in China, GM policies have wavered among concerns over the bio-safety debate and development goals, such as food security, poverty reduction and the approval of transgenic commercial planting that was brought to a halt in recent years. In the long run, GM policies will influence the international competitiveness of the seed industry and agricultural development in China. As mentioned above, the safety of GM food should be based on science, and a modern society should not judge the safety of one kind of food by the way of a referendum. The government should enhance communications with the public and strive for the understanding and support of the public for China’s GMO policy.

Respect public opinion, improve gradually

Throughout history, many innovations have experienced both headwinds and tailwinds before being accepted by society. There is a persistent gap between expert knowledge of scientific issues and public perception of these issues. The conclusion of natural sciences usually is only truth, although the culture and attitudes can be diversified, being influenced by religious beliefs and/or political parties. Differences in public opinion towards GMO, GM technologies, and GM food should be respected. What is needed is government leadership in constructing a transparent system for evaluation of these technologies for commercial use while, at the same time, upholding the public’s right to have a choice by labeling GM food products. This will enable the public to make their own choices about GM food.

Lurking in the background, however, are new technologies that can produce genetic modifications in plants and animals in ways that are different and more precise that traditional GM technologies. The CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology 43 together with new signal DNA base editing 44 and RNA base editing 45 are currently revolutionizing the fields of agriculture, medicine and basic research. Unlike the traditional GM technology that adds foreign DNA to the recipient organism as part of the process, genome-editing, and base-editing simply switch out mutated or otherwise undesirable DNA bases that detract from the overall fitness, productivity, quality and usefulness of the organism, in question. Regulatory policies in the United States were written nearly 30 years ago and do not address the safety of genome-edited or base-edited organisms (GEOs). Currently, regulatory agencies are declaring these “edited” organisms and foods as safe and they are exempt from testing and labeling requirements. GM technology opponents have already spoken out against these forms of genetic modification and now that public must make their voices heard.

Only time will tell if foods derived from GM technology or genome-edited and base-edited organisms will be the best solution to achieving food safety, security, and sustainability. At least for GM foods, the lack of any documented adverse effects is encouraging. With the improvement of the scientific literacy, the debate about GM food should return to a rational one and one that will shape the future Chinese society.

Questionnaire development

The initial design, order and questions used in this questionnaire were based on both past information 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 and input from 40 interviewees, representing consumers, agricultural officials, seed companies, farmers, biologists, and sociologists. From this input, 28 questions were generated as a pre-survey test to address the public perception of GM Food. The pre-survey was carried out in March 2016 with 100 respondents. Based on their feedback, the questionnaire was refined further into the final survey of 24 questions used in this study. The goal was to gain insight into the following four questions through this survey:

In general, what are consumer’s attitudes to GM food in China?

How does public perception of GM food correlate to the science behind GM food?

What is their source of information on GM foods and how does this source influence their perception?

How does the public’s perception and attitude correlate to policy?

The survey was designed to offer a range of questions to determine the respondent’s demographics, educational level, knowledge of GM food. The survey was conducted in both public and private meeting rooms between May 2016 and October 2016. The questionnaires were distributed altogether in 38 different venues. All questionnaires were handed out to individuals and collected after 10 min by Dr. Kai Cui.

Participants

A summary of the participants in the survey is given in Table 2 . They were all Chinese citizens over the age of 15, from 193 cities and, in total, included representation from all 31 provinces in China.

Approach to distribution

The questionnaires were distributed as part of a course on investment and finance. The course was conducted by the sole instructor, Dr. Kai Cui. After the course participants became familiar with the instructor (1–2 days) and understood the purpose of the course, they were administered the questionnaires. While instructing the course, students were asked to fill out a questionnaire to give their opinions on the level of understanding of GM technology in China from a consumer’s perspective. A total of 2200 questionnaires were distributed during this 6-month period with 2063 questionnaires satisfactorily completed.

Statistical analysis

Analysis of the survey results was done using the software program package - Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS)19.0.

Data availability statement

A sample of the questionnaire. translated into English, is available in supplementary information at npj: Science of Food’s website. The completed 2063 questionnaires and the resulting database for the statistical analyses are in mandarin are not publicly available but can be made available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 7157317). The corresponding author would like to express the gratitude to Hui Meng (Professor of Eastern China Normal University), Dr. Xiaojun Lv (Associate Professor of Shanghai Jiaotong University) and Dr. Yan Liu (Associate Professor of Indiana University) for their suggestions in the design of the questionnaire and also acknowledge Beina Zhang and Yongyong Yang (Master students of Shanghai Normal University) for their support in data analysis. The co-author would like to gratefully acknowledge Professors Raymond Rodriguez, Professor Alison Van Eeneenaam and Christine Bruhn from the University of California, Davis, for their editorial assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71573173).

California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research, University of California Davis, Davis, USA

Kai Cui & Sharon P. Shoemaker

Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Shi, China

Contributions

Dr. Kai Cui, corresponding author, designed the questionnaire and delivered it to groups he met with in China. He secured the help for the statistical evaluation of the respondents in the survey. Dr. Sharon Shoemaker provided advice and collaboration in the fundamentals and consumer attitudes of GM technology. She was Dr. Cui’s mentor while he was at the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research (CIFAR), UC Davis, and she provided basic understanding on the topic of GM Food and biotechnology, in general. She also contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript in English.

Correspondence to Kai Cui .

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cui, K., Shoemaker, S.P. Public perception of genetically-modified (GM) food: A Nationwide Chinese Consumer Study. npj Sci Food 2 , 10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-018-0018-4

Received : 17 August 2017

Revised : 28 January 2018

Accepted : 09 April 2018

Published : 05 June 2018

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-018-0018-4

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Genetically modified plants and human health

Genetically modified (or GM) plants have attracted a large amount of media attention in recent years and continue to do so. Despite this, the general public remains largely unaware of what a GM plant actually is or what advantages and disadvantages the technology has to offer, particularly with regard to the range of applications for which they can be used. From the first generation of GM crops, two main areas of concern have emerged, namely risk to the environment and risk to human health. As GM plants are gradually being introduced into the European Union there is likely to be increasing public concern regarding potential health issues. Although it is now commonplace for the press to adopt ‘health campaigns’, the information they publish is often unreliable and unrepresentative of the available scientific evidence. We consider it important that the medical profession should be aware of the state of the art, and, as they are often the first port of call for a concerned patient, be in a position to provide an informed opinion.

This review will examine how GM plants may impact on human health both directly – through applications targeted at nutrition and enhancement of recombinant medicine production – but also indirectly, through potential effects on the environment. Finally, it will examine the most important opposition currently facing the worldwide adoption of this technology: public opinion.

Plants with favourable characteristics have been produced for thousands of years by conventional breeding methods. Desirable traits are selected, combined and propagated by repeated sexual crossings over numerous generations. This is a long process, taking up to 15 years to produce new varieties. 1 Genetic engineering not only allows this process to be dramatically accelerated in a highly targeted manner by introducing a small number of genes, it can also overcome the barrier of sexual incompatibility between plant species and vastly increase the size of the available gene pool. 1

Transgenic (GM) plants are those that have been genetically modified using recombinant DNA technology. This may be to express a gene that is not native to the plant or to modify endogenous genes. The protein encoded by the gene will confer a particular trait or characteristic to that plant. The technology can be utilized in a number of ways, for example to engineer resistance to abiotic stresses, such as drought, extreme temperature or salinity, and biotic stresses, such as insects and pathogens, that would normally prove detrimental to plant growth or survival. The technology can also be used to improve the nutritional content of the plant, an application that could be of particular use in the developing world. New-generation GM crops are now also being developed for the production of recombinant medicines and industrial products, such as monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, plastics and biofuels. 2–4

In 2007, for the twelfth consecutive year, the global area of biotech crops planted continued to increase, with a growth rate of 12% across 23 countries. 5 The principle crops grown are soybean and maize, although cotton, canola and rice are also on the increase. However, genetically modified crops grown in the EU amount to only a few thousand hectares (∼0.03% of the world production), 6 which is probably a reflection of European opposition to this technology. In contrast, food derived from GM plants is ubiquitous in the USA. Indeed, many animal feeds used in Europe derived from imported plant material contain GM products. Similarly, GM cotton is widely used in clothing and other products.

Genetically modifying a plant

A number of techniques exist for the production of GM plants. The two most commonly employed are the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens , which is naturally able to transfer DNA to plants, and the ‘gene gun’, which shoots microscopic particles coated with DNA into the plant cell. 1 Generally, individual plant cells are targeted and these are regenerated into whole GM plants using tissue culture techniques. Three aspects of this procedure have raised debate with regard to human health.

  • The use of selectable markers to identify transformed cells
  • Transfer of extraneous DNA into the plant genome (i.e. genes other than those being studied)
  • The possibility of increased mutations in GM plants compared to non-GM counterparts due to tissue culture processes used in their production and the rearrangement of DNA around the insertion site of foreign genes.

To facilitate the transformation process, a selectable marker gene conferring, for example, resistance to an antibiotic (e.g. kanamycin, which will kill a normal non-GM plant cell), is often co-transferred with the gene of interest to allow discrimination of GM tissue and regeneration of GM plants. Critics of the technology have stated that there is a risk of the spread of antibiotic resistance to the bacterial population either in the soil or in the human gut after ingestion of GM food. However, these antibiotic resistance genes were initially isolated from bacteria and are already widespread in the bacterial population. In addition, kanamycin itself has GRAS status (Generally Regarded As Safe) and has been used for over 13 years without any known problems. Studies have concluded that the probability of transmission of antibiotic resistance from plants to bacteria is extremely low and that the hazard occurring from any such transfer is, at worst, slight. 7 , 8 Nevertheless, other selection strategies that do not rely on antibiotic resistance have been developed, 9 and procedures to eliminate the selectable marker from the plant genome once its purpose has been fulfilled have also been designed. 10

The second aspect of the plant transformation procedure that has been criticized is that unnecessary DNA is transferred into the plant genome as a consequence of the engineering and transfer process. 11 Of course, there is no reason that DNA per se should be harmful, as it is consumed by humans in all foods, but again plant technologists have responded to the criticism by designing ‘minimal cassettes’ in which only the gene of interest is transferred into the plant. 12

Finally, it has been claimed that GM plants carry more mutations than their untransformed counterparts as a result of the production method. 13 Genome-wide mutations may be produced by the tissue culture process, generating so called somaclonal variation, and endogenous DNA rearrangements may occur around the integrated transgene. 13 Theoretically, this may mean that plants may be produced with, for example, reduced levels of nutrients or increased levels of allergens or toxins 13 (although the alternative must also hold true, that positive traits may be expressed). Latham et al . 13 have stated that mutations around foreign gene insertion sites have not been fully characterized in either experimental or commercialized GM plants. Consequently, these authors have proposed several recommendations involving improved molecular analysis prior to the future commercialization of GM crops. 13

However, as described in this report, it must be emphasized that GM crops grown to date have been produced under rigorous regulatory frameworks, and have been extensively safety tested prior to commercialization.

Food applications for GM plants

In the developing world, 840 million people are chronically undernourished, surviving on fewer than 8000 kJ/day (2000 Kcal/day). 14 , 15 Approximately 1.3 billion people are living on less than US$1/day 16 , 17 and do not have secure access to food. Many of these are also rural farmers in developing countries, depending entirely on small-scale agriculture for their own subsistence and to make their living. 18 They generally cannot afford to irrigate their crops or purchase herbicides or pesticides, leading to a vicious circle of poor crop growth, falling yields and pest susceptibility. 18 In addition, the world's population is predicted to double over the next 40 years, with over 95% of individuals being born in developing countries. 19 It is estimated that to meet these increased demands, food production must increase by at least 40% in the face of decreasing fertile lands and water resources. 20 , 21 GM plant technologies are one of a number of different approaches that are being developed to combat these problems. Specifically, studies are under way to genetically modify plants to increase crop yields, or to directly improve nutritional content.

Increasing nutritional content

In the developed world the nutritional content of food items is not of major concern, as individuals have access to a wide variety of foods that will meet all of their nutritional needs. In the developing world, however, this is often not the case, with people often relying on a single staple food crop for their energy intake. 18 GM technology offers a way to alleviate some of these problems by engineering plants to express additional products that can combat malnutrition. An important example of the potential of this technology is the ‘Golden Rice Project’. Vitamin A deficiency is widespread in the developing world and is estimated to account for the deaths of approximately 2 million children per year. 18 In surviving children it has been identified as the leading cause of blindness. 22 Humans can synthesize vitamin A from its precursor β-carotene, which is commonly found in many plants but not in cereal grains. 18 The strategy of the Golden Rice Project was to introduce the correct metabolic steps into rice endosperm to allow β-carotene synthesis. In 2000, Ye et al . 23 engineered rice that contained moderate levels of β-carotene and since then researchers have produced the much higher yielding ‘Golden Rice 2’. 24 It is estimated that 72 g of dry Golden Rice 2 will provide 50% of the RDA of vitamin A for a 1–3-year-old child. 24

Golden Rice was developed for farmers in the poorest countries, and from the beginning, the aim of the scientists was to provide the technology free of charge, which required the negotiation of more than 100 intellectual and technical property licenses. 25 Golden Rice will be given to subsistence farmers with no additional conditions 18 and is an impressive example of a health solution that can be offered by plant biotechnology.

Increasing food production

Crop yields worldwide are significantly reduced by the action of pathogens, parasites and herbivorous insects. 26 Two examples of commercial GM crop growth in this area are the insect-resistant crops expressing the bt gene (from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis ) and virus-resistant GM papaya. 27 The first of these has been particularly successful; in the USA, for example, insect resistant GM maize is grown over an area of 10.6 million hectares and comprises 35% of all maize (GM and non-GM) grown in the country. 28 At the laboratory level, resistance has also been engineered to bacterial and fungal plant pathogens. 29 , 30

A primary cause of plant loss worldwide is abiotic stress, particularly salinity, drought, and temperature extremes. 31 In the future, these losses will increase as water resources decline and desertification intensifies. Drought and salinity are expected to cause serious salinization of all arable lands by 2050, 32 requiring the implementation of new technologies to ensure crop survival. Although a number of promising targets have been identified in the production of abiotic stress tolerant GM plants, research remains at the laboratory-based level. An example is the study by Shou et al . 33 demonstrating that expression of an enzyme in GM maize activates an oxidative signal cascade that confers cold, heat and salinity tolerance.

Are GM foods safe to eat?

GM crops are tightly regulated by several government bodies. The European Food Safety Authority and each individual member state have detailed the requirements for a full risk assessment of GM plants and derived food and feed. 34 In the USA, the Food and Drug Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are all involved in the regulatory process for GM crop approval. 35 Consequently, GM plants undergo extensive safety testing prior to commercialization (for an example see http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/KeyTopics/efsa_locale-1178620753812_GMO.htm ).

Foods derived from GM crops have been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15 years, with no reported ill effects (or legal cases related to human health), despite many of the consumers coming from that most litigious of countries, the USA.

There is little documented evidence that GM crops are potentially toxic. A notorious study claiming that rats fed with GM potatoes expressing the gene for the lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin suffered damage to gut mucosa was published in 1999. 36 Unusually, the paper was only published after one of the authors, Arpad Pusztai, announced this apparent finding on television. 37 The Royal Society has since stated that the study ‘is flawed in many aspects of design, execution and analysis’ and that ‘no conclusions should be drawn from it’: for example the authors used too few rats per test group to derive meaningful, statistically significant data.

Is there any a priori reason to believe that GM crops might be harmful when consumed? The presence of foreign DNA sequences in food per se poses no intrinsic risk to human health. 38 All foods contain significant amounts of DNA and RNA, consumed in the range of 0.1–1.0 g/day. 39 Of potential concern is the possibility that the protein produced by the transgene may be toxic. This would occur if the transgene coded for a toxin that was subsequently absorbed systemically by the host. However, the potential toxicity of the protein expressed in a GM food is an essential component of the safety assessment that has to be performed. 40 Potential allergenicity to the novel gene product is another commonly expressed concern. Allergies to non-GM foods such as soft fleshed fruit, potatoes and soy are widespread. Clearly, new varieties of crops produced by either GM techniques or conventional breeding both have the potential to be allergenic. Concern surrounding this topic relates to two factors; the possibility that genes from known allergens may be inserted into crops not typically associated with allergenicity and the possibility of creating new, unknown allergens by either inserting novel genes into crops or changing the expression of endogenous proteins.

Assessment of the allergenic potential of compounds is problematic and a number of different bodies have produced guidelines and decision trees to experimentally evaluate allergenic potential. 41–43 These are effective at assessing compounds which may prove to be hazardous through a hierarchical approach which includes determining whether the source of the introduced gene is from an allergenic plant, whether GM foods react with antibodies in the sera of patients with known allergies and whether the product encoded by the new gene has similar properties to known allergens. In addition, animal models are used to screen GM foods. 40 Tests are not performed to formally assess any risk posed by inhalation of pollens and dusts; however, this is not assessed for conventionally grown foods and feeds either, and no allergies have been attributed to commercially grown GM pollen to date. Two examples are frequently quoted regarding GM crop allergenicity:

  • A project to develop genetically modified peas by adding a protein from beans that conferred resistance to weevils was abandoned after it was shown that the GM peas caused a lung allergy in mice 44
  • Soya bean engineered to express a Brazil nut protein was withdrawn from production after it was also found to be allergenic in tests. 45

Opponents of GM technology often cite these examples as proof that it is inherently unpredictable and dangerous, although another interpretation would be to say that safety testing of GM plants was effective in both cases, having identified allergenic potential before either product was released to market. It is perhaps a sobering thought, that if conventional plant breeding techniques had been used to achieve the same aims, there would have been no legal requirement for the assessment of allergenicity and the plant varieties could have been commercialized without in vivo testing. However, GM technology might also be used to decrease the levels of allergens present in plants by reducing expression levels of the relevant genes. For example, research was recently undertaken to identify an allergen in soybeans and remove it using GM technology. 46

Non-food applications for GM plants

There are also a number of uses for plants outside of the food industry, for example in the timber, paper and chemical sectors and increasingly for biofuels. In all cases, non-GM and GM approaches are both being developed. Of significance to the medical field is the use of GM plants for production of recombinant pharmaceuticals. Molecular farming to produce GM plant-derived pharmaceutical proteins (PDPs) is currently being studied by academic and industrial groups across the world 4 . The first full-size native human recombinant PDP, human serum albumin, was demonstrated in 1990, 47 and since then antibodies, blood products, hormones and vaccines have all been expressed in plants. 48 Protein pharmaceuticals can be harvested and purified from GM plants, or alternatively, plant tissue in a processed form expressing a pharmaceutical could potentially be consumed as an ‘edible vaccine’. As the molecular farming industry is still in its infancy, only one product has been approved for use so far – recombinant human intrinsic factor for use in vitamin B12 deficiency ( http://www.cobento.dk ). However, a number of molecular farming candidates are in clinical trials, including hepatitis B vaccine produced in potatoes and lettuce, 49 vaccines for heat labile toxin produced by E. coli and Norwalk virus, 50 , 51 human pro-insulin 52 and several monoclonal antibodies. 53–57

Using GM plants as a platform for producing pharmaceuticals has many potential advantages over traditional systems. For example, GM plants can produce complex multimeric proteins such as antibodies that cannot be readily expressed by microbial systems. In addition, pharmaceutical production can potentially be on a vast agricultural scale. 4 , 58 The latter point is particularly important as it opens the way for many new applications that require administration of large amounts of proteins. These include topical application of antibodies and microbicides on mucosal surfaces for the prevention of infection. Not all applications need be on such a large scale; the hepatitis B vaccine is currently produced in genetically modified yeast, but not enough can be made at an affordable price to meet the demands of developing countries. 58 It has been estimated that 250 acres of greenhouse space would be enough to grow the amount of GM potatoes required to meet the annual demand for hepatitis B vaccine in the whole of South East Asia. 58

Currently, over three million people die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases, the vast majority in the developing world. The current model of profit-motivated pharmaceutical production by companies in the developed world is ineffective in ridding the developing world of disease. GM plant technology may provide an alternative, as it is relatively low-tech and can be applied locally in the developing world by scientists working in partnership with governments and not-for-profit research funding agencies.

As with all aspects of GM crops, objections have been raised to the use of plants for manufacturing recombinant pharmaceuticals. Of greatest concern is that the pharmaceutical could inadvertently enter the human food chain. Theoretically, this might happen by uncontrolled dispersal of GM seed or by hybridization with a sexually compatible food crop following escape of GM pollen. In 2002, a company called Prodigene was fined and was severely censured for breaches in safety regulation when, due to inappropriate removal procedures, GM maize expressing a PDP was found to be growing in a soybean crop destined for human food consumption in the next growing cycle. 59 Although rare, incidents such as these demonstrate the potential risks of the technology. One proposal is to limit molecular farming to non-food crops, such as tobacco. Whilst feasible, there are significant advantages to the use of food crops for recombinant pharmaceutical production, such as attainment of GRAS status and utilizing well-established agricultural techniques for production. In the next section, the development of techniques to minimize GM gene flow are discussed.

GM plants and the environment

Any adverse effects on the environment through the large-scale growth of GM plants may indirectly affect human health. The following concerns have been expressed with regard to GM plants and the environment:

  • That GM plants will sexually hybridize with non-GM plants through the transfer of pollen
  • That GM plants may themselves become invasive weeds
  • That the conditions required to grow GM plants will affect local wildlife populations.

In 2001, in a highly publicized study, evidence was presented that GM genes from GM maize had, by cross-pollination, contaminated wild maize in Mexico, the global centre for biodiversity of this species. 60 The validity of this work was disputed at the time of publication, 61 , 62 and later studies have also failed to detect any evidence of transgene spread to Mexican maize growing in the wild. 63 More recently, it has been reported that GM herbicide-resistant creeping bentgrass ( Agrostis stolonifera L) planted in Oregon, USA, was found up to 3.8 km outside the designated area of cultivation. 64 The authors of the study postulated that this dispersal was a result of both pollen-mediated sexual crossing with plants in the wild, and GM crop seed dispersal.

In 1999, a scientific paper was published which claimed that maize engineered to express the insecticidal Bt toxin was harmful to the larvae of the Monarch butterfly, an iconic species in American culture. 65 It was claimed that larvae reared on their staple diet of milkweed, dusted with pollen from Bt maize, ate less, grew more slowly and suffered higher mortality rates. 65 A number of longer term studies have since investigated the likelihood of Monarch butterfly larvae being exposed to sufficient quantities of Bt maize pollen in nature to illicit a toxic response, and this was found to be insignificant. 66–68

It is difficult to evaluate the effect of GM crops, or probably more importantly the regime required to grow them, on surrounding wildlife, particularly when considering long-term effects. The UK Farm-Scale Evaluations 69 were the biggest study of the potential environmental impact of GM crops conducted anywhere in the world. In a four-year programme, researchers studied the effect of management practices associated with ‘genetically modified herbicide tolerance’ on farm wildlife, compared with conventional weed control. 69 The study reported that for three of the four crops tested, the wildlife was reduced in the GM fields compared to non-GM, but in the final crop (maize) the opposite occurred. The researchers stated that this difference did not occur because the crops were genetically modified, but because the farmer was able to employ a different herbicide regime to that used on conventional crops. The study has provided a platform for the government to objectively evaluate the effect of these crops, and even though the results were portrayed by critics of the technology as evidence for environmental hazards of GM, they resulted in government approval for the commercial growth of a herbicide-resistant GM maize in the UK. 69

GM plants are also being assessed for how they might have a positive role to play in the environment by selective removal of pollutants – a process known as phytoremediation. For example, plants have already been genetically engineered to accumulate heavy metal soil contaminants such as mercury and selenium to higher levels than would be possible for non-GM plants, 70 , 71 so not only can they grow on contaminated sites but they can also remediate contamination. These plants can be harvested and destroyed, the heavy metals disposed of or recycled, and the decontaminated field re-used.

Gene transfer in the environment

A number of strategies have been proposed to prevent gene flow from GM plants to the wider environment. The transfer of a gene to wild or non-GM crops is a particular concern when it is expressing a protein that is designed for use in industry or pharmaceuticals. It is widely agreed that food should not contain products that have been specifically designed for these applications. 72 Two strategies to prevent this happening are physical isolation and genetic containment. Physical isolation can be difficult and costly and must be carried out at every stage of production. The crop must be bred in isolation and both small- and large-scale field trials should also be carried out in isolated areas. 72 The seed and commercial crops themselves could be grown either in contained greenhouse conditions, or in areas where no weed or food crop relatives are grown. 72 In addition, the ground where the GM crop has been grown and the surrounding fields should be left to ‘lie fallow’ for a time to ensure no seeds remain and grow in the next crop cycle. 72 In practice, the most likely approach will be to have specified farms where dedicated planting and harvesting equipment, transport, grain-handling, drying and storage systems would be used. 72

Genetic containment can be achieved at a number of levels by technological means. Existing sterility and incompatibility systems to limit the transfer of pollen can be utilized, 72 as can Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTS) which interfere with fertility or seed formation. 72 Transfer of the foreign genes into the chloroplast genome is another strategy, as in many plant species chloroplasts are maternally inherited and not contained in pollen. 73

The co-existence of crops for human consumption alongside related varieties grown for industrial products, that would be harmful if consumed by people, is not a new phenomenon, nor one that is confined to GM plants. For example, farmers in Canada grow two varieties of (non-GM) rapeseed – high and low erucic acid producers. The erucic acid extracted from the high producing variety is used as an industrial lubricant and is toxic to humans if consumed, whilst the low producing rapeseed variety, called canola, is used to make cooking oil. Canadian farmers have developed systems to routinely keep the two apart during growth and processing.

GM plants and public opinion

Several NGO and media organizations are implacably opposed to GM plants. Crops that have been designed to help relieve malnutrition in the developing world, such as Golden Rice, are attacked on the basis that it ‘tastes awful’ 25 and that ‘to be of any benefit a child would have to eat approximately 7kg of cooked Golden Rice’, 74 an over-estimation by more than 15 times according to the founder of the product. 75 Insect-resistant cotton engineered to produce the Bt toxin requires far less pesticide application and produces higher crop yields than the non-GM counterpart, 76 generating savings of up to $500 per hectare for farmers. 77 Despite this, the crop has been criticized on the unsubstantiated grounds that it ‘is killing the natural parasitic enemies of the cotton bollworm and increasing a number of other pests’ and that ‘its success will be short-lived as the bollworm will become resistant to the insecticide’. 74 These allegations have been made in spite of the fact that Bt bacteria have been widely used as a spray on organic crops by farmers for decades without any resistance developing in insects, in addition to no evidence of any emerging resistance after eight years of growing the GM crop. 76

In some quarters, GM food is cited as being ‘unnatural’, although this accusation could be levelled at all of our food, which has been produced over millennia by artificial breeding. Very few commercialized crops would be able to survive unaided in nature. When considering ‘natural’ food production, it should be recognized that technology has always played an important part in the food industry. For example, antibiotics are widely used in feed in the poultry industry, and modern varieties of wheat were produced with the aid of radiation-induced mutation. 78 Scientists were greeted with expressions of outrage in many quarters when they genetically engineered frost-resistant plants with a gene from a cold water fish 79 – and yet fish and plants have a large proportion of genes in common, as do all living creatures.

Opposition to GM crops is perceived to be greater in the EU compared with other countries such as the USA, where food from GM crops has become part of the normal diet. 37 However, the situation is complex and UK public opinion is perhaps not so set against GM crops as is generally believed. Surveys have reported findings in which only 13% of consumers said they actively avoid GM foods, while 74% were not sufficiently concerned to actively avoid it. 80 This seems surprising considering the amount of anti-GM media coverage. From many of these articles it would seem appropriate to assume that the public as a whole are adamantly opposed to GM foods, but this is not substantiated by the surveys conducted. 80–82

Nevertheless, considerable opposition to GM crops does exist and scientists must engage with the public to a much greater extent to ensure that the subject is debated rationally. This opposition is having many serious effects, not least because many developing countries that could benefit from the technology will not take it up as long as they believe that there remain significant areas of concern and that they will not be able to export produce to the EU market. 83 The implementation of the improvements to the design of GM crops discussed in this report would also further reassure the general public and pave the way for widespread acceptance of a technology that will be crucial in helping to alleviate current and future challenges in food and medicine supply.

DECLARATIONS —

Competing interests None declared

Funding None

Ethical approval Not required

Guarantor PMWD

Contributorship All authors contributed equally

  • Published: 24 January 2015

No scientific consensus on GMO safety

  • Angelika Hilbeck 1 , 2 ,
  • Rosa Binimelis 1 , 3 ,
  • Nicolas Defarge 1 , 4 , 5 ,
  • Ricarda Steinbrecher 1 , 6 ,
  • András Székács 1 , 7 ,
  • Fern Wickson 1 , 3 ,
  • Michael Antoniou 8 ,
  • Philip L Bereano 9 ,
  • Ethel Ann Clark 10 ,
  • Michael Hansen 11 ,
  • Eva Novotny 12 ,
  • Jack Heinemann 13 ,
  • Hartmut Meyer 1 ,
  • Vandana Shiva 14 &
  • Brian Wynne 15  

Environmental Sciences Europe volume  27 , Article number:  4 ( 2015 ) Cite this article

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A broad community of independent scientific researchers and scholars challenges recent claims of a consensus over the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In the following joint statement, the claimed consensus is shown to be an artificial construct that has been falsely perpetuated through diverse fora. Irrespective of contradictory evidence in the refereed literature, as documented below, the claim that there is now a consensus on the safety of GMOs continues to be widely and often uncritically aired. For decades, the safety of GMOs has been a hotly controversial topic that has been much debated around the world. Published results are contradictory, in part due to the range of different research methods employed, an inadequacy of available procedures, and differences in the analysis and interpretation of data. Such a lack of consensus on safety is also evidenced by the agreement of policymakers from over 160 countries - in the UN’s Cartagena Biosafety Protocol and the Guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius - to authorize careful case-by-case assessment of each GMO by national authorities to determine whether the particular construct satisfies the national criteria for ‘safe’. Rigorous assessment of GMO safety has been hampered by the lack of funding independent of proprietary interests. Research for the public good has been further constrained by property rights issues, and by denial of access to research material for researchers unwilling to sign contractual agreements with the developers, which confer unacceptable control over publication to the proprietary interests.

The joint statement developed and signed by over 300 independent researchers, and reproduced and published below, does not assert that GMOs are unsafe or safe. Rather, the statement concludes that the scarcity and contradictory nature of the scientific evidence published to date prevents conclusive claims of safety, or of lack of safety, of GMOs. Claims of consensus on the safety of GMOs are not supported by an objective analysis of the refereed literature.

Over recent years, a number of scientific research articles have been published that report disturbing results from genetically modified organism (GMO) feeding experiments with different mammals (e.g. rats [ 1 ], pigs [ 2 ]). In addition to the usual fierce responses, these have elicited a concerted effort by genetically modified (GM) seed developers and some scientists, commentators, and journalists to construct claims that there is a ‘scientific consensus’ on GMO safety [ 3 - 5 ] and that the debate on this topic is ‘over’ [ 6 ].

These claims led a broader independent community of scientists and researchers to come together as they felt compelled to develop a document that offered a balanced account of the current state of dissent in this field, based on published evidence in the scientific literature, for both the interested public and the wider science community. The statement that was developed was then opened up for endorsement from scientists around the world with relevant expertise and capacities to conclude on the current state of consensus/dissent and debate regarding the published evidence on the safety of GMOs.

This statement clearly demonstrates that the claimed consensus on GMO safety does not exist outside of the above depicted internal circle of stakeholders. The health, environment, and agriculture authorities of most nations recognize publicly that no blanket statement about the safety of all GMOs is possible and that they must be assessed on a ‘case-by-case’ basis. Moreover, the claim that it does exist - which continues to be pushed in the above listed circles - is misleading and misrepresents or outright ignores the currently available scientific evidence and the broad diversity of scientific opinions among scientists on this issue. The claim further encourages a climate of complacency that could lead to a lack of regulatory and scientific rigour and appropriate caution, potentially endangering the health of humans, animals, and the environment.

Science and society do not proceed on the basis of a constructed consensus, as current knowledge is always open to well-founded challenge and disagreement. We endorse the need for further independent scientific inquiry and informed public discussion on GM product safety.

Some of our objections to the claim of a scientific consensus are listed in the following discussion. The original version endorsed by 300 scientists worldwide can be found at the website of the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility [ 7 ].

There is no consensus on GM food safety

Regarding the safety of GM crops and foods for human and animal health, a comprehensive review of animal feeding studies of GM crops found ‘An equilibrium in the number [of] research groups suggesting, on the basis of their studies, that a number of varieties of GM products (mainly maize and soybeans) are as safe and nutritious as the respective conventional non-GM plant, and those raising still serious concerns’. The review also found that most studies concluding that GM foods were as safe and nutritious as those obtained by conventional breeding were ‘performed by biotechnology companies or associates, which are also responsible [for] commercializing these GM plants’ [ 8 ].

A separate review of animal feeding studies that is often cited as showing that GM foods are safe included studies that found significant differences in the GM-fed animals. While the review authors dismissed these findings as not biologically significant [ 9 ], the interpretation of these differences is the subject of continuing scientific debate [ 8 , 10 - 12 ] and no consensus exists on the topic.

Rigorous studies investigating the safety of GM crops and foods would normally involve, inter alia , animal feeding studies in which one group of animals is fed GM food and another group is fed an equivalent non-GM diet. Independent studies of this type are rare, but when such studies have been performed, some have revealed toxic effects or signs of toxicity in the GM-fed animals [ 2 , 8 , 11 - 13 ]. The concerns raised by these studies have not been followed up by targeted research that could confirm or refute the initial findings.

The lack of scientific consensus on the safety of GM foods and crops is underlined by the recent research calls of the European Union and the French government to investigate the long-term health impacts of GM food consumption in the light of uncertainties raised by animal feeding studies [ 14 , 15 ]. These official calls imply recognition of the inadequacy of the relevant existing scientific research protocols. They call into question the claim that existing research can be deemed conclusive and the scientific debate on biosafety closed.

There are no epidemiological studies investigating potential effects of GM food consumption on human health

It is often claimed that ‘trillions of GM meals’ have been eaten in the US with no ill effects. However, no epidemiological studies in human populations have been carried out to establish whether there are any health effects associated with GM food consumption. As GM foods and other products are not monitored or labelled after release in North America, a major producer and consumer of GM crops, it is scientifically impossible to trace, let alone study, patterns of consumption and their impacts. Therefore, claims that GM foods are safe for human health based on the experience of North American populations have no scientific basis.

Claims that scientific and governmental bodies endorse GMO safety are exaggerated or inaccurate

Claims that there is a consensus among scientific and governmental bodies that GM foods are safe, or that they are no more risky than non-GM foods [ 16 , 17 ], are false. For instance, an expert panel of the Royal Society of Canada issued a report that was highly critical of the regulatory system for GM foods and crops in that country. The report declared that it is ‘scientifically unjustifiable’ to presume that GM foods are safe without rigorous scientific testing and that the ‘default prediction’ for every GM food should be that the introduction of a new gene will cause ‘unanticipated changes’ in the expression of other genes, the pattern of proteins produced, and/or metabolic activities. Possible outcomes of these changes identified in the report included the presence of new or unexpected allergens [ 18 ].

A report by the British Medical Association concluded that with regard to the long-term effects of GM foods on human health and the environment, ‘many unanswered questions remain’ and that ‘safety concerns cannot, as yet, be dismissed completely on the basis of information currently available’. The report called for more research, especially on potential impacts on human health and the environment [ 19 ].

Moreover, the positions taken by other organizations have frequently been highly qualified, acknowledging data gaps and potential risks, as well as potential benefits, of GM technology. For example, a statement by the American Medical Association’s Council on Science and Public Health acknowledged ‘a small potential for adverse events … due mainly to horizontal gene transfer, allergenicity, and toxicity’ and recommended that the current voluntary notification procedure practised in the US prior to market release of GM crops be made mandatory [ 20 ]. It should be noted that even a ‘small potential for adverse events’ may turn out to be significant, given the widespread exposure of human and animal populations to GM crops.

A statement by the board of directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) affirming the safety of GM crops and opposing labelling [ 21 ] cannot be assumed to represent the view of AAAS members as a whole and was challenged in an open letter by a group of 21 scientists, including many long-standing members of the AAAS [ 22 ]. This episode underlined the lack of consensus among scientists about GMO safety.

EU research project does not provide reliable evidence of GM food safety

An EU research project [ 23 ] has been cited internationally as providing evidence for GM crop and food safety. However, the report based on this project, ‘A Decade of EU-Funded GMO Research’, presents no data that could provide such evidence from long-term feeding studies in animals.

Indeed, the project was not designed to test the safety of any single GM food but to focus on ‘the development of safety assessment approaches’ [ 24 ]. Only five published animal feeding studies are referenced in the SAFOTEST section of the report, which is dedicated to GM food safety [ 25 ]. None of these studies tested a commercialized GM food; none tested the GM food for long-term effects beyond the subchronic period of 90 days; all found differences in the GM-fed animals, which in some cases were statistically significant; and none concluded on the safety of the GM food tested, let alone on the safety of GM foods in general. Therefore, the EU research project provides no evidence for sweeping claims about the safety of any single GM food or of GM crops in general.

List of several hundred studies does not show GM food safety

A frequently cited claim published on an Internet website that several hundred studies ‘document the general safety and nutritional wholesomeness of GM foods and feeds’ [ 26 ] is misleading. Examination of the studies listed reveals that many do not provide evidence of GM food safety and, in fact, some provide evidence of a lack of safety. For example:

Many of the studies are not toxicological animal feeding studies of the type that can provide useful information about health effects of GM food consumption. The list includes animal production studies that examine parameters of interest to the food and agriculture industry, such as milk yield and weight gain [ 27 , 28 ]; studies on environmental effects of GM crops; and analytical studies of the composition or genetic makeup of the crop.

Among the animal feeding studies and reviews of such studies in the list, a substantial number found toxic effects and signs of toxicity in GM-fed animals compared with controls [ 29 - 34 ]. Concerns raised by these studies have not been satisfactorily addressed and the claim that the body of research shows a consensus over the safety of GM crops and foods is false and irresponsible.

Many of the studies were conducted over short periods compared with the animal’s total lifespan and cannot detect long-term health effects [ 35 , 36 ].

We conclude that these studies, taken as a whole, are misrepresented on the Internet website as they do not ‘document the general safety and nutritional wholesomeness of GM foods and feeds’. Rather, some of the studies give serious cause for concern and should be followed up by more detailed investigations over an extended period of time.

There is no consensus on the environmental risks of GM crops

Environmental risks posed by GM crops include the effects of insecticidal Bt (a bacterial toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis engineered into crops) crops on non-target organisms and the effects of the herbicides used in tandem with herbicide-tolerant GM crops.

As with GM food safety, no scientific consensus exists regarding the environmental risks of GM crops. A review of environmental risk assessment approaches for GM crops identified shortcomings in the procedures used and found ‘no consensus’ globally on the methodologies that should be applied, let alone on standardized testing procedures [ 37 ]. Some reviews of the published data on Bt crops have found that they can have adverse effects on non-target and beneficial organisms [ 38 - 41 ] - effects that are widely neglected in regulatory assessments and by some scientific commentators. Resistance to Bt toxins has emerged in target pests [ 42 ], and problems with secondary (non-target) pests have been noted, for example, in Bt cotton in China [ 43 , 44 ].

Herbicide-tolerant GM crops have proved equally controversial. Some reviews and individual studies have associated them with increased herbicide use [ 45 , 46 ], the rapid spread of herbicide-resistant weeds [ 47 ], and adverse health effects in human and animal populations exposed to Roundup, the herbicide used on the majority of GM crops [ 48 - 50 ].

As with GM food safety, disagreement among scientists on the environmental risks of GM crops may be correlated with funding sources. A peer-reviewed survey of the views of 62 life scientists on the environmental risks of GM crops found that funding and disciplinary training had a significant effect on attitudes. Scientists with industry funding and/or those trained in molecular biology were very likely to have a positive attitude to GM crops and to hold that they do not represent any unique risks, while publicly-funded scientists working independently of GM crop developer companies and/or those trained in ecology were more likely to hold a ‘moderately negative’ attitude to GM crop safety and to emphasize the uncertainty and ignorance involved. The review authors concluded ‘The strong effects of training and funding might justify certain institutional changes concerning how we organize science and how we make public decisions when new technologies are to be evaluated’ [ 51 ].

International agreements show widespread recognition of risks posed by GM foods and crops

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was negotiated over many years and implemented in 2003. The Cartagena Protocol is an international agreement ratified by 166 governments worldwide that seeks to protect biological diversity from the risks posed by GM technology. It embodies the Precautionary Principle in that it allows signatory states to take precautionary measures to protect themselves against threats of damage from GM crops and foods, even in case of a lack of scientific certainty [ 52 ].

Another international body, the UN’s Codex Alimentarius, worked with scientific experts for 7 years to develop international guidelines for the assessment of GM foods and crops because of concerns about the risks they pose. These guidelines were adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, of which over 160 nations are members, including major GM crop producers such as the United States [ 53 ].

The Cartagena Protocol and Codex share a precautionary approach to GM crops and foods, in that they agree that genetic engineering differs from conventional breeding and that safety assessments should be required before GM organisms are used in food or released into the environment.

These agreements would never have been negotiated, and the implementation processes elaborating how such safety assessments should be conducted would not currently be happening, without widespread international recognition of the risks posed by GM crops and foods and the unresolved state of existing scientific understanding. Concerns about risks are well founded, as has been demonstrated by studies on some GM crops and foods that have shown adverse effects on animal health and non-target organisms, indicated above. Many of these studies have, in fact, fed into the negotiation and/or implementation processes of the Cartagena Protocol and the Codex. We support the application of the Precautionary Principle with regard to the release and transboundary movement of GM crops and foods.

Conclusions

In the scope of this document, we can only highlight a few examples to illustrate that the totality of scientific research outcomes in the field of GM crop safety is nuanced; complex; often contradictory or inconclusive; confounded by researchers’ choices, assumptions, and funding sources; and, in general, has raised more questions than it has currently answered.

Whether to continue and expand the introduction of GM crops and foods into the human food and animal feed supply, and whether the identified risks are acceptable or not, are decisions that involve socioeconomic considerations beyond the scope of a narrow scientific debate and the currently unresolved biosafety research agendas. These decisions must therefore involve the broader society. They should, however, be supported by strong scientific evidence on the long-term safety of GM crops and foods for human and animal health and the environment, obtained in a manner that is honest, ethical, rigorous, independent, transparent, and sufficiently diversified to compensate for bias.

Decisions on the future of our food and agriculture should not be based on misleading and misrepresentative claims by an internal circle of likeminded stakeholders that a ‘scientific consensus’ exists on GMO safety.

This document was subsequently opened for endorsement by scientists from around the world in their personal (rather than institutional) capacities reflecting their personal views and based on their personal expertise. There is no suggestion that the views expressed in this statement represent the views or position of any institution or organization with which the individuals are affiliated. Qualifying criteria for signing the statement were deliberately selected to include scientists, physicians, social scientists, academics, and specialists in legal aspects and risk assessment of GM crops and foods. Scientist and academic signatories were requested to have qualifications from accredited institutions at the level of PhD or equivalent. Legal experts were requested to have at least a JD or equivalent. By December 2013, more than 300 people who met the strict qualification requirements had signed the statement. The statement was widely taken up in the media and reported in numerous outlets and evidence provided therein continues to be cited widely. In a time when there is major pressure on the science community from corporate and political interests, it is of utmost importance that scientists working for the public interest take a stand against attempts to reduce and compromise the rigour of examination of new applications in favor of rapid commercialization of new and emerging technologies that are expected to generate profit and economic growth. The document continues to be open for signature on the website of the initiating scientific organization ENSSER (European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility) at www.ensser.org .

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Angelika Hilbeck, Rosa Binimelis, Nicolas Defarge, Ricarda Steinbrecher, András Székács, Fern Wickson & Hartmut Meyer

Institute of Integrative Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

Angelika Hilbeck

GenØk Centre for Biosafety, Forskningsparken, PB 6418, , 9294, Tromsø, Norway

Rosa Binimelis & Fern Wickson

Comité de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur le génie Génétique CRIIGEN, 40 rue Monceau, 75008, Paris, France

Nicolas Defarge

University of Caen, Institute of Biology IBFA and Network on Risks, Quality and Sustainable Environment MRSH, Esplanade de la Paix, 14032, Caen, France

EcoNexus, Oxford, OX4 9BS, UK

Ricarda Steinbrecher

Central Environmental and Food Science Research Institute, POB 393, , H-1537, Budapest, Hungary

András Székács

Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, Guy’s Hospital, London, SE1 9RT, UK

Michael Antoniou

Technology and Public Policy, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

Philip L Bereano

Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, K0K 3 K0, Warkworth, Ontario, Canada

Ethel Ann Clark

Consumers Union, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY, 10703, USA

Michael Hansen

Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, Herschel Road, Cambridge, CB3 9AL, UK

Eva Novotny

Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Jack Heinemann

Navdanya Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India

Vandana Shiva

Centre for the Study of Environmental Change, CSEC, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

Brian Wynne

Correspondence to Angelika Hilbeck .

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

All authors contributed equally to the writing of the document. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Authors’ information

EAC is retired.

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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 ), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Hilbeck, A., Binimelis, R., Defarge, N. et al. No scientific consensus on GMO safety. Environ Sci Eur 27 , 4 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1

Received : 01 October 2014

Accepted : 19 December 2014

Published : 24 January 2015

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1

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Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Revealing the Truth about GMOs and its Controversy

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Research Paper on GMOs

The Controversy of Genetically Modified Foods on Human Health

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are creatures in which their genetic make-up has been altered through genetic engineering or biotechnology in hopes of either obtaining favorable traits, eliminating unfavorable traits, or simply gene manipulation. Genetic engineering can be applied to plants, animals, bacteria, fish, and much more. Since its inception in 1973 (Goldbas), the use of genetic engineering brought us an increase in crop yields, increased our food supply, and enabled us to become more flexible in our resources in respect to climate change. In fact, about approximately 75%-80% of all genetically modified ingredients are present in processed foods (Imhoff). In addition, according to the Environmental Working Group, every American consumes about 193 pounds of genetically modified foods per year (Imhoff). Unfortunately, because the method was utilized for a short period of time and they’re a plethora of contradicting studies on GMOs’ impacts on health, the public have grown suspicious and fearful over the unknown risks that GMOs could have on human health in the future. Furthermore, the rise of large biotechnological companies that are capable of manipulating an enormous amount of our food supply with their own devised organisms fueled the public’s suspicion of what is exactly in their food. Thus, this led to a controversy of GMOs and the creation of two polarizing sides; One perspective depicting that GMOs can provide substantial changes to our lives and the other perspective being that our lives are on the line. In reality, however, most of the controversy of GMOs is derived from fear and speculation of the public and misinformation of various sources; Genetically modified foods are safe for consumption.

One of the main contributors that are fueling the controversy of GMOs on human health are the rhetoric that many sources use in order to frighten and sometimes make the audience perceive something in a specific way. For instance, an article from Natural News aggressively criticizes that Monsanto’s flaws in their own genetically modified corn MON810 that contains the Bt gene (Reynolds). In the article, the author includes words such as Franken-Food Company, and Franken-Food to imply that genetic engineering allows the creation of something hideous as it is equivalent to the creation of Frankenstein (Reynolds). Already, she is attacking the reputation of not only Monsanto, but other biotechnological companies that utilize genetic engineering. In addition, as she is directly attacking one of the largest biotechnological companies, she claimed that Monsanto had a twisted view of human ethics (Reynolds). Overall, the language that is being demonstrated is alarming and can persuade an audience to believe that they are in danger. Acknowledge the emotions that can erupt in response to such words; The power of words can be commanding. Another example would be the non-GMO Project, a popular non-profit organization that are dedicated to promoting a non-GMO food supply, that supports a study on the “GMOs Myths and Truths” created by 3 leading researchers at Earth Open Source (non-GMO Project). Even when the sources are utilizing their rhetoric in a professional fashion when describing their stance on going against GMOs, the words “unnatural” to describe the process of genetic engineering can instill a feeling of uneasiness in their audience. Anything that is not natural has to be something that is off. This may be the reason why the terms “organic” may make a product more appealing to consumers due to the fear of GMOs that are not deemed in that category. As a result, this may have fueled the unnecessary fear of GMOs’ impact on human health.

A second reason to why GMOs are safe for consumption is because the majority of scientists believe that GMOs are safe to eat despite the distinct portion of the public being suspicious over GMOs. According to the New York Times, about approximately 90 percent of scientists believe that GMOs are safe, while on the hand, only a third of all consumers can agree (Brody). Clearly, there is a disconnection between the scientific community and the general public. To support their stand, they utilized logically reasoning; Despite all of the health concerns over potential allergies and toxins in which they have not been fully addressed, there are a plethora of genetic engineering experiments and people consuming many meals without any issues as said by Robert Goldberg in an interview from the Scientific American (Brody). In fact, since the creation of the earliest genetically modified foods, there hasn’t been any detrimental impacts or solidly confirmed evidence of any health risks (Brody). On the contrary, however, one excellent criticism on genetically modified foods is that since the inception of genetic engineering, we may not know the long-term effects of genetically modified organisms even though we already know that nothing has happened so far. This will involve long-term studies on comparing the consumption GMOs products and non-GMO products (Brody). This is why various organizations such as the non-GMO Project and the Organic Consumers Association are dedicated to protecting the people’s health such as providing information on possible detrimental effects of GMOs. In addition, the non-GMO Project is considered America’s third party verification source for GMOs (non-GMO Project). In response, however, it seems absurd and unnecessary to be cautious of the potential long-term effects of GMOs since the basic concept of genetically modifying our organisms have been going on for centuries through the use of cross breeding similar species or cross pollination of similar plants. From an article, “Genetically Modified Foods: A Taste of the Future,” the author describes how we have always had the capability to manipulate the genes of various species in our agriculture for a long period of time (Lessick et. al). The only contrast between genetic engineering and the traditional methods of genetic manipulation such as cross breeding and cross pollination is the manner in which the method is done. Cross breeding or cross pollination consists of mixing of genetic composition in hopes of creating an offspring with a favorable characteristic, but it is only the result of random choice as we cannot control which specific gene we want to cross over (Lessick et. al). Furthermore, this is only possible with species that are closely related (Lessick et. al). On the contrary, genetic engineering eliminates some of the setbacks of traditional breeding. Not only does genetic engineering allows us to transfer desirable genetic traits directly without resorting to the use of trial and errors, but we can expand our possibilities of transferring genes from virtually any organism to a completely different organism. An example of this phenomenon would be inserting a Bt gene from bacteria to enable corn to produce their own insecticide (Reynolds). Not once have we questioned or grew cautious over the possible effects of consuming GMOs that were devised through traditional genetic manipulation. To further support this statement, according to Channapatna S. Prakash, the Director of the Center for Plant Biodiversity, even through the use of traditional breeding such as corn containing one gene that was originally found in soybeans, it wouldn’t even make it any less hazardous (Guterman). He also stated that traditionally hybrid species were never questioned for their safety (Guterman). If even credible scientists find genetic engineering almost as analogous as previous traditional breeding methods, why is it that the public is still fearful of consuming GMOs derived through genetic engineering.

Aside from understanding that there may be no health risks with regards to GMOs as confirmed by many scientists and their various studies, there are proven benefits that counters the fears that comes along with it. For example, according to an article published in the International Journal of Childbirth Education called, “GMOs: What are they?,” Goldbas discusses some of the advances biotechnology has brought to agriculture, resulting in addressing some of the world’s problems such as malnutrition and starvation; “Breakthroughs include food plants which have been altered to be pest resistant and have greater nutritional values.” (Goldbas). One of these plants include the South African white corn that has the potential to be enriched with more protein (Goldbas). Golden rice that is enriched with Vitamin A and are a few other examples that can be enriched with more nutritious content. Furthermore, plants can be genetically modified to be resistant to herbicides, viruses, and withstand extreme environmental conditions (Goldbas). To support the previous statement, he mentions the genetically modified cassava plant, a starchy root that is normally eaten in tropical Africa, can offer its consumers enhanced minerals, vitamin A, and protein as oppose to their genetically modified counterparts (Goldbas). Thus, this can help to reduce weakened immune systems, childhood blindness, and iron deficiency anemia (Goldbas). Furthermore, as stated in the article from Medical Surgical Nursing, some of the benefits are not limited to an elimination of natural allergens found in certain agricultural products, improving the shelf life of food, enhancing taste, and becoming ingredients to help develop edible vaccines and pharmaceuticals (Lessick et. al). As demonstrated, GMOs can provide a new influx of solutions to address any of our problems and make what we already have even better. On the contrary, however, it is stated that there is no proven consensus on the safety of GMO consumption (non-GMO Project). Furthermore, there are studies that have been conducted that suggests that there may be GMOs may need more attention. According to an article from the Environmental Magazine, the author introduces Seralini’s study in which two groups of rats were either given genetically modified corn, their non-GMO counterparts, GMO corn with glyphosate, or glyphosate and water (Imhoff). This was done to replicate Monsanto’s study on their own genetically modified corn. As a result, the rats that consumed Monsanto’s GM corn and exposed to glyphosate caused more premature deaths, the development of tumors in some of the subjects, and increased liver damage, and kidney damage (Imhoff). Therefore, it may be necessary to be alarmed about what GMOs could potentially cause. In response, although the experiment did produce alarming results, there were a few inconsistencies throughout the experiment that may have skewed Seralini’s data. One can say that the sample size is too small for a toxicology study and the species of rats were already susceptible to developing cancers (Genetic Literacy). In addition, some of the rats that were exposed to genetically modified corn even outlived some of the rats that were in the group that weren’t exposed to GMOs (Genetic Literacy). Perhaps, we need to conduct more studies to confirm, but as of present day, the potential benefits of GMOs along with the current observation the people are consuming GMOs without any concrete problem is promising to confirm their safety and worth. Instead, imagine the endless possibilities in our agriculture and resources that GMOs can bring across the globe.

Currently, the controversy of GMOs remains strong today as many people ranging from various backgrounds have different perspectives on the health impacts that they can potentially impose on us. Fortunately, there hasn’t been any concrete evidence or any sign that people who consume GMOs on the daily basis have exhibited any illnesses or allergens in response to them. On the contrary, however, it may be ideal to continue conducting experiments on GMOs since they have only been around since the 1970s and there are recent contradicting studies, such as the Seralini’s experiment replicating the Monsanto’s GMO corn study, that may indicate GMOs may seem dangerous than it seems. Though, what is undeniable is that GMOs provide us with a plethora of benefits that can aid many of the world’s issues and advancements including malnutrition and medicine. Furthermore, along with the promising fact that the entire globe are consuming GMOs without any issue may be the one step forward to end the controversy of GMOs impact on human health.

MOST TRUSTED SEAL. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2018, from https://www.nongmoproject.org/

Brody, J. E. (2018, April 23). Are G.M.O. Foods Safe? Retrieved October 16, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/well/eat/are-gmo-foods-safe.html

Reynolds, J.L. (n.d.). Monsanto’s GMO corn has no improvements on yields or reduced crop damage, report claims. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from

https://www.naturalnews.com/052360_Monsanto_crop_yields_MON810.html

Goldbas, A. (20+). GMOs: What are they? International Journal of Childbirth Education, 29(3), 20+. Retrieved October 16, 2018.

( https://go-galegroup-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=8&docId=GALE%7CA378248863&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=AONE&contentSet=GALE%7CA378248863&searchId=R32&userGroupName=cuny_ccny&inPS=true )

Guterman, L. (2000). Scientists leave the lab to defend bioengineered food. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 46(32), A29. Retrieved October 16, 2018.

( https://go-galegroup-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=4&docId=GALE%7CA61878337&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegm )

Imhoff, D. (2013, March 1). Food Fight! Trying to Hold Back the Onslaught of Genetically Modified Foods-Or at Least Slap Them with a Label. E Magazine

Lessick, M., Keithley, J., Swanson, B., & Lemon, B. (2002, October 1). Genetically modified foods: A taste of the future. . MedSurg Nursing, 242+.

( https://go-galegroup-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=4&docId=GALE%7CA93008223&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=AONE&contentSet=GALE%7CA93008223&searchId=R29&userGroupName=cuny_ccny&inPS=true )

“Gilles-Éric Séralini: Activist Professor and Face of Anti-GMO Industry.” Genetic Literacy Project, geneticliteracyproject.org/glp-facts/gilles-eric-seralini-activist-professor-face-anti-gmo-industry/.

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I.  Introduction

Ii.  motivation, iii.  data and methodology, iv.  findings, v.  conclusions, references *, gender discrimination in education expenditure in nepal: evidence from living standards surveys.

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Shaleen Khanal; Gender Discrimination in Education Expenditure in Nepal: Evidence from Living Standards Surveys. Asian Development Review 2018; 35 (1): 155–174. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00109

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There is a significant amount of literature on the role of parental gender preferences in determining the level of education expenditure for children. In this study, I examine the effects of such preferences on parents’ education expenditure in Nepal. Using longitudinal data from three Nepal Living Standards Surveys, I apply several decomposition methods to determine the level of bias that parents display in spending on their children's education. I find that parents indeed spend more on boys than girls in both rural and urban areas in Nepal. I also find that this bias is reflected in the higher enrollment levels of boys than girls in private schools.

Nepal has made remarkable progress in achieving a degree of gender parity in the field of education. Net enrollment rates have achieved parity at all levels of schooling, reflecting the government's success in ensuring the equal participation of girls in schools. However, while improvements in enrollment rates are a positive first step, this does not imply gender parity in the education sector. Various forms of discrimination—such as the reproduction of discriminatory norms in the process of socialization and in the classroom (e.g., a curriculum that favors traditional gender roles), encouragement for continuing traditional course selection (Collins 2009 ), and at times outright discriminating behavior—have been observed in schools (Hickey and Stratton 2007 , Bandyopadhyay and Subhramaniam 2008 ). At the household level as well, girls are expected to spend more time on chores rather than on education (Mason and Khandker 1996 , Levison and Moe 1998 ); are more likely to drop out of school (Sabates et al. 2010 ); and are less likely to continue their education at higher levels. Another form of household discrimination, which forms the topic of this study, is differential treatment in education expenditure in which parents spend more on boys’ education than they do on girls’ education.

Gender parity is a basic precondition for a just and equitable society. Arguments for gender equality also go beyond reasons of justice and equality. Empowering women is crucial for the socioeconomic development of any country. Studies report that higher levels of education in women lead to higher economic growth (Coulombe and Tremblay 2006 ); reductions in child and infant mortality rates (Cochrane 1982 , LeVine 1987 ); and better outcomes for all children in the family (Schultz 1961 ; Alderman and King 1998 ; Strauss, Mwabu, and Beegle 2000 ). Yet, despite governments promoting the participation of women in schooling and education, societies continue to observe disparities in women's access to education and the labor force. The feminist movement attributes this phenomenon to (i) the existing sexual division of labor that assigns women to domestic tasks; and (ii) men's control over women's sexuality, which includes strict supervision of movements outside the home and limits on societal interactions (Stromquist 1992 ). Economic models explain that such disparities arise out of differential parental preferences (assuming parents to be rational economic agents) due to differences in children's cognitive endowment, birth order, and (more importantly) variations in expected returns on investment between boys and girls (Behrman, Pollak, and Taubman 1982 ; Lehmann, Nuevo-Chiquero, and Vidal-Fernandez 2012 ).

In Nepal, societal norms dictate that women after a certain age are married away. Additionally, patriarchy is pervasive in Nepal's legal and socioeconomic environments, a fact substantiated by the widespread inequality observed in legal outcomes (Nowack 2015 ); wealth (Bhadra and Shah 2007 ); employment opportunities (ADB 2010 , Bhadra and Shah 2007 ); and education (UNESCO 2015 ). The incentives for parents to pay for girls' education are lower compared with boys not only because women are likely to face unequal opportunities in the labor force, but also because boys are expected to look after their parents and the family estate when the parents grow old.

While much has been written on gender discrimination in education in Nepal, very little empirical work has been done to analyze the extent of the discrimination. This paper tries to fill that gap by examining the nature and extent of one form of discrimination—inequality in household expenditure—faced by women in the education sector by comparing expenditure on education for girls versus boys, and then decomposing the observed gap in expenditure into explained and unexplained components. The paper is organized as follows. Section II presents the motivation behind the research, including an identification of the research gap that this paper addresses. The methodology and the data set used in this study are described in section III . Section IV details the major results and the findings. Section V consists of conclusions and policy recommendations.

The right to an education is a fundamental human right. Yet, women in the developing world are underrepresented at all levels of education (see, for example, Annex 1 of the Global Campaign for Education 2012 ). While progress has been made globally in improving the net enrollment ratio at primary levels, a noticeable decline is observed in girls’ participation at higher levels of education (Global Campaign for Education 2012 ). Inequality is not only observed in terms of ability to participate in schooling, but also in terms of quality of schooling. 1 The participation of girls is also found to be lower in private schools compared with public schools in developing economies (Harma 2011 ; Maitra, Pal, and Sharma 2011 ; Woodhead, Frost, and James 2013 ; Sahoo 2014 ).

As was mentioned earlier, one of the reasons behind the ineffective inclusion of girls in educational opportunities is the unequal investment made by parents in their male and female children's education. The prevalence of unequal returns to education in terms of wages and work opportunities in the labor market implies that parents are likely to invest more in boys' education than in girls’ (Garg and Morduch 1998 as cited in Sahoo 2014 , Leclercq 2001 ). Results are further skewed in favor of boys if women are expected to leave their parents’ home after they get married while men are expected to remain at home to eventually take care of their elderly parents. 2 Various studies have found differential treatment resulting from parents' investment decisions. For example, Burgess and Zhuang ( 2000 ) and Gong, van Soest, and Zhang ( 2005 ) find significant bias in favor of boys in education expenditure in the People's Republic of China. Similarly, in India, Kingdon ( 2005 ) and Saha ( 2013 ) find evidence of differential education expenditure between boys and girls in certain states. Similar findings were presented in the cases of Pakistan (Aslam and Kingdon 2008 ), Paraguay (Masterson 2012 ), and Bangladesh (Shonchoy and Rabbani 2015 ).

Considering the cultural and socioeconomic similarities between many of the above-mentioned countries and Nepal, and the existence of widespread patriarchy in Nepal, we can expect to find significant levels of gender bias in education expenditure patterns among Nepalese households. Unequal access to and outcomes in education with respect to gender are characteristic features of the Nepalese education system. School enrollment has long skewed in favor of boys (World Bank 2014 ). More recently, there has been a drive to make education (along with other social services) equitable and inclusive. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 has made the right to an education an inalienable right for all (Government of Nepal 2015 ). Gender equality and social inclusion guidelines have been formulated across all government sectors to make policies, strategies, and outcomes gender sensitive. The Education for All initiative and the School Sector Reform Plan prioritize equal participation for girls at all levels of education (Ministry of Education and Sports 2003 ). As a consequence, net enrollment ratios have risen for all children and are now comparable for both boys and girls at primary and secondary schools (National Planning Commission 2013 ). Yet, the participation of boys in private education and higher education remains higher when compared with girls (Department of Education 2015 ). Therefore, while the gender gap in terms of school enrollment at primary and secondary levels has almost disappeared, instances of gender discrimination can still be observed among Nepalese households both in terms of education quality and expenditure. 3

Decomposing such discrimination can provide policy makers with valuable insights into understanding and minimizing the extent of such bias and incentivizing households to achieve better education outcomes for girls. However, studies on gender discrimination and education in Nepal are scarce. Most reports on discrimination typically analyze participation rates and do not consider other forms of discrimination (see, for example, Unterhalter 2006 , Herz 2006 , and Huxley 2009 ).

Similar patterns can be observed in academic studies. One of the earliest studies in the field incorporating historical data was conducted by Stash and Hannum ( 2001 ), who find evidence of a significant gender gap in primary school participation rates. Using data from the 1991 Nepal Fertility, Family Planning, and Health Survey, they find that the educational attainment of head of households and rural–urban households bore no effect on school participation rates for girls. Therefore, they conclude that traditional indicators of development had little impact on discriminatory educational outcomes. LeVine's ( 2006 ) ethnographic study of Nepal examines the determinants of school attendance of girls and the reasons behind their dropping out of school. The study finds that since the 1990s, profound socioeconomic transformations have led to a more equitable attitude of parents toward their children's education, although girls were still less likely to complete their education or attain higher education because of marriage. A recent study by Devkota and Upadhyay ( 2015 ) examines inequality in education outcomes owing to various household factors like income, sex, ethnicity, and location of the household and the school. They find that while men in Nepal were likely to attain a higher level of education, their advantage had significantly declined between 1996 and 2004.

Some studies have looked at the effects of migration on education outcomes in Nepal. Bontch-Osmolovski ( 2009 ) studies the role of migration in education and finds significant positive effects of parental migration on their children's enrollment in school. However, the author finds no significant difference, on average, of the effect of migration by the gender of the child, which is contrary to Nepal ( 2016 ), who finds higher levels of school enrollment, greater incidence of private schooling, and shorter working hours for boys in migrant households when compared with girls. Bansak and Chezum ( 2009 ) also find that remittances positively affect school attendance, with a greater positive impact among boys than girls.

The aforementioned studies rely primarily on enrollment and school participation rates as the basis of analysis of gender discrimination, assuming parental decisions only affect the participation of children at school and ignore other forms of discrimination between boys and girls already enrolled in schools. This discussion becomes even more pertinent given rising enrollment and participation rates for both boys and girls at the primary and secondary school levels. Considering the clear evidence of unequal expenditure in favor of boys’ education in comparable societies, there is a need to investigate whether this trend exists in Nepal as well. Vogel and Korinek ( 2012 ) were the first to evaluate the expenditure allocation decisions of households on education in Nepal. Their study examines how remittance income is allocated in terms of schooling expenditure for boys and girls within the same family. They find that households that receive substantial remittances tend to increase education spending for boys but not for girls. Therefore, more remittances do not necessarily result in increased investment in girls’ education. However, the study primarily limits itself to remittance-based households and does not take nonmigrating households into consideration.

This paper aims to build on the findings of Vogel and Korinek ( 2012 ) by looking at the education expenditure allocation decisions of Nepalese households. It focuses on the extent of discrimination practiced against girls in terms of expenditure patterns on education and examines the possible reasons behind such inequality. Using the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method (along with decomposition using quantile regressions), the study examines the extent of explained differences and unexplained differences (proxied as discrimination) in education expenditure for families across Nepal.

Data for the study comes from the three rounds of the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS) conducted in 1995–1996, 2003–2004, and 2010–2011. 4 The surveys follow the methodology developed by the World Bank in its Living Standards Measurement Study and collect information from all over Nepal on wide-ranging variables including, among others, poverty; income, wealth, and expenditure sources; household composition; and migration. The latest survey collected data from 5,988 households (in addition to 1,032 households used for the panel sample) from 71 districts (499 primary sampling units) across Nepal over a 12-month period. For the study, I use samples from both rural and urban households from all three geographical regions surveyed in the study. Due to a lack of observations among students of higher studies and for schools under other systems of education, I have confined the samples for the regression analysis to include students until the 10th standard of their schooling and who have studied in either community schools or private schools. 5 To arrive at total education expenditure per student, I have calculated total school fees of individual children by adding the costs of uniforms, text books, transportation, private tuition, and other fees, and then deducting the monetary value of any scholarships. Fees are presented on a nominal basis and have not been converted to real terms. The sample for education expenditure per child was trimmed by the top 0.1% and the bottom 0.1% to remove potential outliers.

Two methods have been popularly used to disaggregate biases in education expenditure in popular research. The first methodology makes use of Engel Curves, which observes household-level expenditure data and analyzes the relationship between changes in household gender composition and patterns of expenditure. In the absence of individual-level data on expenditure patterns, this method can provide valuable insights into inferring the level of bias from the overall household expenditure data (Aslam and Kingdon 2008 ). However, the validity of this methodology has also been challenged (Kingdon 2005 ).

Where individual-level data are available, the use of decomposition provides far more useful results. First used by Blinder ( 1973 ) and Oaxaca ( 1973 ), this method decomposes the expenditure gap into an endowment gap and a coefficient gap. The endowment gap explains differences in expenditure based on differences in endowments and the coefficient gap is the discrimination coefficient (Madheswaran and Attewell 2007 ). While the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition is popularly used to decompose bias in wage gaps in the labor market, the methodology is as effective in understanding the bias in education expenditure as well, and has been used in studies analyzing decomposition of education expenditure. Here, I use the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method to disaggregate bias in the expenditure gap that can be explained by differences of endowments and the unexplained gap.

Considering the possibility of differential effects of various control variables across the expenditure distribution, I also use the quantile decomposition methodology of Melly ( 2005 ) to evaluate levels of discrimination across various points in the distribution of the education expenditure. The methodology goes beyond the mean and decomposes differences in education expenditure between the two groups (girls and boys) at different quantiles of the variable of interest.

Analysis of the descriptive summary of the variables suggests the existence of a discrepancy in spending between boys and girls, with the total expenditure pattern showing that education expenditure on boys is slightly greater than that on girls (Table 1 ). While there is not much difference in the fees paid among various school categories, 7 in fact expenditure in private schools is higher in the case of girls, 8 the representation of boys in private schools is much higher than that of girls. 9 Worryingly, the overall difference in expenditure between boys and girls increased over the course of the three surveys. The mean of actual expenditure shows that while the difference in expenditure per student was only NRs3 in 1995–1996, it had risen to NRs886 by 2010–2011. Since mean expenditure in private schools is almost 8 times the mean expenditure in government schools, the faster rate of private school enrollment among boys when compared with girls over the last 15 years has proved to be the major source of expenditure bias and discrimination against girls.

Note: NLSS I does not contain the gurukul–madrasa–gumba category but instead includes a category for community schools. Similarly, NLSS II only categorizes government schools, private schools, technical schools, and other schools.

Source: Author's calculation based on Nepal Living Standards Surveys.

The rural–urban classification of enrollment and expenditure echoes the findings of the national aggregate (Tables 2 and 3 ). While in absolute terms the amount of expenditure on education (for both girls and boys) is higher in urban areas, the share of girls' fees to boys' fees is significantly lower in rural areas (0.76) than in urban areas (0.93), suggesting a higher degree of discrimination among rural populations. 10 However, over time while the inequality in terms of expenditure has remained fairly stable in rural areas, there has been a marginal rise in expenditure on boys in urban centers (with the share of girls’ fees to boys’ fees dropping from 0.99 to 0.93). This trend is noticeable in rising gaps across the years in expenditure levels in both private and public schools in addition to a faster rate of growth in private school participation for boys (from 34% to 61%) compared with girls (from 32% to 51%). In rural areas, rising gaps in expenditure in public schools were observed over time, although surprisingly the average expenditure gap in private schools became negative. However, this negative expenditure gap is offset by a disparity in private school participation growth rates with the enrollment of boys in private schools increasing from 4% to 18% compared with the rate of girls increasing from 2% to 11%. 11

a The poverty line has been drawn based on nutritional requirements included in the NLSS.

Source: Author's compilation.

The first set of regressions were simple OLS models with gender as a dependent variable (Table 5 ). The coefficient of the major variable of interest (female) was significant with the semi-elasticity of fees at between –0.098 and –0.202, indicating lower levels of education expenditure for girls. Other control variables showed the expected outcomes. The semi-elasticity of total family income was positive and significant, but the level of influence on total education expenditure was very low. This perhaps is indicative of the poor quality of income data collected in the survey since data on income are notoriously unreliable (see, for example, Deaton 1997 , 29–31). As expected, poverty has a strong negative influence on total education expenditure, with poor families expected to spend up to 50% less on education expenditure than nonpoor families. Expenditure fell as household size increased and rose with the educational attainment of parents. Similarly, the grade of students and type of school had the expected strong and positive impact on education expenditure. Interestingly, regressions also showed that members of the upper caste were more likely to spend more on education than people from other ethnicities. 12

Note: *** , ** , and * denote significance at the 1%, 5%, and 10% level, respectively. See Table 4 for a description of the variables.

Source: Author's calculations based on NLSS Surveys.

Gender-wise classification of the OLS regression also provided interesting insights (Table 6 ). For variables like poverty, grade, and school types, the coefficients were comparable for boys and girls, while other variables impacted the two cohorts unequally. The impact of the size of the household was found to be relatively insignificant for boys but was highly significant and negative for girls, suggesting that a reduction in education expenditure per child due to an increase in household size primarily impacts girls. Therefore, a focus on family planning measures would lead to increased education opportunities for girls. 13 The importance of the mother's education was also reflected unequally. A woman's level of education is likely to play a more important role in a daughter's education compared with a son's; that is, the semi-elasticity of a mother's education on education expenditure is higher for girls than boys. 14 Distance from school had a larger negative impact on girls than boys, suggesting proximity to school is an important factor contributing to a better education for children. 15

Source: Author's calculation based on NLSS Surveys.

To differentiate the roles of endowments and discrimination in explaining the differences in education expenditure between boys and girls, I conducted a Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition analysis on the same observations (Table 7 ). Results from NLSS II show that in log terms, expenditure on boys was 0.098 higher than on girls, of which only about 9% could be explained by differences in the control variables and about 90% could be attributed to discrimination. Similarly, results from NLSS III show that expenditure on girls is lower than expenditure on boys by around NRs0.264 per child in log terms. Only about 8% of this gap can be explained via differences in household characteristics and the remaining 92% can be attributed to discrimination.

Note: *** , ** , and * denote significance at the 1%, 5%, and 10% level, respectively.

Results from the Ñopo decomposition also display an incidence of discrimination, although the extent of discrimination appears to be much smaller (Table 8 ). This technique shows that in 2010–2011, almost 60% of the expenditure gap was due to unexplained factors (discrimination). The results were more dramatic in 1995–1996 and 2003–2004, when in both cases the endowment effects of men and women constituted more than 100% of the expenditure gap. Therefore, if boys and girls were to have the same distribution across the controlled variables, the expenditure gap would be even higher, suggesting that, given prevailing conditions, socioeconomic status and other factors are more favorable in households incurring girls’ expenditure compared to boys’. The Blinder–Oaxaca and Ñopo methodologies both demonstrate the existence of widespread gender discrimination in household education expenditure, albeit to different degrees.

The results of the quantile decomposition reinforce the findings of the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method by using four quantiles (20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th percentiles) of education expenditure (see Table 9 ). While in NLSS I and II, there are significant differences in expenditure, large differences are observed in NLSS III. Among all four quantiles, education expenditure on girls was lower and significant in comparison with boys. Differences in expenditure were found to be the largest among the highest and the lowest spenders, and smallest among the 60th percentile. The ratio of unexplained to total differences fell among the higher quintiles, with the largest share of unexplained differences found in the poorest population segments. 16 The regressions suggest that, despite controlling for factors such as school enrollment (which already displays a significant source of discrimination in favor of boys), parents still choose to spend more on boys’ education than on girls’ education, which is clearly indicative of the differential treatment of boys and girls in Nepalese households. Worryingly, this phenomenon is new and coincides with rising average costs of education in Nepal.

Discrimination in school participation has been widely reported in the literature as a major source of gender inequality in Nepal. Even with improving participation rates for girls at all grade levels, the inequality persists. This study has explored discrimination among school-going boys and girls by analyzing the expenditure behavior of their parents and found that boys are better represented in private schools and girls are better represented in public schools, which stands as the most important form of discrimination. This phenomenon is more pronounced in rural Nepal, although a noticeable difference in participation is observed in urban areas as well.

Through simple OLS regressions, the effects of various control variables on total education expenditure across two genders were investigated. The data substantiate the findings of existing literature, including Vogel and Korinek ( 2012 ), that parental expenditure patterns in education are discriminatory. My analysis finds that even after controlling for school type, parents spend as much as 20% less on girls compared with boys. The data show that differences in expenditure comprise unequal spending on private tuition, textbooks and supplies, and other education-related expenditure. The paper also found that while the mother's education is an important equalizer, household size and distance to the school disproportionately affect household expenditure on a girl's education.

The Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method, the Ñopo decomposition method, and a decomposition based on quantile regressions were used to further investigate the level of gender discrimination in education expenditure. All three of these methods revealed a high level of discrimination in education expenditure in favor of boys among households in Nepal. At times, more than 60% of the difference in education expenditure between genders could be explained by such bias. Findings from the quantile decomposition show that discrimination has risen over time and that households in the lowest and highest quintiles of income were the ones most likely to discriminate between boys and girls. The latter result is counterintuitive and therefore should be a matter of further research. Another area for further research could be the impact of such differential treatment on the performance of children at schools.

The study finds sufficient evidence to conclude that discrimination in education expenditure is prevalent among Nepalese households. It also suggests that such discrimination might be on the rise. Therefore, it is imperative for the government to improve the quality of education at public schools to not only provide better quality education for girls, but also to encourage parents to review the decision-making processes in which they are more likely to send boys than girls to private schools. I also find that educating parents (especially mothers) and improving access to schools can potentially reduce unequal expenditure, albeit to a small extent. To the extent that unexplained differences (discrimination) still account for the largest share of differences in education expenditure, I conclude that parental choices are still largely governed by a patriarchal mindset within Nepalese society, even among families at the highest income levels. Therefore, the medium-term approach should be accompanied by a longer-term strategy of changing the perception of women's roles in Nepalese society so that household investment decisions are not biased against girls.

Discrimination against girls is also pervasive in a school environment. However, the focus of analysis in this study concerns parental expenditure choices that are biased in favor of boys.

In the Indian subcontinent, men are expected to live with their parents and look after them in their old age, while women are expected to live with their husbands. This practice contributes significantly to the unequal treatment of women and girls in terms of human capital development, marriage, and other critical life decisions including inheritance.

Private schools are generally considered to provide higher quality education in Nepal than public schools. They are more expensive to attend, spend more on children's education per student, have lower rates of teacher absenteeism, have better school management systems, and exercise more stringent grade promotion systems. As a consequence, private schools produce better results in School Leaving Certificate exams. In 2012, the success rate of private school students taking School Leaving Certificate exams was 93.1% compared with only 28.2% for public school students (Sharma 2012 ). Parents prefer private schools provided they can afford them. Therefore, the higher rate of participation of boys in private schools is indicative of discriminatory expenditure decisions at the household level.

Henceforth, NLSS I, NLSS II, and NLSS III will imply surveys conducted in 1995–1996, 2003–2004, and 2010–2011, respectively.

The education system in Nepal is classified into primary (1st–5th grade), lower secondary (6th–8th grade), secondary (9th–10th grade), higher secondary (11th–12th grade), and tertiary levels. Classification is made based on national level examinations and students are required to attend. All students must clear the School Leaving Certificate examinations in 10th grade to qualify for higher-level studies in which students can choose boards and areas of interest. School Leaving Certificate examinations are traditionally considered the entry gate for higher education in Nepal. The government has prioritized the elimination of gender disparity in education through the secondary level under the Education for All Initiative (Ministry of Education and Sports 2003 ). The NLSS classifies primary and secondary schools into four categories: (i) community or government-owned schools, (ii) institutional or private schools, (iii) technical schools, and (iv) religious schools. As can be observed from Table 1 , the share of students studying in the latter two categories is extremely small.

For the purpose of this study, Brahmin (hills and terai) and Chettris (hills and terai) are considered to be members of the upper castes.

Since the proportion of schools other than government schools and private schools is less than 2%, the focus in the remainder of this paper will be on community (public) and institutional (private) schools. Policy documents, including the Education for All Initiative and the annual Flash Report of the Department of Education, also focus on these two school structures. Therefore, leaving out religious schools and vocational schools will not detract from the analytical discussion (Ministry of Sports and Education 2003 , Department of Education 2015 ).

The declassification of expenditure, which is not shown in Table 1 , reveals that parents spend more for girls’ transportation and other costs compared with boys’ in private schools, leading to higher expenditure per student for girls among private schools. It is not clear why this is the case. An examination of school distances and modes of transportation do not provide an answer.

See footnote 3.

After accounting for all categories of schools, differences in expenditure in rural areas could be observed in terms of textbook and supplies, private tuition fees, and other fees not described in the NLSS. This suggests corrective measures require not only making schools more attractive for girls but a more thorough approach of changing parental mindsets by discouraging patriarchy and promoting equality of girls at the household level.

Inequality in private school enrollment extends far beyond gender. Spatially, private schools constitute only 1% and 20% of all secondary schools in mountainous areas of the far-western and mid-western regions in Nepal, respectively. Similarly, enrollment of other marginalized groups such as Dalits, ethnic minorities, and the disabled—is also found to be disproportionately low in private schools (Department of Education 2015 ). Differences in rural–urban private school enrollment rates can be observed in Tables 2 and 3 .

This discrepancy is explained both by differences in school preferences and expenditure categories. Not only were upper caste households more likely to send their children to private schools (22% private school enrollment for households from other ethnicities compared to 28% for members of the upper caste), but they also were more likely to spend on other educational expenditure and tuition fees. The cultural reasons behind these differences are beyond the purview of this study. However, basic analysis reveals that parents from the upper caste earn more than everyone else and are more likely to be educated than counterparts from other ethnicities.

The average household size in the sample was 5.94 persons, which provides sufficient space for family planning interventions.

The reasons behind this phenomenon are not clear but evidence suggests that mothers prefer allocating educational resources to daughters and fathers to sons (Glick and Sahn 2000 ). Education empowers women and increases their bargaining power in the family, thus allowing them to spend more resources on girls. This finding is supported by additional evidence from Africa and Asia (King and Lillard 1987 , Lillard and Willis 1992 , Tansel 1997 ).

The distance needed to travel to attend school is an important impediment to educating girls. In developing societies, girls’ safety is a crucial consideration. The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative ( 2014 ) has made reducing the distance to the nearest school an important component of its activities.

In the lower quintiles, the participation of students in private schools is almost negligible, with only about 4% of boys and 3% of girls enrolled in private schools at these income levels. In the upper two quintiles, the participation ratio of boys in private schools is about 62% compared with 56% for girls. Therefore, while the unexplained differences are larger in poorer segments of the population, discrimination is also prevalent at higher income levels, primarily through the school selection process.

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gender discrimination essay in nepali language

Gender Equality and Social Inclusion

Gender development index, gender inequality index, women’s ownership over land and property, women mps in federal parliament, women mps in provincial assemblies, women mps in local government, labor force participation.

Gender equality and social inclusion is one of the biggest and most persistent challenges facing Nepal and many of the South Asian countries. In practice, this means the fruits of development are spread unevenly across ethnic, gender and geographic categories. Vulnerabilities and inequalities are exacerbated by geographic and environmental factors. The existing socio-economic and physical conditions of certain groups like women, children, people with disabilities, senior citizens, sexual and gender minorities, those living in poverty and socially marginalized groups such as the Dalits, Muslims and indigenous people make them more vulnerable than others.

UNDP Nepal works across different ministries, civil society organizations, federations, academia, media and bilateral organizations and with different UN agencies to advance gender equality, inclusion and the empowerment of women. Special attention is given to women and men facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination such as due to caste based discrimination, ethnicity, disability or indigenous status. UNDP focuses directly on gender, inclusion and women’s empowerment, integrating it into the organizations’ key thematic areas: Inclusive Economic Growth, Democratic Governance, Climate and DRR/M.

How does UNDP ensure its programmes and projects promote gender & social inclusion?

Under all three portfolios (sustainable economic growth, governance and resilence), UNDP supports the people and the Government of Nepal to advance gender equality and social inclusion through the following measures in line with the Country Programme Document 2023-2027:

GESI Policy Goals

Identify the entry points on promoting gender equality and inclusion, addressing gender based violence (GBV). 

Address the needs of the persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ+, marginalized groups (also through dedicated funding mechanisms like LNOB fund flow mechanism to promote the work of marginalized groups). 

Carry out dedicated research and advocacy to promote understanding of GESI and address the gaps

Ensure that the whole of office approach is internalized for promoting gender equality and social inclusion in CO as well as through projects (including CSO, federal, provincial, and local government, academia, media etc). 

Ensure all major programes include sing language interpretation for inclusion of persons with disabilities. 

Data to be disaggregated to the extent possible for sex, disability, age, social groups. 

Promote replication of best practices on GESI-responsive tools and mechanisms within academia and private sector.

UNDP Nepal's continued efforts to promote gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) have resulted in significant progress across various areas of socio-economic transformation, governance, federalism, participation and inclusion and resilience.

Social & Economic Transformation:

  • As part of the COVID response, UNDP and Nepal Tourism Board collaborated to provide short term employment opportunities.  Over 1,400 people, including 569 women, were trained in 10 tourism sectors.
  • UNDP has been contributing on skills training and entrepreneurship. UNDP led 18400 employment opportunities programme benefitted 80,000 people and out of them 48 % are women.  
  • Through UNDP’s Cooperative Market Development Programme, over 48,5000 cooperative members, 52% women, benefitted from improved market access, technology and transport support. Over 39,000 smallholder farmers (53% women) have improved access to technology, agriculture inputs and markets through improved collection centres, cold storage, mobile market, post-harvest management and transportation, resulting in increased production of fruits and vegetables.

Governance, Federalism, Participation and Inclusion:

  • The support provided to the Election Commission has led to more gender-responsive and socially inclusive elections, with women securing 41.2%, 36.4%, and 33.8% of positions at the local, provincial, and federal levels, respectively.
  • UNDP's advocacy efforts have also contributed to amendments in laws related to sexual violence, including an increase in the statute of limitation for reporting rape cases from one to two years for adults.
  • UNDP supported the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) to develop a guideline to implement the Innovative Partnership Fund and the Strategy on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion. Now being used by over 400 local bodies, the Strategy is effectively promoting inclusion in the planning, monitoring and reporting at the local governments.  
  • In 2022, working alongside the Government, UNDP introduced and expanded new solutions to address socio-economic vulnerability such as provision of temporary basic income, directly benefiting 1,500 vulnerable women from marginalized groups.
  • Gender analysis has guided planning and programming for provincial and local plans and strategies, resulting in more GESI-responsive policies, plans, and budgets. Furthermore, the adoption of a GESI Policy in Karnali Province aims to strengthen institutional mechanisms for integrating gender into its budgets and programmes.  
  • Cabinet endorsed the second National Action Plan for the Implementation of United National Security Resolution 1325 and 1820 and its subsequent Resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security (2022-2025). The document was the result of UNDP, UN Women, and other participating UN agencies in collaboration with the conflict victims’ groups and in lead of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the government of Nepal.
  • UNDP also worked in collaboration with various institutions including the National Women Commission and supported to finalize the five-year strategic plan for the commission, the analysis of local election (May 2022) that guided the advocacy work of the Commission for the increased women and other marginalized groups representation in the upcoming federal and provincial election.
  • Nepal’s policy and institutional mechanisms for integrating gender-responsive NDC Implementation Plan for climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and environmental management were significantly strengthened this year, notably through a number of high-level international processes supported by UNDP.
  • Aligned with the new CPD priorities of enhancing resilience of women, youth and most marginalized and poor, the Resilience Portfolio has prioritized activities that aims at enhancing resilience of local governments through gender-responsive DRR plans and climate-risk informed plans, prioritized support to targeted vulnerable communities, women and women-owned enterprises.
  •  UNDP Nepal has prepared Monsoon Preparedness and Response Plan maps of at-risk populations including pregnant women, nursing mothers, women, senior citizen and persons with disability (PwD) and prioritizes cluster-specific preparedness and response actions targeting these populations. A participatory and inclusive approach was adopted to ensure inclusive and gender-responsive Provincial and Local Level Plans and Strategies. 
  • 4 Local Level governments adopted gender response Local Level Integrated Watershed Management Operational Guideline.
  • A Sex, Age, Disability and Diversity Data (SADDD) Monitoring Framework has been prepared that will contextualize the difference and inequalities of conditions. In collaboration with UN Women, a resource kit for Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion Mainstreaming in DRR, and Women’s safety Audit has been prepared.
  • NDC Implementation Plan priorities for gender-disaggregated data collection and progress reporting of the achievements of the NDC. 
  • The Mustang Declaration calls for action based on protection and promotion of human rights and dignity and collective action at local, national, national and global level for special focus on indigenous people (IP), women, youths and children. The declaration also outlines mobilization of finance for gender equity, equality and empowerment and strengthening social protection schemes targeting women to cover for climate vulnerability.

51,853 people including 18,719 female, 1222 dalits, 5,775 janjatis and 11 majhi population directly benefitted from ecosystems services through promotion of nature-based solutions that facilitates watershed restoration and rehabilitation, plantations and water use and reuse systems.

  • In partnership with Advertisement Board, over 30 private sector representatives working on advertising industry were oriented on gender-responsive advertisement and a social media campaign was launched to raise awareness among the public on gender-responsive ads.  
  • A dedicated TV programme in partnership with AP1 television documented and broadcast inspirational stories of struggle and success of women leaders from across sectors including journalism, entrepreneurship, politics and civil service to over half a million audience.  
  • Poetry competitions at the provincial and national levels provided a platform for poets to express their ideas on gender equality and social inclusion. The multi-country poetry recitation increased awareness about the need for gender equality and social inclusion across borders.

Change Stories

  • How energy is transforming communities in Bajura
  • Temporary Basic Income: A novelapproach to coping with the crisis & gender disparities in Nepal
  • How UNDP's initiative in sustainable waste management is promoting inclusion
  • Using digital banking to empower rural women entreprenuers
  • Teenage trainer Laxmi helps Returnee Migrants become Electricians
  • A land of my own
  • Women River Guides: Paddling to the top
  • Finding hope in times of darkness
  • Reconstruction with values allows Gorkha to heal in many ways
  • Dev Kumari Sadas dream has come true
  • Trail and a Tale
  • In Nepal's High mountains greenhouses help ensure food security
  • Women driving economic transformation of Nepali villages

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Sex Discrimination | Gender Inequality in Nepal with Problems, Reasons, Solution

Sex discrimination | gender inequality in nepal with reasons, solution, women in world.

In the world despite the fact that ladies are the most important founders of the society; however, ladies haven’t achieved equality with men. Of the world’s one.3 billion poor individuals, it’s calculable that almost seventy percent are ladies. Between seventy-five and eighty percent of the world’s twenty-seven million refugees are ladies. There are several countries wherever ladies are inferior voters. Regardless of however proficient there, they get an opportunity to develop.

The political participation of girls within the world looks comparatively low and it’s punctually attributable to the existence of the patriarchal mentality even within the political parties in most countries within the world regardless of however advanced and socially, economically, culturally and politically sound the countries are.

The participation of girls in the parliament of Japan and USA are merely seven.1% and 17 November severally. Whereas within the countries like Ruanda it’s forty-ninth and in the Scandinavian country, it’s forty-sixth.

The standing of girls within the developed countries is additionally lowering all told sectors. Exploit some exceptions of European, Yankee and Asian countries, ladies within the world are social, economically, culturally and politically dominated and that they are excluded from the opportunities. Throughout the planet, ladies face violence a day. From the parcel of land to the bedchamber, ladies are in danger from violence all told areas of life.

Violence against ladies persists attributable to society cover. Just about each culture within the world contains kinds of violence against ladies that are typically invisible as a result of their seen as traditional or acceptable. The underlying reason behind violence against ladies lays in gender discrimination – the denial of women’s equality with men all told areas of life.

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Women in South Asia

South Asian countries are primarily coupled with the standing of girls in family, society and also the state structures. The ancient system of the society expects ladies to stay restricted at intervals four walls of a home that remains a standard incidence. In a number of the countries of South, Asia ladies are illicit even to solid votes.

In the South Asian region, ladies are discriminated, attributable to son preference traditions of the society dominated by spiritual beliefs. Daughters are discriminated from birth to ceremonial ceremony. Ladies also are stricken by violence, wrong tradition, and cultural malpractices.

Some awful samples of violence are sex-selective abortion, mate fight, kid wedding, polygamy, rape, sexual violence, trafficking of girls & forced whoredom, harassments, dowry, Tilak system, suicide, killings, and violence, still prevailed. They’re still suspect in the name of sorcery.

Women in South Asian countries are witnessing changes through development initiatives. Ladies are thought of as poor individuals in developing countries, live under identical conditions as men, however, suffer further social and policy biases. Although this downside affects most sections of the individuals, ladies are recognized to be among the foremost underprivileged teams.

Political participation of girls within the state structure and mechanisms remains a so much dream even during this advanced century. Though constitutions of all the countries have ensured equal standing of all voters while not discrimination supported gender in each layer of governance, political participation of girls in South Asian countries is extremely low.

Standing of girls in the Kingdom of Nepal

Nepal, a Himalayan country set in South Asia, is one among the poor countries of the planet. The major reason behind this is often the political instability and tyrannical rule for long. Alternative crucial factors for being the country terribly poor are thanks to lack of awareness and access to quality education.

As a result, individuals have irrational beliefs, there’s gender discrimination, and political leaders have remittent political vision. The socio-economic standing of girls in the Kingdom of Nepal is extremely poor. The ladies are being discriminated in each facet of the society.

These and then several alternative factors have contributed to show the Kingdom of Nepal a lower human development state. The Kingdom of Nepal could be a country of nice geographic, cultural, ethnic, spiritual diversity. A women’s life is powerfully influenced by her father, husband, and son. The wedding has nice importance in women’ life. The event of wedding determines the means of her life.

The first wedding usually depreciates the women’s life. A woman’s power to simply accept or reject wedding partner is patently associate degree index of the degree of freedom she exercises within the management of her own life, and so additionally of her standing. The standing of girls is decided by the patriotic social organization, values, and women’s right preserved and guarded by the state, and state policy for the event of girls.

Violence against ladies in Nepal

Is Nepal a patriarchal society? What are the disadvantages of gender equality in Nepal?In Nepal, the violence against ladies is rampant. Many analysis comes in the Kingdom of Nepal have indicated that 66 % of girls have endured verbal abuse, thirty-three % emotional abuse, whereas 77 % of the perpetrators were relations (UNICEF 2001). Violence against ladies is going on day by day, however, the government and also the alternative civil society members do their best however still there are lots of areas to figure and management the kinds of violence against ladies.

The violence against ladies in politics is additionally rampant however we have a tendency to are unaware of the cases haven’t been taking off within the realm of violence against ladies thanks to its mental object. And, even the political leaders are unaware whether or not the violence happening in political parties to ladies leaders is punctually the violence against ladies in politics.

This is the twenty-first century; everything has modified and has been changed. Nothing is same because it was before as we all know dynamical could be an activity that goes on and on. Men and ladies were 2 completely different creatures that were created by God within the starting of the planet because of the most advanced creatures among all different living creatures. With no partiality god created them and shipped them to the bottom, however, we’ve continuously been discriminating between male and feminine.

Since a few years past, ladies have continuously been given second category standing. Female’s square measure marginalized from every and each facility and barred the rights they’re speculated to get thanks to discrimination.

These days, individuals square measure talking massive speech communication that there’s no gender discrimination any longer, however, the reality is some things else. Yes, it would be true just in case of developed countries, however not in our country like Asian country.

Out of the twenty-three million individuals in our country, 0.5 square measure feminine, whose condition remains low? This is often the cause of the conservative taboos and therefore the illiteracy of the individuals here in the Asian country.

Growing in an exceedingly Nepali society for several years, I will simply say what gender discrimination is. I don’t have to be compelled to babble concerning somebody else, I will provide my very own example.

If my brother asks to travel out, he simply gets permission however after I raise identical, I’m questioned what, where, why am I going out? This is often what discrimination is. This is often all as a result of individuals believe that we have a tendency to females don’t seem to be powerful enough like males.

Females from developed countries have reached the social level of male and progressed loads, however what concerning our country Nepal? The square measure they equally treated? The square measure they caged and have restricted options? The square measure they supplied with all their basic rights? My answer could be a massive “NO”.  Many therefore the thousands of girls in Asian country square measure still suffering needlessly nowadays.

Discrimination starts kind the day once they apprehend that the baby within the mother’s uterus is feminine. Individuals abort the woman kid. Ladies square measure burnt alive by their in-laws if she offers birth to a lady kid and additionally if she doesn’t bring any gift from her folks.

There square measure several cases wherever many woman square measures mentally tortured like girl trafficking, violence, vice crime, early wedding etc. This square measure the large problems caused thanks to gender discrimination and are that the cause of the underdevelopment of our country as an entire.

The fact in some components of our country is devastating. To people who scan this text, focusing on the feminine readers, we have a tendency to square measure relatively additional educated and lucky enough that we will a minimum of write such articles, post it and specific our feelings.

Thus, therein sense we’ve some power in our hand, the flexibility to fight with the society for the rights of girls and against the discrimination. it’s United States of America WHO has to be compelled to initiate and build people be part of United States of America, bring an amendment to the position of the feminine.

Till and unless every single lady becomes economically and socially capable, the discrimination can ne’er stop. the simplest thanks to building individuals understand that feminine square measure equally capable is by the United States of America setting associate example being less attackable and powerful than boys and competitive with boys for the positive amendment of the society. It’s a challenge for all ladies like the United States of America to up-lift the females WHO square measure underprivileged from each single very little thing.

History of girls discrimination in Nepal

Nepal being a preponderantly agricultural society, the senior feminine member vies a commanding role at intervals the family by dominant resources, creating crucial planting and harvest selections, and crucial the expenses and budget allocations. Nonetheless, women’s lives remained focused on their ancient roles —taking care of most home chores, attractive water, and animal fodder, and doing farm work.

Their standing in society was principally dependant on their husbands’ and parents’ social and economic positions. That they had restricted access to markets, productive services, education, healthcare, and native government. Deficiency disease and economic condition hit ladies hardest. Ladies sometimes worked tougher and longer than men. Against this, ladies from high-toned families had maids to require care of most home chores and different menial work and so worked so much not up to men or ladies in lower socio-economic teams.

However economic prosperity aside, deciding was left to the boys within the family. The economic contribution of girls was substantial, however mostly unmarked as a result of their ancient role was taken with no consideration.

Once used, their wages unremarkably were 25 not up to those paid to men. In most rural areas, their employment outside the home usually was restricted to planting, weeding, and harvest. In urban areas, those migrating from rural areas or with a lower economic standing were used in domestic and ancient jobs, further as within the government sector, principally in low-level positions.

One tangible live of women’s standing was their academic attainment. Though the constitution offers ladies equal academic opportunities, several social, economic, and cultural factors contributed to lower enrollment and better dropout rates for ladies. Illiteracy obligatory the best hindrance to enhancing civil rights and standing for ladies.

They were caught in an exceedingly vicious circle obligatory by the patriarchal society. Their inferiority hindered their education, and therefore the lack of education, in turn, constricted their standing and position.

Though the feminine skill rate has improved perceptibly over the years, the extent within the early Nineteen Nineties fell so much in need of the male level. The extent of academic attainment among feminine youngsters of rich and educated families was a lot of over that among feminine youngsters of poor families. This category inequality in academic attainment was additionally true for boys. In Nepal, as in several societies, education was heavily class-biased.

In the early Nineteen Nineties, an on the spot correlation existed between the extent of education and standing. Educated ladies had access to comparatively high-status positions within the government and personal service sectors, and that they had a far high status than uneducated ladies.

This general rule was additionally applicable at the social group level than at the home level. At intervals the family, an informed lady failed to essentially hold the next standing than her uneducated counterpart. Additionally, at intervals, the family, a woman’s standing, particularly a daughter-in-law’s standing, was additional closely tied to her husband’s authority and to her parental family’s wealth and standing than the rest.

Constitution and laws:

The Constitution of Nepal 2015 was built up in light of the decade-long clash of the People’s War, asserting that Nepal will receive federalism. The endorsement of the constitution was optimized so as to satisfy 10 years old peace duty and concentrate on remaking in light of the 2015 Nepal Earthquake. The new report built up the limits of seven states, yet discussion encompasses whether Nepal ought to be ethnically outlined.

Deependra Jha, a Supreme Court attorney situated in Kathmandu, guarantees that there is an unequal portrayal of ethnic gatherings, expressing that “the appointive framework should be improved. Express No. 2, with a populace of 5.4 million, and express No, 6, with a populace of 1.5 million, will each have a break even with the portrayal of eight seats.

The slope commanded political class has gerrymandered on limit issues to guarantee that Khas Arya, upper position slope individuals, remain a greater part in six out of seven government states.” also, parliament is currently chosen by a little relative portrayal than some time recently, 45 percent contrasted with 58 percent after the People’s War.

Notwithstanding, the corresponding portrayal framework has advanced equivalent portrayal of indigenous and low-standing gatherings get chose and the new constitution debilitates measure up to the portrayal.

With respect to ladies, the constitution denies the capacity for ladies to pass citizenship onto their kids, yet men have for all intents and purposes no boundaries to pass citizenship onto their kids. A remote mate of a Nepali man can get Nepali citizenship not long after the marriage; be that as it may, there is no such arrangement for outside mates of Nepali ladies.

In this manner, single Nepali ladies or those wedded to an outside mate are not ready to pass citizenship onto their kids, which makes a developing gathering of stateless youngsters without ensured access to rights and benefits, for example, instruction and human services. Along these lines, 2.1 million individuals will stay stateless in Nepal, and in view of the new constitution, that number is relied upon to develop.

Discrimination between boy and girl in Nepal

Young ladies and ladies in Nepal, and particularly those living in rustic zones, keep on facing separation and savagery because of the man-centric culture and their absence of information and aptitudes, mental help, and financial openings.

In Part 3 of the Constitution of Nepal, under Fundamental Rights and Duties, Article 18 alludes “To one side to Equality”. Be that as it may, practically speaking this “right” is constrained to the paper it is composed on.

In spite of huge endeavors from the Government of Nepal, worldwide offices, non-legislative associations and common society associations, Nepali young ladies and ladies keep on facing major financial separation

On the off chance that a family has a possibility of sending one of their kids to a non-public school, it would more likely than not be a kid and not a young lady. Young men are urged to talk their psyches and get advanced education and aptitudes for business, while young ladies are advised to be meek and do what their folks, families or gatekeepers need. As youngsters, young ladies are informed to think regarding their future marriage

As per an article by the State Department (Nepal 2016 Human Rights Report) “Early and constrained marriage, and assault and abusive behavior at home against ladies, including share related passing, remains a difficult issue.”

As more Nepalese men leave their country looking for work, the ladies—particularly in provincial zones—have started to play a bigger part in the public eye. Indeed, even with these newly discovered duties, the ladies of Nepal stay caught in the cycle of destitution and gender-based disparity that has tormented the nation for ages. In Nepal, a lady can run a ranch yet have no entrance to the benefits the land yields.

Nepal’s economy depends to a great extent on outside guide, and notwithstanding the enormous advance since the 1990s, 40 percent of the populace keeps on living underneath the destitution line. That number declined by 11 percent by and large since the mid-90, yet this still abandons 33% of every single Nepalese tyke living under such conditions.

Joblessness drives a huge number of Nepalese to relocate to neighboring India looking for an approach to accommodate their families. Lamentably, the open fringe permitting this relocation likewise renders human trafficking, for both sexual and hard-work purposes, substantially less demanding.

The trafficking of an expected 200,000 Nepalese ladies has filled massage parlors crosswise over India. Somebody known to the family regularly traps the casualties with the guarantee of a well-paying occupation. In different cases, ladies are basically hijacked and carried over the Nepalese fringe into India. Low-paid fringe police are effectively influenced—an issue lobbyist bunches at present focus with handy preparing for the police in regards to how to detect a casualty of trafficking.

Mishandle additionally takes after ladies who relocate enthusiastically to nations like Lebanon. Under the Kafala framework, one manager gets the work licenses, which means ladies who set out leave a damaging business chance expulsion. Since legitimate work pays close to nothing, assuming any, compensation, numerous Nepalese vagrants swing to the illicit casual area. The Nepalese government has responded with substantial confinements on ladies’ movement and relocation to the nation.

Proof recommends that the extension of ladies’ rights can calm a nation from neediness sooner. However, generally, sexual orientation imbalance has been instilled in Nepalese society.

Chhaupadi, the act of compelling a ladies in the monthly cycle or having as of late brought forth live separated from the family until the point when the draining closures, is as yet rehearsed all through the western and focal areas of Nepal. Inside the Nepalese family, ladies can’t live exclusively, which debilitates casualties of local mishandle who may some way or another leave. Barely any ladies report mishandling or trafficking to police.

The eventual fate of the Nepalese ladies requires tending to the two primary components of her misery: monetary and sexual orientation based imbalance. Microloans offered to rustic ladies turn out to be one technique to battle the enticement of dishonestly charming employments abroad. Survivors of trafficking have likewise gotten such advances.

In 2007, the Nepalese government established the Human Trafficking and Transportation Act, yet without appropriate execution, the Act neglects to fill its need. The issue requests promote universal consideration, and expanded money related autonomy for ladies in Nepal.

A portion of the significant reasons for sex discrimation or Gender Inequality is:

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  3. Essay On Gender Discrimination in Nepal in Nepali Language

    We've written this essay on Gender Discrimination in Nepal in nepali language for students to help with thier homework. Here, you'll find essay/nibandha about Gender Discrimination in Nepal. This short essay is useful for students of all classes. Take this as refrence and write essay on Gender Discrimination in Nepal in your own language.

  4. PDF Gender Discrimination in Nepal

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  5. PDF Overview of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Nepal

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  11. PDF Gender Discrimination in Nepal: Does It Vary Across ...

    Journal of Contemporary Sociological Issues, Volume 1, Issue 2 (2021), pp. 61-82 doi: 10.19184/csi.v1i2.25592 Published online August 2021 Gender Discrimination in Nepal: Does It Vary Across Socio-

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    Brief Essay on Gender in Nepal - A Personal View. Cai J. Heath. Nestled high in the Himalayas between the emerging economic superpowers of India and China, Nepal lags far behind its maturing older brothers. At times in Nepal's history the country played the clever trader between it's two neighbours, at times it was threatened by invasion.

  17. essay on gender discrimination in nepali language

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  18. Forms and patterns of social discrimination in Nepal: a report

    To highlight the existing forms and patterns of social discrimination experienced by people of Nepal on the grounds of their caste, ethnicity, gender, and religion-based identities, 2. To draw attention to the differences of social discrimination experienced by people of the aforementioned social categories, 3.

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    Abstract. There is a significant amount of literature on the role of parental gender preferences in determining the level of education expenditure for children. In this study, I examine the effects of such preferences on parents' education expenditure in Nepal. Using longitudinal data from three Nepal Living Standards Surveys, I apply several decomposition methods to determine the level of ...

  20. Gender Equality and Social Inclusion

    Overview. Gender equality and social inclusion is one of the biggest and most persistent challenges facing Nepal and many of the South Asian countries. In practice, this means the fruits of development are spread unevenly across ethnic, gender and geographic categories. Vulnerabilities and inequalities are exacerbated by geographic and ...

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    What are the disadvantages of gender equality in Nepal?In Nepal, the violence against ladies is rampant. Many analysis comes in the Kingdom of Nepal have indicated that 66 % of girls have endured verbal abuse, thirty-three % emotional abuse, whereas 77 % of the perpetrators were relations (UNICEF 2001).

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