Causes and consequences of domestic violence against women in badi community (a case study of Narayan municipality Dailekh)

Abstract

n this study, I explore how Badi women are suffering from domestic violence and what are the root causes of domestic violence. I specifically explore the causes and consequences of domestic violence against women, especially the Badi women living in Dailekh district of Karnali Province in Nepal. The key question of the study is to explore the major causes and consequences of the domestic violence among Badi women. The Research was conducted in Dailekh in 2019 and the data was further updated through follow-up field visits in 2023/2024. Conceiving the ideas from the relevant literatures, I employed Michel Foucault’s theory of ‘power’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘sexuality’; to understand how social norms have influenced the gendered practice regarding domestic violence against women. I have taken in person interviews with 40 Badi women who furnished the primary data. These primary data have been collected through interview schedule, case studies and key informant interviews. The secondary data and information have been collected through government publications, Rural Municipalities publications and data base information systems, websites, I/NGOs/CBOs reports, and relevant journals. I used interview, virtual conversations, and other field notes to inscribe the stories of the violence survivors. Based on the findings, I argue that there is no single cause of domestic violence against Badi women. In Dailekh and in Nepal, violence against women is related with sociocultural and economics grounds.It is because there is a high degree of social tolerance of violence against women in Nepal. However, with the economic independence, changing attitude towards gender and sexuality, fast paced development, internet, technology and media influenced society in which socio-cultural norms and values are in changing mode, cultural changes are also observed in the mind-set of men and women in Nepal.