The past cloud of Indian sexism has lifted slightly, women in Nepal appear to be freer. They don't hurry about, covered up, in perpetual fear of unwanted advances, or rape. Maybe they don't have to, Nepali men seem to be far less 'rapey'. (If this doesn't sit in the dictionary the adjective implies situations where men are either threatening, strange or make single minded advances)
Many young Nepali women dress in tight jeans, T-shirts, lipstick, mascara. Yes men like that, it shows off the breasts, but in India as victims they would be blamed for their loose western morals. Or they wear western dresses when they go out. They go out! They can go and drink with men without being the lamb walking into a wolf pit. They can smile at strangers without worrying that this could be fatally mistaken as an invitation (one of my favourite discoveries on entering Tamil Nadu). Here I have already encountered the story of the village community which took domestic violence seriously, even if this is isolated.
This is a big statement to make, but it's not my discovery alone. Single female travelers remark on it, this is a place they can travel alone without the persistent consciousness of their safety. Where as in India they would expect continuous stares and advances in the male dominated streets, here they are less noticed. Now clearly I'm using exaggerations, but this is the clarity following the escape from a great cloud. Of course Indian women are not universally oppressed, while it is believed the rates of sexual violence are high, and police enforcement low, this is the second largest country by population in the world. In the big cities and in the south, women don't have to stare at the floor. All direct experience is ultimately anecdotal, but from a growing sample.
Ultimately this freedom may be limited to the cities, where I spend most of my time, and where women can stay in education. In the villages it seems the fate of biology returns, women marry young, and have children.
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