Open Secrets

(Please note this is information gathered when I was in Nepal a year ago)

A small group of youngsters gather in a small corner, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd in Dillibazar. They pass a packet and a bottle among themselves. All of them pop in a small tablet and gulp it down with alcohol.

Suddenly the appearance of a boy hushes the group. The boy comes straight to his brother and asks him to come home. Instead, the elder one persuades his sibling to join the group and imitate the seniors.

"My brother told it was fun to have the tablet so I tried it out," said 13-year-old Sanjiv Ghimire, after taking a tablet. When he talked to me he was already under the influence of the drug, and was having a "kind of weird feeling"

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Please note this was published in The Kathmandu Post, August 1, 2003.

Unlike even a decade ago, Nepal’s youth are no longer shy when it comes to pre-marital sex. A 1999 survey by Valley Research Group showed that one in every four adolescent admitted to having their first sexual experience at age 16.

While education and growing encroachment of pop culture riding on the back of satellite television and films have contributed to changing sexual mores, teens and the young are also becoming more aware of sexually transmitted diseases. This awareness is slowly being translated into safer sex practices, such as using condoms.

A result of this awareness is that, more and more young people are now carrying condoms in their pockets or purses. Among them are a growing number of young women who often carry condoms in case their partner forgets.

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There are many things that you cannot do as a Nepali girl. In some aspects, Nepal is a lot freer and I will talk about this in detail some other time. But, today the focus will be on the conservative side. Having lived in Adelaide, Australia for three years (between the age of 13 and 16) I did not realise how much changes there would be in Nepal once you become a 'woman' or 'young girl'.

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Hi Everyone!
First, I would like to thank you for visiting this site.
I just want to give a brief backgroud of this blog and what I hope to achieve. Nepal today, and when I say Nepal, I talk about the 'modernised' nepal, is facing a social crisis. On one hand we are trying to preserve our culture and heritage but we still want to move with the world today. This has caused lots of confusion amongst the youth as they try to find an identity that encorporates Nepali and 'global' values.

When I came to Nepal after living in Australia, I was surprised with how rapidly Nepali society is changing. It was an interesting journey for me in those five years to find my identity as a Nepali. I dont think I have still discovered this. It is a continuing process.
I am not even sure what defines a 'Nepali'. For instance is a youngster that has grown up abroad, doesnt speak Nepali yet follows the religious customs as much a Nepali as a youngster in Kathmandu that speaks Nepali yet does not give a damn about religous customs? It is very hard to say. However, instead of focusing what is right and wrong, I think this blog should bring out the issues, the difficulties and struggles within Nepal and even for those living abroad as they adjust to new societies and ways of life.
I encourage everyone to give their comments and ideas. This is a forum for all of us to try and hopefully understand the Nepal of today.
Thankyou, Suvecha Pant