Girls in the war

A visit to the hill districts of Dailekh, Kalikot and Jumla in west Nepal in February 2003, three weeks after the declaration of the ceasefire between government and Maoist forces, reveals that the much-touted female involvement in the Maoist movement is ethically problematic for the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M). An analysis of conversations with girl cadres of the CPN (M) also reveals that the unresponsiveness of the state in post-1990 Nepal, and the limited ability of civil society to press for change, has greatly helped to attract girls to the logic of violent revolution.

Manjushree Thapa is the author of eight books of fiction and nonfiction, and has produced several works of literary translation. Her essays and editorials have appeared in the New York Times, the London Review of Books, the Globe and Mail and elsewhere. Her latest novel is All of Us in Our Own Lives.

Published on:

01 Jun 2003, 7:26 am

The girl had a soft, childish face and a singsong voice. "What do you think they will do?" she asked the driver of our pickup truck. "The army will recognise us at once if we go by ourselves. There is a ceasefire, and both sides have said they will not do anything to each other, but what does that mean?"

She wanted a lift past the army check post into Dailekh bazaar.

The driver hesitated. The girl leaned against his window, playing coyly with the side mirror. Glancing at the back, she noted an empty seat. "Both sides have said they will not do anything to each other, but what does that mean?" she said again, in an entreating voice. "You know they will take one look at our shoes and recognise us". Women of the CPN (M) wore closed shoes so that they may walk easily, and when need be, run. Local women wore sandals.

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Nepal

Women