Birth is a beginning…not an end, unlike how the Caste System in Nepal treats it.
Something I have been curious to learn more about for a while: Why are Nepalis so defensive when it comes to comments about, or criticisms of, their beliefs or cultural practices? And why is one of the objections always, "You can't view it through Western lenses"? Here's an example of one such instance which got me scratching my head...again.
Why do most of the contestants and winners of Miss Nepal beauty pageant belong to BCN (Bahun Chhetri Newar) trio of ethnicities?
My tentative answer is that they are the most privileged groups in the country, and the pageant is of the BCN, by the BCN, for the BCN!
This series is about Nepal needing a revolution…a revolution of the mind.
Here’s more of one of many MANY reasons why.
This section from Unleashing Nepal describes how the Birta and Jagir systems implemented by Prithvi Narayan Shah created cultural practices and values and shaped some of the attitudes of the upper caste males of the Brahmin, Chhettri and some Newar castes, which, still prevalent in one form or another, has been and continues to also be an impediment to social, economic and political progress. (Another consequence of the systems were to impoverish and marginalize the indigenous population of the country.)
In the highly patriarchal Nepali society with very low level -- as well as low quality -- of education of the population, maintaining the status quo benefits the hill so-called high caste Hindu men, the social, economic and political elite.
Over 60% of Nepali women believe that a mother-in-law is justified in verbally abusing and threatening her daughter-in-law for any one of six reasons!