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| ![](                    |   |                                         |
| media/image2.png){width |   |                                         |
| ="2.8506944444444446in" |   |                                         |
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| **Raising Dalit         |   |                                         |
| Awareness of the        |   |                                         |
| Constituent Assembly**  |   |                                         |
+-------------------------+---+-----------------------------------------+
| ##                      |   | > May 2007 -- Dalits are traditionally  |
|                         |   | > the most marginalized people in       |
|                         |   | > Nepal, with Hindu custom placing them |
|                         |   | > at the bottom of the caste ladder.    |
|                         |   | > Although they comprise an estimated   |
|                         |   | > 15 percent of the population, Dalits  |
|                         |   | > have minimal representation in        |
|                         |   | > governmental bodies. Furthermore, the |
|                         |   | > literacy rate in the Dalit community  |
|                         |   | > is a dismal 10 percent. Residing      |
|                         |   | > predominantly the Far Western         |
|                         |   | > Development Region, the Dalits have   |
|                         |   | > been one of Nepal's most              |
|                         |   | > conflict-affected groups during the   |
|                         |   | > 11-year Maoist insurgency. However,   |
|                         |   | > the seating of the Constituent        |
|                         |   | > Assembly (CA), which the government   |
|                         |   | > is committed to form as a condition   |
|                         |   | > of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement  |
|                         |   | > (CPA), will present the Dalit         |
|                         |   | > community with a critical opportunity |
|                         |   | > to voice its grievances of            |
|                         |   | > discrimination and social exclusion.  |
|                         |   | >                                       |
|                         |   | > With USAID/OTI assistance, beginning  |
|                         |   | > in early March\                       |
|                         |   | > 2007, the Nepal National Dalit Social |
|                         |   | > Welfare Organization (NNDSWO)         |
|                         |   | > organized a CA awareness campaign by  |
|                         |   | > mobilizing 25 peace facilitators. The |
|                         |   | > resulting activities included 221     |
|                         |   | > orientations on the CA for 6,630      |
|                         |   | > people in\                            |
|                         |   | > 5 districts in the Far Western Region |
|                         |   | > and 48 Village Development            |
|                         |   | > Committee-level dialogues. In         |
|                         |   | > addition,\                            |
|                         |   | > 33 performances of songs and dances   |
|                         |   | > on the CA were staged, as folk songs  |
|                         |   | > are an effective way to disseminate   |
|                         |   | > information in populations were       |
|                         |   | > literacy rates are low. More than     |
|                         |   | > 12,500 Dalits participated in the     |
|                         |   | > activities, and more than 3,000 CPA   |
|                         |   | > booklets and posters have been        |
|                         |   | > distributed.                          |
|                         |   | >                                       |
|                         |   | > The strong engagement and             |
|                         |   | > participation of women in this        |
|                         |   | > activity has been a major highlight   |
|                         |   | > of the campaign, and NNDSWO has       |
|                         |   | > mandated that its other activities    |
|                         |   | > devote at least an hour to CA-related |
|                         |   | > issues.                               |
|                         |   | >                                       |
|                         |   | > The tangible effect of the dialogues  |
|                         |   | > and orientations can be seen in the   |
|                         |   | > feedback received from the            |
|                         |   | > participants who feel that they have  |
|                         |   | > moved from ignorance about the CA and |
|                         |   | > the peace agreement to where they     |
|                         |   | > understand the issues with much more  |
|                         |   | > clarity. "After this program, I have  |
|                         |   | > realized that the King, the Maoists,  |
|                         |   | > the government, and the army are all  |
|                         |   | > under the constitution," said Mandira |
|                         |   | > Sarki, who participated in the        |
|                         |   | > orientation. This activity has        |
|                         |   | > increased the visibility of Dalit     |
|                         |   | > inclusion issues, as people of other  |
|                         |   | > castes now approach the knowledgeable |
|                         |   | > Dalits for information and materials  |
|                         |   | > on the CA.                            |
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| ![](m                   | > |                                         |
| edia/image3.jpeg){width |   |                                         |
| ="2.3333333333333335in" | * |                                         |
| height="2.1             | U |                                         |
| 13888888888889in"}![](m | S |                                         |
| edia/image4.jpeg){width | A |                                         |
| ="2.3569444444444443in" | I |                                         |
| height=                 | D |                                         |
| "1.5722222222222222in"} | / |                                         |
|                         | N |                                         |
|                         | E |                                         |
|                         | P |                                         |
|                         | A |                                         |
|                         | L |                                         |
|                         | * |                                         |
+-------------------------+---+-----------------------------------------+
| *In August 2006, the    |   |                                         |
| U.S. Agency for         |   |                                         |
| International           |   |                                         |
| Development's Office of |   |                                         |
| Transition Initiatives  |   |                                         |
| (OTI) began a 2-year,   |   |                                         |
| \$15,000,000 program in |   |                                         |
| Nepal to bolster the    |   |                                         |
| current peace process,  |   |                                         |
| strengthen governance   |   |                                         |
| mechanisms, and support |   |                                         |
| positive, nonviolent    |   |                                         |
| community engagement in |   |                                         |
| the country's           |   |                                         |
| political,\             |   |                                         |
| social, and economic    |   |                                         |
| future.*                |   |                                         |
|                         |   |                                         |
| *The objectives of the  |   |                                         |
| program are to:*        |   |                                         |
|                         |   |                                         |
| 1.  *Increase access to |   |                                         |
|     information and     |   |                                         |
|     diversify public    |   |                                         |
|     debate on issues    |   |                                         |
|     critical to the     |   |                                         |
|     political           |   |                                         |
|     transition, and*    |   |                                         |
|                         |   |                                         |
| 2.  *Increase           |   |                                         |
|     effectiveness of    |   |                                         |
|     key political       |   |                                         |
|     transition          |   |                                         |
|     institutions.*      |   |                                         |
+-------------------------+---+-----------------------------------------+
|                         |   |                                         |
+-------------------------+---+-----------------------------------------+
| ![](                    |   | *Contact: Gordon Shettle, Nepal Program |
| media/image5.png){width |   | Manager*                                |
| ="2.1493055555555554in" |   |                                         |
| height="0.25625in"}     |   | *e-mail: <gshettle@usaid.gov>;          |
|                         |   | telephone: (202) 712-1243*              |
|                         |   |                                         |
|                         |   | *Internet:                              |
|                         |   | [www.usaid.gov](http://www.usaid.gov/)  |
|                         |   | -- Keyword: OTI*                        |
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