Phulmaya Chepang, who was deprived of social security benefits due to her inability to obtain citizenship, finally obtained citizenship after five years of trying.
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Her hair is turning white, her cheeks are already wrinkled. On Friday, 72-year-old Phulmaya Chepang received her Nepali citizenship certificate for the first time.
Her face lit up as soon as she received her citizenship. After Makawanpur Assistant Chief District Officer Mohanraj Joshi handed over the citizenship, she looked at Ward Chairman Udas Bloon and said in Chepang dialect, 'Dah Budha Bhatta Bangna' (Now you will get old age allowance).' She had not received social security allowance until now due to not having citizenship.
Phulmaya from Kailash Rural Municipality-7 Khanidanda had come to Hetauda for the first time in her life. She had reached the administration office barefoot and her feet were cracked. Not understanding Nepali, she was even afraid to enter the office of the Assistant District Officer.
She felt at ease only after Ward Chairman Bloon took her by the hand and led her inside. After receiving her citizenship, the smile returned to her face. She was urging her grandchildren who were with her to return home soon in the Chepang language.
Phulmaya, a mother of seven children and grandmother of 23 grandchildren, had reached the ward office five years ago to seek a recommendation for citizenship. But the process could not proceed as she could not gather the necessary documents. Her husband, Thule Chepang, had died a decade ago. Since her parents and siblings were also absent, she was unable to gather the necessary evidence.
After news broke that Phulmaya had not received citizenship, Ward Chairman Blon himself became active. After gathering the necessary documents and recommending her, he brought her to the District Administration Office on Friday and granted her citizenship. Her three sons and four daughters had already obtained citizenship long ago.
She had also shared her pain of not receiving citizenship with the candidates who had reached the village during the campaign for the House of Representatives elections on February 21. She currently lives with her youngest son. Her son is in Chitwan for employment, while her daughter-in-law uses the money she earns as a daily wage laborer to buy corn flour and run the household.
Along with Phulmaya, 53-year-old Thulimaya Chepang of Kailash Rural Municipality-7 also obtained citizenship on Friday. According to Govindaram Chepang, president of Nepal Chepang Association, about 35 percent of the Chepang community in Kailash and Raksirang Rural Municipality of Makawanpur alone are still without citizenship. Especially many Chepangs above the age of 60 have not obtained citizenship and are not able to receive social security allowance.
According to Rajkumar Malla, president of Raksirang Rural Municipality, most of the Chepang community is not interested in obtaining citizenship unless it is absolutely necessary. 'If mobile camps are conducted in remote settlements, many citizens will obtain citizenship,' he said.
The Chepang community is not only facing the problem of citizenship, but also of not having any legal documents. The literacy rate in this community is only about 30 percent. According to the 2078 BS census, there are 84,364 Chepangs in Nepal. Of these, 23,650 live in Makawanpur and 35,637 in Chitwan. The Chepang community is found to be residing in 26 districts of the country.
