If she has to go out of the house in the morning, Suhana Bishwakarma here checks whether the road is empty or not. And she pays attention to whether there are people coming and going. The only reason for being so alert is to avoid the 'eyes of people' and reach the destination.

‘The roads of Birendranagar are not a convenience for me,’ she said, ‘they are not even public places, they are a potential danger zone.’

It has been three years since she left Kohalpur in Banke and came to Surkhet. She said that she had to leave Kohalpur to live confidently as a daughter. She was born as a man. Her family also raised her as a son. However, after entering adolescence, her mind, body and identity took on a different rhythm of life. Although it was not easy for her to become a ‘daughter from a son’, her family gradually accepted her identity. ‘But society did not accept it,’ she said.

Her self-confidence increased. Now she openly says that she belongs to a sexual and gender minority community. In this way, the more she opened up, the doors of opportunity gradually closed for her. ‘I can’t find work these days,’ she said, ‘I live by dancing and singing in the market during festivals and sometimes begging.’

The suffering of such minorities is not limited to this. Being teased, using abusive words and being ignored while walking on the road has become their daily routine. Struggling with society for identity and easy acceptance, they are becoming victims of regular violence. ‘Even vehicles coming from behind don’t stop when they see us,’ Suhana laments, ‘They speak indiscriminately. There is no place to fight back. Even vehicles that stop from behind look at us and then pass by.’

Sexual and gender minorities like Suhana have many such painful experiences. They consider public places in Karnali Province unsafe. They face daily insults. However, this violence does not appear to be included in the police statistics. According to the Karnali Province Police Office, no formal complaint has been filed by this community so far. Suhana says that she has not been able to go to the police to tell them about the violence because she feels uncomfortable. “It doesn’t feel easy to complain,” she said. “I feel embarrassed to go to the police. I can’t mix with others. And how can I go to the police?” She said that she has not been able to go to the police yet, even though she is advised to file a complaint when she goes to an event. Laxmi Thapa, 32, has been living in Birendranagar for two years to establish her identity. But she has not been able to open up to her family and society. “We are struggling for our identity,” she said. “There is no accounting for our problems.” They look down on us for dressing like men even though we are women.' She says it would be easier if we had managed our income and employment. She said that even though we look for many jobs to make a living, we do not get jobs easily. People from such communities say that they need skill-based programs to make a living more than usual.

Anjali, 36, of Birendranagar-6, is a sexual and gender minority who has been out in society since BC 2067. She has experienced some changes in social behavior compared to before. However, she feels that such changes are only superficial. 'The root of the violence against us is economic weakness,' she said. 'Organizations invite us to programs, make us speak, take photos.' However, when it comes to employment and skill-based training, our names are removed. We are used only for participation in the programs.'

Gender minorities believe that if they get the opportunity to earn skills and earn money, they will not have to go around begging. ‘If we could be self-reliant, our behavior would change on its own,’ says Anjali.

On the one hand, due to low social acceptance, most sexual and gender minorities are forced to suffer violence, while the lack of reliable income-generating options and rejection by employers make them even more vulnerable and vulnerable financially.

For this group, who are struggling to make ends meet, the basic civil rights written in the constitution are like a fig leaf. They say that they have no choice but to endure the violence they have been subjected to. She says that many people look at them differently and tease them and speak rudely, so some feel like filing a complaint. Anjali has the experience of letting some people go after apologizing. ‘We tell the police we meet on the road against those who speak rudely and behave badly while walking. They do not hesitate to bow their feet and we let them go out of pity,’ she said.
She said that it is easier to tolerate and move forward in silence than to fight with others. She says that she has not reached the relevant bodies for complaints from her community due to shame.

More victims of digital violence

Cybercrime complaints have been increasing every year across the country (especially in urban areas). Due to this, gender and sexual minorities in Karnali are also suffering from it. The violence they face on the streets has not decreased, and in recent years, digital violence has also been added to it. ‘I get calls from unknown numbers on Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp,’ says Suhana, ‘Show your body, otherwise we will make photos and videos and send them to your family.’

According to the data of the Karnali Provincial Police Office, cybercrime complaints are increasing every year. In Karnali, 192 complaints were filed against cybercrime in the fiscal year 2079/80, while the number reached 348 last year, according to the records of the provincial police. In the first five months of the current fiscal year (until Mangsir), 205 such complaints have been registered. Police say that not only women but also men are victims of cybercrime. But victims from sexual and gender minority communities are still afraid to file complaints. ‘Digital violence has made them more isolated,’ said an official from the Karnali Provincial Police Office.

It seems that sexual and gender minorities are not even afraid to file complaints about violence against them with the state due to fear of humiliation. According to the Karnali Provincial Police Office, the highest number of complaints in the province are of sexual and domestic violence. The victims of such incidents are mainly women and children. In Karnali, there were 294 cases of sexual violence and 998 cases of domestic violence registered last year. There are zero complaints registered by sexual and gender minorities.
But this lack of complaints is not an indication that violence is zero, but rather a sign of fear that complaints will not be filed, says psychologist Sharmila BC, who has been working in the field of gender rights for a long time.

She says that citizens of this community are finally opening up to a limited number of people. ‘They used to open up only after they got too involved and did not dare to go to the police with complaints,’ she says. ‘We have also included them in the human rights protection network of the district and province. We have also included them in committees working in the field of other rights. They can now raise their problems in the meetings here.’

She said that they have been working on solutions after listening to their problems. According to her, solutions have been found for some of them when they take their problems to the relevant bodies.

DSP Mohanjung Budthapa, spokesperson of the District Police Office, Surkhet, says that the police have been conducting various public awareness programs for women, children, and sexual and gender minority communities to ensure that violence does not go unpunished.

He said that sexual and gender minority communities have also been urged to come forward with complaints. He informed that four people from this community have also been selected from Surkhet among the election police recruited for the House of Representatives elections.

According to advocate Geeta Koirala, violence in Karnali is not limited to physical violence. Mental, economic, social and digital violence is not allowing women to move forward. ‘Continuous violence breaks women’s confidence, gradually makes them crazy,’ she said, ‘their ability to do business, take leadership and enter public life weakens.’ She says that the recent increase in suicide abetment cases in the courts is a sign of this.

A 55-year-old woman from Birendranagar shared her experience of becoming a victim of depression when she stepped forward to do something for the women of the society. ‘I have become mentally weak without realizing it after enduring the stigma, accusations and abuse,’ she said, ‘I have come to a point where I have to take medicine.’ She says that self-reliance and leadership in any field have become a dream due to the treatment meted out to women.

A woman living in Birendranagar-2 says that her career has been ruined due to violence. ‘I endured violence for 7 years after my marriage. Unable to bear it anymore, I filed for divorce,’ she said, ‘But it is as if everything in my life has ended. I have to start from scratch again.’

She said that when she filed the case, she saw many sisters like her who had been left behind due to violence. She said that women’s lives are devastated due to violence. ‘It is necessary for government and non-government bodies to come up with planned programs for women who are victims of violence,’ she said, ‘We cannot do just a nominal program. We have studied. But violence has not allowed us to rise.’

Tikaram KC, a member of the gender and sexual minority community, complains that there are no skill-based programs for them from government and non-government bodies. He said that the government has not paid attention to programs that make them self-reliant. Thapa says that although various organizations have provided training, there are no income-generating programs for them.

The government has programs, but no results.

According to Bina Thapa, an official at the Ministry of Social Development of Karnali, the provincial government is running skill development, capacity building and social security programs targeting women, gender and sexual minorities. ‘The social evils affect women and sexual minorities the most,’ she says, ‘that is why we are working by targeting them.’ However, due to the lack of a binding coordination system between ministries, the work has not been effective. Sometimes, she admits that the same program is repeated and some communities are left out.

Organizations like Empowered Women in Karnali and Samriddhi Nepal have started efforts to make women who have been subjected to violence self-reliant through skills, entrepreneurship and psychosocial support. There are examples of some women starting small businesses. However, access has not yet been reached as per the needs. Violence is not an isolated incident for women and sexual minorities in Karnali, it is like a part of daily life. They are not completely safe at home, on the streets, in society and in the digital world.

Various agencies have been conducting public awareness programs for this community. But they have not introduced concrete income-generating programs. Anjali, who is also the chairperson of Karnali Indreni Awaz Sanstha, said, ‘Everyone says that they will bring result-oriented programs before us. But other than public awareness programs, no other programs have been implemented.’ She said that discussions about this community were held in various schools with the one lakh rupees provided by Birendranagar Municipality in 2081. ‘The state has policies and programs. However, they have not reached the lives of gender and sexual minorities,’ said Pitambar Dhakal, former dean of Madhya Paschim University and civic leader, ‘Identity has been opened, but they are still hostage to opportunities.’