Introducing Phase 1 of the Caste Equality Project

Launched Summer 2022

• Full-ride scholarship support as they pursue Nepal’s 5-year Bachelor of Legislative Law, or LLB, degree (the degree required to become a lawyer in Nepal) in some of Nepal’s best colleges;
• Accommodation and food stipends;
• Extracurricular opportunities including fieldwork and participation in human rights programs;
• Mentorship opportunities with successful human rights lawyers;
• Leadership training;
• Opportunities to observe Nepal’s legal system in action;
• Introductions to legislators and other Nepali leaders;
• Internship placement support.

Support will continue as students prepare for and sit for the Nepali Bar Exam.

Update – May 2024

Cohort I:

Cohort One students have been matched with their individual mentors, and mentors and mentees attended a gathering on May 4, 2024. Mentors will provide personalized guidance through the remaining years of law school, engage the students in their own work, and provide internship opportunities in later years. We are very enthusiastic about their progress!

Update – January 2024

Cohort I:

One EDL student at National Law College participated in a Moot Court on January 1st, 2024. He won the Best Researcher Award at this event, and his team won the Best Memorial award.

A student-led panel discussion with three prominent lawyers from Dalit and other marginalized communities (Shankar Limbu, founder of the Lawyers Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples; Tek Tamrakar, UNDP PortfolioManager and a gold medalist—similar to summa cum laude—from Nepal Law Campus;and Ranjana Biswokarma, a government officer at the Patan High Court).

On January 4, 2024, Dignity Initiative organized a discussion on “Democracy, Restrictive Policies, and State Accountability.” The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Sanjeev Upreti, a writer and professor at Tribhuvan University, and our students participated actively in the interaction session that followed.

Cohort II:

Fifteen scored well enough to join EDL Cohort II, and they began classes on January 24, 2024. Cohort II is comprised of nine women and six men. Four of these students are attending National Law College in Kathmandu, seven are enrolled at Kathmandu’s Nepal Law Campus, and four are at Prithvi Narayan Campus in Pokhara. These are Nepal’s top law schools, all affiliated with Tribhuvan University.

They come from all of Nepal’s seven provinces: Lumbini (1), Madhesh (3), Bagmati (4), Sudurpashchim (3), Gandaki (1), Koshi (1) & Karnali (2). Students also represent four major Dalit subcastes: Bishwakarma (9), Pariyar (3), Mijar (1), and the most historically-excluded subcaste in Nepal, Madhesi Dalit (2).

Update – December 2023

On December 16th, 2023, a group of lawyers from the United States (Andrew Valentine, Lisa Dewey, Kristin Franceschi, and Roshan Bhattarai) visited Nepal and prepared a panel discussion for our EDL students. They shared their experiences accessing justice for marginalized groups in the U.S., and answered questions regarding issues like professional ethics, the importance of evidence, and more. Students reported that the program was highly motivating.

Update – October 2023

Cohort II:

The national law school entrance exam was held on October 7th, 2023. Of our original 28 Cohort 2 candidates, 23 appeared for the exam.

Update – August & September 2023

Cohort II:

Entrance prep classes began in early August and ran through the end of September, with a full mock exam held once a week to track student progress. During this time, as was the case in 2022, some students dropped out due to academic struggles and others withdrew due to health concerns or family emergencies.

Update – July 2023

Cohort II:

Over 160 students applied this year, with 107 of these shortlisted for interviews in late July. Of those interviewed, 28 were tapped to receive entrance exam prep support through NYF. When we conceptualized the EDL program, NYF committed to providing scholarship support to 30 Dalit law school students. Since the first cohort contains 16, we selected 14 for the second cohort.

Update – June 2023

Cohort I:

On June 21, 2023 nine of the ten Kathmandu-based EDL students from Cohort 1 visited Nepal’s Office of the Attorney General, where they enjoyed an hour-long round table with Nepal’s Deputy AG, Sandesh Shrestha.

During this initial semester, NYF provided each student with a new laptop to use during their studies, and ensured each of them knew about resources NYF was prepared to provide, should they become necessary. This includes student health and accident insurance for emergencies, as well as access to Ankur Counseling Center for mental health support.

These sixteen students have performed quite well in their coursework, with several students earning special recognition from their professors. One of our students was selected to serve as the Home Minister in a class-wide model parliamentary assembly role play project; he earned a special certificate for his excellent performance. Another student has been selected for the Model Provincial Assembly organized by Youth in Federal Discourse in Kathmandu. 

Cohort II:

The announcement call for Cohort II was released on June 22, 2023, and included a radio broadcast and YouTube video. 

Update – March 1, 2023

Cohort I:

Our first cohort of 16 Educating Dalit Lawyers (EDL) scholarship recipients started classes on Monday, February 27, 2023. They are attending the three best law campuses in Nepal, each affiliated with Tribhuvan University.

Each student is being paired with a mentor human rights lawyer, with immersive networking activities being organized in partnership with Dignity Initiative that will ensure these students receive exposure to Nepal’s legislative process in action and connections with individuals and organizations focused on improving the status of Dalit communities throughout the country.

Meanwhile, these students (who hail from each of Nepal’s seven provinces) are sharing their experiences with each other and gaining valuable insight into the broad issues facing Dalit communities in every corner of their nation. The friendships formed here will strengthen the work each will do as lawyers in the future.

Visit this blog post to read two student profiles: https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/educating-dalit-lawyers-update/

Update – December 13, 2022

Cohort I:

COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 caused significant disruption to Nepal’s educational system – especially the nationwide standardized testing schedule. Some of the impacts of this disruption are still ongoing, which, for our EDL students, meant that the competitive law school entrance exam was delayed for several months!

Our students have taken this delay in stride, eagerly taking advantage of the extended study time and enjoying the opportunity to become more familiar with life in Kathmandu.

We’re pleased to report that the students finally sat for this exam early in December. They are now waiting for their scores to appear, hopefully by mid-January. At that stage, we’ll be able to share some of the stories of the students who are receiving this full, enriched scholarship!

Update – August 3, 2022

Cohort I:

The student selection process is finally complete! 22 students have been selected and placed in hostels in Kathmandu to prepare for the law school entrance examination. Our hope is that at least 15 of these students will score enough to be eligible to enter into law school. On August 2nd, NYF held an orientation and introduction program at Olgapuri Village. We’re so excited to get started!

Update – July 8, 2022

Cohort I:

This program is in the application assessment phase. We have received over 100 applications from hopeful students from all seven of Nepal’s provinces. Our applicants have come from a strong mix of male and female candidates, with individuals coming from a wide variety of Dalit subcastes.

An assessment committee is now working through these applications. The committee is comprised of two NYF staff members, two Dignity Initiative members, and one unaffiliated education member, using a strict method of determining who our scholarship recipients will be. We are deeply committed to ensuring we balance all factors as equitably as possible as we make our selections, bearing in mind the unique strengths, challenges, triumphs, obstacles, and aptitudes of each candidate.

Our team will select 20 students who will come to Kathmandu to prepare to take Nepal’s rigorous law school entrance exam. The top 15 students will receive the full scholarship as part of the first cohort of the EDL program.

We do not yet have photos or stories to share for this program. We look forward to sharing more later in the summer and in the fall!

NYF is launching Educating Dalit Lawyers in partnership with Dignity Initiative, a Dalit-led NGO based in Kathmandu.

Dignity Initiative is devoted to advocating for the rights of the Dalit community through research, activism, policy advocacy, youth empowerment as well as critical engagement in public debate. The organization prides itself on providing Dalit Rights groups with appropriate data, evidence, and policy insights on key issues related to the Dalits.

Dignity Initiative was established by Dalit academics, researchers, writers and activists. The team is inclusive in terms of gender and caste/region within Dalit community.

Support for the Educating Dalit Lawyers program has been overwhelming during this launching phase. Thank you! This program is fully-funded through the first year (fall 2022-summer 2023), but we will need continuing support as the program grows.

NYF is always in need of unrestricted funding to ensure all of our programs are able to run smoothly, including those that are fully funded. If you would like to make a gift that makes an immediate impact, please make your donation without specifying a program.

If you would like to support Educating Dalit Lawyers in particular, we welcome your support!  Your EDL donation will provide a strong foundation for fall 2023-summer 2024!

NYF is currently raising funds in support of Educating Dalit Lawyers. One year of support for each student in this program costs approximately $4,000. To support these determined students, please donate now!

When asked “Where would you like your gift to have the most impact?”, write “Educating Dalit Lawyers.”

If you’d like to learn more about the court cases currently inspiring the Dalit Rights Movement, here are a few English-language resources to help you get started.

Please note that the stories below are only a few of the highest-profile cases—those receiving sufficient media coverage to be translated for publication in English. They represent a small fraction of the incidents of violence and discrimination faced by Nepal’s Dalit communities.

These are the kinds of cases our young law students are hoping to tackle in Nepal’s courts.

Rupa Sunar vs. Saraswati Pradhan: In Kathmandu in 2021, journalist Rupa Sunar was approved for an apartment, but the offer allegedly fell through when landlady Saraswati Pradhan learned Sunar belongs to a Dalit caste. This case is working its way through Nepal’s courts.

The Rakum West Massacre, 23 May 2020: Be warned, coverage of this crime is graphic and difficult to read. In a hilly region of Nepal, 21-year-old Nabaraj BK (a Dalit) and his 17-year-old girlfriend (from a higher caste) planned to elope against her family’s wishes. The groom’s 18-person wedding procession was ambushed on the way to the bride’s home in a nearby town. Survivors from this attack report that the bride’s entire village participated. When the police arrived on the scene, the 12 seriously-injured members of the wedding procession were arrested and interrogated. None of their attackers were detained or questioned. Only when members of Nabaraj BK’s village arrived to search for their loved ones did the police acknowledge the severity of the incident. Six young men (four of them Dalits) had been stoned to death and thrown in a river, including Nabaraj BK. There is evidence of an attempted cover-up by local police. Only after external pressure from the surrounding areas, and at the endless insistence of the families of those murdered, did the police begin an investigation. The incident was investigated by an external team sent by the national government. Thirty-four people have had charges filed against them, including members of the would-be bride’s family and elected village leaders. As of mid-2022, these cases are working their way through the courts.

Caste Based Discrimination Sees No Decline: Reflections on caste-based violence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dalit Killings Spark Outrage: Be warned, this article discusses graphic violence, including cases involving children. A Nepali journalist discusses high-profile cases involving casteist violence and speaks of the intersections with the Black Lives Matter movement amid the nationwide lockdowns.