What are the impacts of the child grant policy in Nepal on Dalit women? A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Policy makers worldwide have been capitalizing on women’s altruism to address household poverty. Poverty reduction resources mobilized through women have been proven to be more effective and efficient than the resources mobilized through men in terms of addressing household poverty in general and child poverty in particular. However, very few studies have been conducted to understand the contribution of such policies to women’s empowerment (or disempowerment). This article examines the impact of the Child Grant policy in Nepal on Dalit women who receive cash transfers that aim to improve Dalit children’s health outcomes. The experiences of Dalit Women in rural Dhading district, gleaned through qualitative interview and discussion methods, show that the policy has brought about some positive changes in the lives of Dalit women. However, the policy, on its own, has limited potential to destabilizing unequal gender relations within Dalit households. This study also found that policies and programs that support capacity building and political consciousness-raising would complement the Child Grant policy and empower Dalit women in a holistic way.

Keywords:

• Women’s empowerment
• social policy
• child grant policy
• Dalit women
• Nepal

Acknowledgments

My deep gratitude is to the participants of this study for sharing their time, and knowledge and experiences with me. I also want to thank Dr. Dan Woodman for supervising this research. Lastly, I am thankful to Dr. Iswari Pandey and Dr. Popular Gentle for their insightful comments, inputs, and suggestions on the draft of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 In traditional Nepali culture, women, after marriage, go to live with their husband and his family until they separate into nuclear families, which usually happens after they have children.

2 In most of Nepal’s rural areas, neighbors are closely connected and thus they know each other’s family dynamics in terms of managing resources.

3 The Child Saving Fund is a community program initiated by a community-based organization named Sana Kishan. The program intends to encourage parents, especially women to save money for their children up to 16 years of age. Parents contribute NRs 100 monthly to the fund until their child is 16.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tara Kumari Kanel

Tara Kumari Kanel is a development consultant and policy analyst, and a visiting scholar at Tribhuvan University in Nepal. She received her Master in Law from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and Master in Social Policy from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests include policy research and evaluation, governance, gender and social protection.