Madhesi Dalit Women’s Experience with ‘Development’ and its Limitations in Nepal

In the study of development, the thoughts, viewpoints, and overall experience of beneficiaries contribute a humanitarian viewpoint to an often abstracted and speculative realm of study. This research focuses on Dalit women in the Madhesh province of Nepal and their experiences with development, thereby providing context to beneficiaries' and non-beneficiaries expectations and desires regarding development, as well as the unresolved challenges faced by Dalit women despite development efforts. Madhesi Dalit women are the focus of this research as their intersectional identities place them in a uniquely challenging position to attain equal treatment and opportunity, and these women, in particular, are often left out of existing literature and are unfairly generalized under larger umbrellas of social groups such as Dalits or women when in reality Madhesi Dalit women are found to be those most disadvantaged.123 The methodology used for data collection in this research is accumulated through primary sources, including one- on-one interviews, participant observation, and focus group discussions. This research provides context to the relationship that Madhesi Dalit women have to development, revealing that across participant groups ranging from women actively involved in development to those not involved in development there is a general understanding of development as a range of social, political, educational, health, and economic models. This research concludes that monolithic development practices fail to address their needs due to the fact they are socially excluded in multiple aspects of life. As a result, development efforts that fail to address the unique and complex needs of marginalized groups facing triple discrimination—based on caste, region, and gender. Findings emphasize the importance of an even distribution of integrating economic development with social capital, as participants expressed their desire for economic development as a balance to social capital development in order to address the strain caused by poverty in their communities and the social exclusions that exacerbate such poverty. The request for economic forms of development originated from both financial needs and from observation of development occurring outside of their community, creating additional anxiety of being left out of development efforts. This research contributes to the existing development literature, providing beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries insights into development efforts as a recognition that, ultimately, it is the human experiences and wishes that should inform development efforts as organizations whose purpose is humanitarian aid.