Take 3: Daju, Bhai, and Uncle Show
This isn't about the constitution, amma kasam!
Hello, Namaste!
Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season by relaxing with your family and talking about the upcoming elections. Well, that’s what we are doing.
First things first, new episode alert!
Like the true “disrupters” we are, (sorry!) we are going against the holiday vibe and bringing you an episode on abortion rights. The first part of the two-part series on abortion rights talks about the cultural attitudes towards abortion and also brings to you a report by Shristi Shakya on the status of women when abortion was criminalised in Nepal.
This was supposed to be a lighthearted newsletter with fun memes and some news at the end, but our ‘newsworthy’ uncles just won't stop hogging the front pages of national dailies and our Twitter feeds - election or no election.
So, what wonderful feats result in our uncles getting so much visibility? What does it take for these Nepali men, who are frequently marred by controversies, to take over our newspaper headlines and Twitter timelines?
Not much, it seems.
In this week’s newsletter, we look at the mundane categories of news stories and newsmakers that are part of our so-called public and political discourse.
Ready, set, go!
The Relationships
Our OTP - former King G and Kamal Thapa - keep breaking up and then making up. We can’t keep up anymore.
Months later…
How can we forget Dr. Baburam Bhattarai whose love storiyaas with old and new shaktis ensure that the man is always in the news.
Bhetghaats and Chiyapaans
We hope our back-to-back meeting-loving uncles are watching their sugar levels.
What’s a chiyapaan without some hustle? ‘ दाइ,मेरो टिकट खोई ?’
The ‘वैचारिक’ Beat
वैचारिक मार्गचित्र
वैचारिक विचलन
वैचारिक आधार
The Ticketed Conflicts
So many news stories and hot takes about politicians and aspiring politicians and their same old ways of holding on to power.
And of course, Twitter had a field day with Rabindra Mishra swiping right on RPP. #विचारभन्दामाथिपद
त्यहि हो, अंकलको पेट चाहिँ नाबिग्रोस्!
Anyone and everyone who identifies as Bidesh bata Nepal banauna farkeka ‘kitaab premi’ uncles
Nepali daju bhais running the most influential newsrooms need to please stop fan-boying over these bideshi degree holder uncles, who use the same media management blueprint to further their political careers.
While our newspapers and Twitter timelines are filled with the most trivial of things male politicians do, female politicians rarely make it to the front page. If only our daju bhai and uncle editors set aside more resources and columns for stories that center on women, their takes, and their experiences. Saying that here is a list of articles we think you should read this week.
Voters favour women, party leaders don’t (The Kathmandu Post, Aakriti Ghimire)
UML party members said the selection is often based on the whims of a handful of political leaders of the respective committees. Despite the public willingness to vote for women in elections, as demonstrated by their good performance in the local elections, political parties are preventing women from rising up the political ladder, they said.
Wondering how the new Supreme Court verdict on abortion rights in India has expanded the scope of abortion rights? Read this explainer. How a Supreme Court verdict has significantly expanded scope of abortion rights in India (Scroll)
ब्याटरीवालाको कथा पढ्नुभयो त ?
मलाई ‘भैया’ भनेर नबोलाउनुहोला । मेरो नाम बालेमुन्ना हो । चौकमा सबले बाले भन्छन्, सिरिफ अम्माले भन्छिन् मुन्ना । तपाईं मलाई रेक्सा वा ब्याटरीवाला भन्न सक्नुहुन्छ । अब त मेरो नागरिकताको नाम पनि ब्याटरी होजस्तो लाग्छ के गर्ने बालेबाट ब्याटरी जो भइगएँ !
ब्याटरी नं ५५५० (Kantipur Koseli, Shivani Singh Tharu)
‘म कथाको हिरो हुन सक्छु ?’ (Kantipur Koseli, Kailash Rai)
नेपाली समाज निर्माणमा महत्त्वपूर्ण र हस्तक्षेपकारी भूमिका खेलेका महिलाहरूको कमी थिएन/छैन । तर, यत्तिको व्यहोराका अनुभव–कथा आफैं लेख्ने अभ्यास भर्खरै सुरु भएको छ । दमित मानसिकता र नियन्त्रित विचारको भारी बिसाउने कदम बल्ल त चाल्न थालिएको छ । नेपालको लोकतान्त्रिक व्यवस्था सुरु भएसँगै नेपाली समाजका सीमान्तका अनुभव तथा संघर्ष–कथाहरू बाहिरिन थालेका हुन् ।
That’s it for this week. Hope you have a relaxing holiday break with mitho mitho khana, catch up with friends and family and treat yo self to lots and lots of guilt-free screen time.
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