No Deal With Maobadi but A Deal With Badi

Badi women, who are traditionally involved in prostitution, have reached a deal with the government

So what if Nepali Congress and Maobadis (Maoists) are unable to reach deal over the voting method in the CA elections, the government yesterday signed a two-point agreement with the agitating Badis. Both the sides agreed to form a taskforce to study the entire problems of Badi community including their identity, rehabilitation, population, education, and alternative employment, among others, and recommend solutions. Both the talks teams agreed to solve the Badi community’s problems through the government based on recommendations made by the taskforce. Badi women, who are traditionally involved in prostitution due to economic as well as social backwardness and ostracism, had been protesting in the capital for the last few months demanding proper rehabilitation, an alternative respectable occupation and education, among other facilities from the government.

Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel led the government talks team while Uma Devi Badi led the Badi women’s talks team. The government agreed to cancel Badis’ citizenship certificates and other government documents that described them as Badeni, Pattar, Bhand and other derogatory words and give them new citizenship certificates and other documents with surnames of their castes and ethnicity, eKantipur reports.