Panchkanya, Sunsari District: Residents of Panchkanya Village Development Committee (VDC) recently made their VDC an untouchability-free place, taking a form stand against discriminatory social practices common to many villages in Nepal.

The village’s decision was reported on in an e-bulletin put out by the Jagaran Media Center, a network of Dalit journalists that is a partner of The Advocacy Project.

According to JMC, the VDC office has been supportive, and is ready to allocate some of the annual budget to programs combating untouchability and caste-based discrimination. The total population of Panchkanya VDC is approximately 14,521 people, and roughly 1,700 are Dalit.

“There are lots of discrimination cases because of the caste hierarchy, but we are trying to respect the state’s declaration on untouchability and implement it in the local level,” said Binod Bishwokarma, Chairperson of the Dalit Network in Panchkanya.

The villagers, along with members of different political parties, social organizations, and the VDC office are committed to making the village a model for others. Already, some neighboring villages in the Morang district are preparing to declare their villages untouchability-free as well.

For more information, read the JMC e-bulletin.