Nepalese Masculinity and its Relationship to Violence Against Women
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2023
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Nepal's social and cultural value system perpetuates a wide range of discrimination against women as a communal and cultural legacy despite continued efforts to eradicate it. Its patriarchal power relations and male-dominated socio-political institutions ensure men's control over women, limiting women's access to education, empowerment, and development and causing women's vulnerability to discrimination.
This thesis investigates how Nepalese society constructs and practices masculinity and how Violence Against Women (VAW) is impacted by Nepalese hegemonic masculinity. It also focuses on how men's perceptions of masculinity differ according to age, marital status, education, location, and occupation. It further discusses how men can contribute to reducing violence against women.
A social constructionist theory of masculinity and power is adopted, supported by hegemonic masculinity theory, which looks at power hierarchies and the attitudes and behaviours of men that perpetuate discrimination against women, men's dominance over women, and some men's power over minority groups of men.
Online survey data from 197 male participants are examined quantitatively. The questionnaire consists of twenty-five closed-ended questions, six open-ended questions, and five background information questions, covering men's attitudes, behaviours, values, perspectives, and practices towards women, violence against women, and victim-blaming.
Results show that the country's conservative and patriarchal societal settings greatly influence men's behaviour and indicate that autonomy, strength, courage, and sexual dominance define Nepalese males, regardless of age. The study shows that Nepalese men tend to believe that extreme aggression is a natural way to express emotions and distress, which shifts to asserting power over their partners, particularly when their masculinity is threatened. The finding identifies the hegemonic masculinity culture of Nepal is characterised by the domination of women, violence as a primary means of expressing hostility, and a belief that men are superior to women.
One of the study's significant findings is that men's education level positively influences eliminating the victim-shaming stereotypes. The importance of including men in anti-violence programs is therefore emphasised. Teaching notions of gender equality and awareness-raising campaigns for Nepalese male teens can significantly challenge the existing hegemonic masculinity practices.
This research is among the first to explore the relationship between Nepalese masculinity and VAW and to highlight how social norms, beliefs, values, and cultures shape Nepalese masculinities. The results suggest that future researchers include multiple genders to extensively understand their role in constructing Nepalese masculinities, as well as study via a more diverse sample how cultural diversity influences views against violence against women.
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