The Accusation of Witchcraft as a Violence against Women: Perception of Nepalese Immigrants in Oslo

Abstract

This research has explored the issue related to witchcraft and its accusation as violence against women in Nepal. The witchcraft related violence is a long-rooted problem and has been a challenging issue for both the government and people in Nepal. Many women have been the victims of this problem. Having considered this problem, the present study has made its attempt to examine how Nepalese adults in the diaspora context of Norway, who grew up in Nepal as children and experienced the problem of witchcraft, perceive witchcraft as violence against women in Nepal after residing in the equity promoting Norwegian context. It employs a qualitative case study research design. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and some other secondary sources such as documents and newspapers. The findings were analyzed using the concepts from theories about diaspora, violence and gender inequality. The findings indicated that the issue of witchcraft and its accusation as violence against women plays a different role among Nepalese people in Nepal and Nepalese immigrants in the diaspora context of Norway. To put it in another way, the accusation of witchcraft is very common in Nepal and many Nepalese women have been the victims of it whereas the issue has null prevalence among Nepalese living in the diaspora context of Norway. The study has found several reasons behind why witchcraft prevails in Nepal. Some of the reasons include lack of education, poor job opportunities, gender discrimination, weak law enforcement, continuation of caste system and deep-rooted misogyny in religion (widowed Hindu women are often targeted). Meanwhile the Nepalese diaspora in Norway successfully removed the problem as they are living amongst the highly educated and scientific temperament of the Norwegian society. Nepal is lagging far behind Norway in HDI (Human Development Index) and other sectors too.