KATHMANDU, Nov 5: A sit-in demanding an end to caste-based discrimination in house rentals completed 200 days at Maitighar Mandala on Wednesday, with protesters continuing to ask the government, "Is there a room vacant?"
The protest, led by activist Deepa Nepali and lawmaker Bimala BK, began on April 19 with the symbolic question highlighting the discrimination Dalits face while seeking rented accommodation.
Despite 200 days of protests, the government has yet to take effective steps to address the demands, forcing the demonstrators to continue their sit-in, according to the protesters.
Their demands include a clear legal provision prohibiting caste-based discrimination in house rentals, strict punishment for all forms of housing discrimination and a zero-tolerance policy against caste discrimination and untouchability. They have also called for equal access to housing, stronger laws and action against arbitrary rent increases and middlemen.
Dalit and non-Dalit activists, rights campaigners and public figures joined the 200th-day gathering to express solidarity, criticizing the government for ignoring the demands of the Dalit community.
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Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said the struggle against caste discrimination was not just Deepa Nepali's fight but a challenge for the state itself. Although the Constitution guarantees freedom from caste discrimination as a fundamental right, weaknesses in the political leadership's intentions have allowed the practice to persist, he said.
Bhattarai also called on Hindu religious leaders to discuss and reform traditional social practices that sustain the caste system. He said it was shameful that untouchability continued in the 21st century.
Journalist and political leader Rishi Dhamala pledged continued support until the protesters' demands were addressed.
Similarly, Professor Dr Sanjeev Uprety said continued discrimination against Dalits in modern society was shameful. He described the preservation of the caste system and continuation of discrimination as socially and legally unacceptable.
Uprety criticized successive governments for failing to dismantle the caste system and called for greater participation of non-Dalit communities in the movement.
Writer and social activist Saroj Dilu Bishwakarma recited poems highlighting the exploitation of Dalit communities, while Dalit activist Dalmardan Kami accused the government of completely ignoring the sit-in.
Social activist Sanjiv Karki said the movement was not just Deepa Nepali's struggle but one for the rights of the entire society. He urged non-Dalit communities to raise their voices more actively and called for the movement to be expanded nationwide.
Nepali said the government had failed to initiate high-level talks or take concrete steps to resolve the issue despite the prolonged protest.
On July 16, the Federal Parliament's Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee invited her to discuss the protest, but she said the committee had provided no concrete response since then.
Similarly, the secretariat of Minister for Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities Sita Badi invited her for discussions on July 21. However, no meaningful initiative for high-level dialogue followed, she said.
"We will expand the sit-in launched at Maitighar into a nationwide movement until our demands are addressed at the highest level," Nepali said.
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