Donyell Pobre Tour 197

2015-04347

Roles and Challenges of Women in Tourism Sector of Western Nepal: A

Micro-Ethnographic Study

by Sony KC

Seeing the reports on the current tourism industry, it is evident that the

importance of women has grown as compared to before. It is also seen how the tourism

industry has been a tool for women empowerment. Although in some parts of the world,

women discrimination happens. This is very saddening as the findings of this case study

showed how the many challenges faced by women are not really addressed by

government agencies and organizations.

This case study was thorough and comprehensive as the author has taken a one

month long observation taking in-depth interviews for approximately 160 people. The

author has taken the perspective of the women which were the main focus, and other

people such as the men co-workers, the families of the women, tourists and higher

officials. I think it was very effective to hear what others has to say as this helped to see

how others would see women working in this kind of industry. It also contributed to

findings that is useful for the study. There were also focus group discussions focusing

on certain topics. In the end, the author categorized his findings into four.

One of his finding and one major challenge faced by women is their dual role in

the society. It is very hard to maintain work and familial balance. It is one problem faced
by not only women working in the tourism industry but women workers in general. There

is still the trend that women are socially expected to be the ones who should do

domestic chores. For some families, they can’t afford to have a houseworker thus going

home from work, they also have to do the household chores and taking care of their

children. It was found out that single women interviewed would like not to be married as

not to face this kind of challenge.

The next finding would be the varied perceptions about others to the women.

This is where the interview of men co-workers and family and relatives of the women

come in. In Nepali norms, they would follow a patriarchal society where the father in the

family is the boss, they are to be obeyed and respected. This says so much how men

are so powerful in that sense that they can control their wife. Men interviewed generally

define gender that biological qualities are still attached to the social attributes of women.

One positive discovery was the perception of tourists. They would say that

seeing women makes the tourism sector livelier. This is a great outlook as this can be

seen how women are influential and how they add up to the total tourism experience.

Women also faced other forms of challenges such as bullying. One shocking

finding was that the one insulting women was their own relative or friend. The lack of

awareness of the work of women may be the reason why people criticize them. Another

factor would be their socio-cultural status.

Another issue brought up in this study is the case of the Tibetans. They do not

have legal status. Some Tibetan women worry that although being permitted to work in

this sector, that their future is still bleak with no legal and economic rights.
 Lastly, the most important challenge for women is how government agencies and

organizations lack of support demotivate women. There are still few policies which help

women in their endeavor in having a fair place in working in the industry. There are also

few accessible benefits for women. Although some of these organizations promote

women empowerment, it is not enough as legal actions should be done. They should

work on social protection mechanisms such as insurance, security from external harm

and the well-being of the women.

Women’s role is very important in serving the largest industry in Nepal. With the

findings, it is very important to counter the challenges faced by women. Now that the

researcher’s objective to voice out what women feels living in a patriarchal society, it is

up to the government agencies and organizations to take action.