Kathmandu, Jan. 26: Youths’ view on social structures such as caste,
ethnicity and social and political organisations and systems determines their
understanding of social cohesion, concluded a recent study on the youth
perspective on social cohesion.
“It means that the transforming exclusionary social
and political structures and changing behaviours as well as attitudes are
necessary for fostering social cohesion in a multicultural society like Nepal,”
reads the study report.
The youth participated in the study agreed that social
and political exclusion was a key determinant of a cohesive society and it
created ‘us versus them’ perception among the people of their caste, ethnic, gender
and religious identities.
The caste-based discrimination has featured most
prominently as a key marker of social exclusion.
The study has also found a strong gender dimension of
social cohesion.
How girls are brought up, how the society views their
roles in public and where they spend most the time determines their
perspectives of social cohesion, it said.
“As girls spend most of the time inside the houses or
in private spaces, it not only isolates them from wider social processes and
reinforces gender-based social power relations, but it also tends to make girls
understand that the society has inherently discriminatory practices,” reads the
report.
The research has also found that existing
socio-economic and socio-political inequalities strongly influence the way and
extent to which people in society engage in cooperation and collective action.
It has confirmed that social trust among and between
social groups is a fundamental building block of a peaceful and cohesive
society.
“Dalits have been excluded in decision making process
at local level. For a sustainable peace, long term hidden conflict in the
society should be resolved,” former Speaker Subash Nembang said at a programme
organised to launch the results of the study.
He said that the youth should be motivated for the
peace and development.
The research was conducted by Asian Academy
for Peace Research and Development in Morang, Sunsari, Udayapur, Bara and Parsa
in December 2016 and February 2017.
The study conducted key informant interview with 51
and focus group discussion with 177 youth in those districts.
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