Journalists from the Dalit community have said that they face various challenges in course of dispensing their duties as a working journalist. Along with poor economic status, the problem of caste-based discrimination and untouchability makes it very challenging for them to continue with their profession.
Participants of a training organised with the technical support of Dalit Sarokar Manch Nepal here today, they said that due to the social attitude of not recognizing Dalits as journalists it was difficult for them to stick to the profession. The training was part of the Civic Society and Media Activity project implemented by The Asia Foundation with financial support of USAID.
The participants of the two-day capacity building training organized for Dalit journalists complained that even the local governments did not help them and refused to give them information. In addition, the participants said that they could not perform in par with non-Dalit journalists for due to the lack of necessary materials for
journalism such as computers, mobile phones, and cameras.
During the training, the participants discussed the Dalit Empowerment Act 2076 introduced by the Madhes government, the provisions of which were not followed even by the municipality
On the occasion, media trainers Dr Vijay Prasad Mishra and Raghunath Lamichhane shared about ways to highlight the concerns of the Dalit community, including the journalists.
Dalit journalists from eight districts of Madhes province took part in the training.
Source: National News Agency RSS