SMC Journal of Sociology

An Integrative Approach to Sociology of Disability: A Theoretical Recommendation

Tek Nath Subedi — 2024-03-14

A common assertion on disability is that people with disability have disadvantaged living. They are disadvantaged because they have physical, intellectual or sensory impairments, and are exposed to a number of barriers. Furthermore, the combined role of impairment as internal and barrier as external aspect of disability cannot be overruled. Notwithstanding the fact that both impairment and barriers contribute, although not equally, to disabling an individual, key approaches to disability such as Medical Sociology and Disability Studies have tended to reject the aggregate role of impairment and barriers in disabling people; one has to either take side of Medical Sociology and suppose impairment as the key kernel of disability, or relate with Disability Studies and acknowledge social barriers as the sole spirit of disability. This paper however rejects the parochial extremes of both approaches, and assumes impairment and barriers as common determinants of disabling condition. I argue that the types of impairment impede individuals to carry out physical and intellectual work, and existing social barriers reduce their chances of utilizing existent strength thereby pushing them to more difficulties. To conclude, an integrative approach is necessary to enrich disability as a specialized field of sociological inquiry.

Health Status and Life Satisfaction among Aging People in Kathmandu

Kashi Nath Khanal — 2024-03-14

Aging is a complex social process. It brings more complications and illnesses in human lives. Because of odds of getting ill rise in old age, chances of becoming disabled and of dying come close. However, healthy aging can also be enhanced via living an active life. Everyone desires for a happy and healthy life, and thus, there is reciprocal relationship in role, healthiness and happiness. Society also waits for healthy people, who can play active roles effectively in society. Performing social roles help people to remain healthy, and activeness help improve healthiness in their life. In this article, I discuss the situation of health and life-satisfaction among aging people in Kathmandu. This paper is prepared on fresh-handed data collected from 45 respondents by using random sampling method. It describes the interrelationship between people's role and their health. Peoples' health deteriorates once their age rise, but those people who had performed their assigned role were found to be happier and healthier than the idle people of the same age.

Elderly Migrants and their Socially Isolated Living

Bala Ram Acharya — 2024-03-14

Elderly population has a rapid rise in Nepal. The 2021 census reports 2.97 million elderly people, which equals 10.21 percentage of Nepal's total population, and 38.2 percentage more from the 2011 census. Realizing the problems faced by elderly population in areas of social-cultural, economic, demographic, labor, health, and care, the Elderly Citizens Act, 2006 was ratified by Nepal to address senior citizens' social security needs and issues. The study analyzes how elderly residents of Kirtipur have managed to survive in a family and community setting. Data is gathered from participant observation and in-depth interviews. I have made efforts to analyze whether financial reliance, parental assistance, social interaction, social isolation, and health issues have co-worked for giving stresses to the elderly people. Senior citizens experience many problems like loneliness and helplessness, which are sufficient for creating troubles and anxieties. They also struggle with having a low social position relative to where they were born and missing out on social and cultural events. They also have gone through social and cultural disengagement, family rejection, loss of social contact, and social isolation from their place of origin.

Land Rights Movements in Nepal: Investigating Mobilization Strategies within a Political Landscape

Ram Gurung — 2024-03-14

This paper explores nations' political influence on social movement organizations. It focuses on the activities of National Land Rights Forum (NLRF), the largest land rights organization of Nepal. Effective mobilization of movement depends on organization's ability to align with the current political landscape, but is less emphasized by the global south social movement studies, which are focused on analyzing historical triggers and socioeconomic consequences with references to state policies. This paper takes survey-based open-ended interviews with 27 stakeholders, including the leaders and participants of NLRF’s land rights movement. The NLRF’s experiences on mobilization provided a strategic understanding of its adaptation to country's political milieu by leveraging the state-initiated major political events, which could be seen as opportunities to incorporate their concerns with state agendas. Furthermore, the Maoist-led insurgency in the past had fueled for the land rights movements, particularly the NLRF’s priority in organizing and unifying individuals who had similar political and economic identities. The mobilization strategies for land rights movement highlight the contextual variation on how current political landscape shapes the adaptive systems and practices of movement organizations.

Role of Customary Governance in Resource Management of a Legal Pluralist Indigenous Community

Pasang Sherpa — 2024-03-14

This paper explores the role of customary governance in sustainable natural resources management within a pluralist indigenous community. It employs qualitative research design in which key informant interviews, focus group discussions and observations were used as research tools. It discusses how customary governance has worked for the management of resources of Lowa community, Lomanthang, upper-Mustang. It considers legal pluralism and modernization as major theories to analyze sustainable resource management issues in the community setup. The modern governance system has influenced in effecting customary governance system at all levels including the political-economic. The political influence is made subtly through colonizing tools such as development, education, and modernization. The Ghenpa governance system in Lomanthang has withstood several assimilation processes with state intervention and is now strongly opposing the western type of modernization. Although modernization opened the door of Lomanthang to a wide variety of people from outside, the coexistence and complementary relationship between the state legal system and Ghenpa customary governance kept the legal pluralist indigenous community more intact.