Gender, Power, and Justice: A Feminist Anthropological Study of How Nepal's Supreme Court Adjudicates Gender-Based Violence

Registration ID: IJNRD_310962

Published ID: IJNRD2512079

: https://doi.org/10.56975/ijnrd.v10i12.310962

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Bal Sagar Giri

Keywords: Gender-based violence; Feminist anthropology; Legal anthropology; Patriarchy; Judicial reasoning; Honor–shame system; Structural violence.

Abstract Gender-based violence (GBV) persists as one of Nepal's most deeply rooted human rights issues, shaped by a complex interplay of kinship structures, patriarchal social norms, caste hierarchies, and cultural expectations about honor and female respectability. Although Nepal's Constitution and legal reforms have significantly expanded protections for women, and the Supreme Court has issued landmark rulings that have reshaped the legal landscape of gender justice, the adjudication of GBV continues to reflect deeper cultural beliefs and institutional limitations. This article employs feminist anthropology and legal anthropology to explore how Nepal's Supreme Court interprets, frames, and resolves GBV cases, placing judicial reasoning within broader socio-cultural contexts. Based on Supreme Court case law, anthropological literature, and interdisciplinary gender studies, the study identifies several patterns that influence judicial outcomes. Honor–shame ideology (ijjat/maryada), which links women's sexuality and behavior to family reputation, often guides assessments of credibility, delayed reporting, and survivors' emotional expression. Expectations of femininity- modesty, restraint, and moral purity- implicitly shape judicial evaluations, aligning with Butler's theory of gender performativity. Likewise, Rubin's and Bennett's analyses of kinship and gendered dependency reveal how structural inequalities limit women's access to justice, while Strathern's concept of relational personhood explains the social pressures that lead many survivors to withdraw their cases. Legal anthropology further clarifies tensions between global rights frameworks and local cultural norms. Merry's theory of cultural translation appears in hybrid judgments that incorporate rights language while reinforcing patriarchal assumptions about family harmony and marital obligations. Institutional dynamics- including bureaucratic delays, evidentiary challenges, lack of trauma-informed procedures, and male-dominated judicial culture- generate forms of structural and symbolic violence that hinder survivors' access to justice. The article argues that although the Supreme Court has played a key role in promoting gender equality, its jurisprudence remains limited by cultural norms and institutional inertia. Achieving substantive gender justice requires a shift toward feminist transformative jurisprudence: survivor-centered procedures, trauma-informed judicial practices, contextual evaluation of evidence, and explicit critique of patriarchal reasoning within judgments. Increasing gender diversity among judges and strengthening accountability mechanisms in lower courts and police agencies are also essential. By combining feminist and legal anthropological theory with Nepal-specific socio-legal analysis, this article offers a nuanced understanding of how GBV adjudication reflects both cultural constraints and opportunities for change. It asserts that meaningful gender justice in Nepal depends not only on progressive laws but also on reinterpreting the law through feminist, culturally informed, and survivor-centered perspectives. Keywords: Gender-based violence; Feminist anthropology; Legal anthropology; Patriarchy; Judicial reasoning; Honor–shame system; Structural violence.

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Bal Sagar Giri (December-2025). Gender, Power, and Justice: A Feminist Anthropological Study of How Nepal's Supreme Court Adjudicates Gender-Based Violence. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 10(12), a701-a714. https://doi.org/10.56975/ijnrd.v10i12.310962

Volume 10 Issue 12, December-2025

Pages : a701-a714

Paper Reg. ID: IJNRD_310962

Published Paper Id: IJNRD2512079

Research Area: Other area not in list

Author Type: Foreign Author

Country: Kathmandu, Nepal, Bagmati, Nepal

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Crossref DOI: https://doi.org/10.56975/ijnrd.v10i12.310962

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