Badi, a Hill Dalit community, are Indigenous people of Western Nepal. Although admired as entertainers at times, they remain the most marginalised groups, having endured centuries of caste-based oppression.
The 1854 Muluki Ain (legal code) classified Badi as “impure and untouchable”, placing them at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. Even within the Dalit community, they are often considered the “untouchables of the untouchables”.
While the government legally abolished the caste system and criminalised any caste-based discrimination, including “untouchability”, in 1963 A.D., the evil practice still prevails.
The name “Badi” derives from the Sanskrit word “Vadyabadak”, meaning “one who plays musical instruments”. Their history dates to the fourteenth century, when they migrated to Nepal as nomadic performers skilled in music, dance, and storytelling.
The 1854 Muluki Ain (legal code) classified Badi as "impure and untouchable", placing them at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. Despite this rich cultural heritage, poverty, stigma, and systemic caste-based exclusion continue to shape their lives. Many earn a living through daily wage labour, fishing, woodcutting, and crafting musical instruments. On the other hand, sex work became a survival strategy for women.
The Descent into Sex Work
Modernisation eroded their traditional livelihoods by the mid-20th century. Radios and televisions replaced live performances, and so did plastic goods for their handmade musical instruments and smoking pipes.
Even after the Rana regime fell in 1951, the Badi folks did not gain support. Many resorted to different means of labour to earn a livelihood. For women, sex work became a grim necessity.
Even after the Rana regime fell in 1951, the Badi folks did not gain support.Labelled immoral, they were excluded, marginalised and pushed away from spaces called ‘civilised society’. Society’s discriminatory gaze reduced the community to nothing but bodies for consumption, denying them education, employment, and dignity.
Labelled promiscuous, these women bear the brunt of discrimination, facing harassment in schools and workplaces. A 2012 UN report documented a 12-year-old Badi girl dropping out after relentless bullying.
“We are never married to anyone. Men from the upper class come here, enjoy with us, and love our bodies. Some of us bear their child, but we cannot tell them that,” another Badi woman shares.
Although deemed untouchable, the bodies of Badi women are seen as commodities and desirable for sex. This duality robs them of dignity — condemned by the mainstream society but taken advantage of by its establishments. Yet, the community persists.
“We didn’t have the choice to say no. If we said no, how were we supposed to buy food for ten people at once?” Sushila Badi, an activist, shares and adds, “Our ancestors were artists, not sex workers. We’re reclaiming that pride through education and advocacy.”
Systemic Violence and the Fight for Justice
The 2007 Badi Movement did push their struggles into the national discourse. Protesters demanded land ownership, education, and an end to caste-based violence. The government pledged rehabilitation, including housing and job training, but most initiatives stalled.
Maya Badi, a community member, explains, “The government promised rehabilitation but gave no alternatives. We had to return to the old ways to feed our families.”
A 2022 study revealed that 87% of Badi women experience domestic violence, compounded by societal stigma that links their identity to sex work.
Binod Pahadi, a researcher, notes: “We travelled across Nepal and found none of the agreements implemented. The flesh trade continues unabated.” Today, over 40,000 Badi remain economically excluded. Among them, less than 5% own property, and only 12% of Badi children attend school. An overwhelming 94% rely on daily wage labour or sex work.
A 2022 study revealed that 87% of Badi women experience domestic violence, compounded by societal stigma that links their identity to sex work. It is ironic that a nation which prides itself on being inclusive has rampant caste legacies in its legal, economic and social sectors.
The Badi community have lived without a home to call their own for generations. Granting land rights is not just about legal grounds of ownership; it grants families some stability and the ability to build a home and have a sense of future in which they do not face constant displacement.
Additionally, the government should create scholarship programmes for Badi children and youth so that they can break the cycle of poverty.
Moreover, there should be consistent and just reinforcement of anti-discrimination laws to help restore their dignity and promote equality. Besides, these measures will ensure that no Badi child grows up with internalised casteism.
Pratikshya Bhatta is a junior editor at Nepal Connect.