Right to a voice? Freedom of expression in the media in Nepal

This background paper draws on research conducted to collect baseline data for a project by International Alert and the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), entitled ‘Right to Voice: Promoting media freedom of expression in Nepal’.

The baseline research highlighted three predominant themes concerning journalists in Nepal: they face a range of threats to their safety, thereby curtailing their freedom of expression; they censor their own work in response to external pressures and their own motivations; and their inclusion and influence in the media sector depends on their gender and social background (the sector is dominated by men from the high caste Brahmin/Chhetri groups and controlled by powerful political and business figures).