Lived Experiences of Subtle Ethnic Discrimination among Tamangs in Nepal
- Sangmo Yonjan TamangDetails
25 January 2026/११ माघ २०८२ (आइतबार, दिउँसो ३ बजे)
Research Seminar Series
Lived Experiences of Subtle Ethnic Discrimination among Tamangs in Nepal
Sangmo Yonjan Tamang, Freelance Writer
Abstract
Ethnicity-based discrimination is deeply embedded in Nepali society and is often examined in relation to overt and structural inequality. However, the subtle and everyday forms of discrimination remain underexplored. This study investigates the lived experiences of Tamang individuals with subtle forms of ethnicity-based discrimination in Nepal using an interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The analysis focuses on participants’ meaning-making of their encounters with discrimination.
The findings reveal that subtle discrimination occurs in routine social and professional interactions and is often expressed through doubt of intellectual ability, linguistic domination, and microaggressive practices. Participants described experiences in which their competence was questioned and undermined, mother tongue devalued, achievements met with disbelief, and were expected to conform to dominant cultural norms. These interactions, although often normalized within everyday discourse, conveyed implicit messages of inferiority, otherness and limited social acceptance.
The study underscores the need to recognize and address these less visible forms of ethnic marginalization in Nepal.
About the Speaker
Sangmo Yonjan Tamang holds an MPhil in English from IACER and a Master’s degree in Conflict, Peace, and Development Studies. She contributes opinion pieces to national daily newspapers, with interests in social inclusion, gender and identity.