Nepal must stop violence against women

Kim Soo A

(Hong Kong, China) The Women’s Rehabilitation Center of Nepal and National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders started a 16-day campaign against gender violence beginning yesterday, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the International Day of Women Human Rights Defenders, which falls on November 29.

The strong movement symbolizes Nepali women’s mixed feelings of hope and frustration, and the campaign’s theme, “Ensure the right to access justice and guarantee security of women” accurately reflects the plight of victims of gender violence who have little or no access to justice.

In 2006, women actively participated in a historic democratic movement along with men on the streets of Nepal to end monarchy. The Nepali people finally achieved their goal. The women’s movement also gained 191 seats for women out of 601 in the Constituent Assembly. Considering that the representation of women was less than 6 percent after the 1999 general elections, this is a great achievement and paved the way for their active participation in Nepal’s civil service.

Yet few changes have been made to improve the daily lives of women. They still remain stuck in the brutal cycle of gender violence, although 17 years have passed since Nepal ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1991.

Dhana Kumari Sunar, a member of the National Women's Commission, reported that every year tens of thousands of women in Nepal experience violence, 80 percent of which is domestic violence. The women’s cell in Nepal’s police headquarters recorded 1,100 cases of domestic violence against women between July 2006 and June 2007. These include beatings by husbands, dowry-related murders, and physical and psychological harassment by in-laws.

The Informal Sector Service Center, a local human rights organization, documented 203 rape cases in 2007, while the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal received some 40 cases of sexual violence against women during the same period.

In its December 2007 report, OHCHR-Nepal stated that victims of rape and sexual abuse are significantly denied effective legal remedies. It said medical doctors often refuse to examine victims in the absence of a police report, while the police refuse to file a First Information Report in the absence of a medical report. Even the few brave enough to file reports with the police face threats to withdraw their cases.

The police mediate many disputes of violence against women without pressing charges against the perpetrators. Therefore most perpetrators escape punishment under Nepal’s criminal justice system.

Nepal has many discriminatory laws affecting the rights of women. Rape is very narrowly defined in the domestic law and the victim has no chance for justice if the case is not reported within 35 days after the incident. Also, there are no specific legal provisions dealing with domestic violence. Moreover, since the victims face social stigma, most gender violence cases go unreported.

Nepali women, however, have started fighting back against deeply rooted gender violence. The killing of Laxmi Bohara, a human rights defender, by her husband in Kanchanpur district in June sparked a nationwide women’s movement. On July 13 over 500 members of the NAWHRD held a huge peaceful rally in Kathmandu, while other rights groups organized similar rallies in different districts on the same day. All demanded that an independent investigative committee be formed to conduct an impartial and proper investigation into Laxmi’s death. They also demanded another high-level committee to deal with all forms of violence against women.

Due to strong pressure from the women’s movement, the Ministry of State for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs finally tabled a Domestic Violence (Crime and Punishment) Bill 2008 in the legislative session of the Constituent Assembly. The government also formed a high-level task force consisting of nine members to formulate laws against domestic violence. However, similar previous bills on domestic violence have lingered in Parliament for over a decade. The fate of this bill therefore remains unknown.

Women have all along worked with men in fighting for democracy and peace in Nepal. Now it is time for the government to acknowledge their significant contributions and eliminate violence against women.

In particular, traditional feudal practices that discriminate against women should be addressed. The Nepalese government should take firm action to ensure that all cases of gender violence are properly investigated and those responsible are punished by law.

The Nepali society should listen to the voices of women, which have long gone unheard. This is a golden opportunity for the government to restructure its laws and protect and promote the rights of women.

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This article was originally published on 26 November 2008 for a column entitled Demoralization and Hope at http://www.upiasia.com/Human_Rights/.