by Nina Somera, Isis International

Nepali women's organisation, Saathi in collaboration with other women's groups is set to produce an NGO Nepal Report on Beijing +15 in time for the Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing + 15 in October 2009 in Manila and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2010 in New York. This report will be based on the outputs of a conference from 13-14 September 2009 that will be attended by over 150 feminists and women's organisations in the country.

As Saathi president Bandana Rana expressed, “The women's movement in Nepal attach a lot of significance to BPFA and working collectively for its review and advocacy for effective implementation has been a unifying force for the women's movements in Nepal whether it be during the B+5 or B+10 and now B+15. The movement had also exhibited cohesiveness and unity during the conflict time advocating for peace and supporting those in need.”

However the armed conflicts and the political developments in the country have caused an impasse not only among feminist organisations but the broader social movements. In 2006, Nepalese reached a peace accord, following consecutive political rallies, on top of the several-years long armed struggle. This lead to a constituent assembly that paved the way for the shift from monarchic rule to federal democracy. But in less than three years, major changes in government have occurred, including the resignation of two prime ministers.

“The new and changed political context in Nepal has provided lots of opportunities to take women's rights issues forward. The inclusion of women from different background and geographical region as well as some who have been key agents in the women's movement in the constituent assembly has provided a strong forum to push for issues in the assembly to be adopted and ratified,” she said.

Rana sees an opportunity in the membership of women in the Consituent Assembly (CA) that will soon develop the country's Constitution. Women make up 33 per cent of the CA, the highest concentration of women in a governance body in the Asian region. She also finds the recent passage of Nepal's Domestic Violence Legislation quite promising and at the same time challenging particularly in terms of its implementation.

As Nepalese acdemician Sunil Kumar Joshi wrote, “Although the Interim Constitution does not allow discrimination based on sex, caste, creed or colour, there are more than 150 discriminatory provisions against women in the forms of denial access to and control over resources, restricted mobility, low representation in decision-making positions in civil services, politics and public sectors and so on.” Rana also notes the prevalence of trafficking that primarily targets women and children as well as the neglect on women's representation and participation in peace processes. This, even as women are the hardest hit in times of armed conflict and are crucial in peace and reconstruction processes.

It is for these reasons that she finds the Nepalese women's engagement with processes such as those around the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and 1820 very critical. UNSCR 1325 provides for the inclusion of women in peace processes while UNSCR 1820 calls for an end to sexual abuses directed against women during armed conflicts.

These processes are also expected to bring together Nepalese women's groups beyond political party and ideological lines. As Rana added, “To some extent the women in the assembly have shown this kind of unity in advancing policies regarding gender equality.”

It is hoped the NGO Nepal Report on Beijing +15 will be one such opportunity that will indeed bring together Nepalese feminists. “We will use this to hold the government accountable for women's empowerment, gender equality and the promotion of women's human rights under the BPFA. We will also be galvanizing more action towards this at the national level in 2010 and beyond.”

Sources:
Interview with Bandana Rana, Saathi (26 August 2009).
Joshi, Sunil Kumar. (2009). “Violence against women in Nepal: Role of health care workers.”  
Rana, Bandana (11 August 2009). “Beijing+15 Nepal Program.”