Nepali Women as Victims of Violence
Ms. Bharati POKHAREL (Nepal)
It has hardly been a month since Nepal joined many other countries of the world incelebrating the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, which calls for theelimination of all forms of violence against women with a variety of programs andactivities. But, in reality, it seems most of the commitments made so far have been invain when the trend over the past decade is observed. The incidences of various forms ofphysical and mental violence against girls and women both in urban and rural areas ofNepal have been steadily increasing over the past years.
The most alarming trend is that very young girls are increasingly becoming
subjected to violence and abuse, which, quite regrettably, is happening almost every day.
For instance, The Kathmandu Post, Nepal’s highest selling English daily newspaper,
reported that on 3rd January, 2013, a 24-year-old Wakil Pandit Kumhal was arrested on
charges of raping a six-year-old girl in Bara district. The same newspaper reported on
4th January, 2013 that a 65-year-old man identified as Sane Sarki allegedly raped aneight-year-old girl in Maidi village development committee of Dhading district. Sarki fled
after committing the heinous crime. It was also reported that on 2nd January, 2013, agang of four men raped a girl in her twenties after severely beating her boyfriend, who
was accompanying her, in Damak municipality of Jhapa district.
According to the latest data released by Women’s Rehabilitation Center (WOREC)
Nepal, the trend of violence against women is growing in Nepal at an average annual
rate of 19 percent, as observed in the data between the years 2008 and 2012. Among thevarious forms of violence, domestic violence was carried out against women mostfrequently, accounting for 55 percent of all kinds of violence, as per the monthly report(January to December, 2012) of WOREC Nepal. This was followed by the incidences ofrape and social violence at 13 percent each, murder at 11 percent, sexual abuse at fivepercent and trafficking as the lowest at three percent.
Many factors are cited in various studies as causes behind the increasing trend of
the violence committed against girls and women. The main causes cited are: thepatriarchal thinking and mind-set of people; weak investigation and security
mechanisms; rampant impunity; complicated legal system with abundant backlog cases;
discriminatory practices pushing women further towards marginalization; lack ofawareness; etc.
Although the recent amendments to the chapter on marriages of the Country Codehave raised the age of marriage to 20 for both sexes, evidence suggests that in 2006, 32.3

percent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Likewise, polygamy is illegal in Nepal, but in 2006 the Demographic and Health Survey(DHS) revealed that 4.4 percent of married women in Nepal aged 15-49 were living inpolygamous marriages. The 2010 Convention on Elimination of All forms ofDiscrimination against Women (CEDAW) report notes that in polygamous marriages,
the first wife occupies a very low status in the family, leaving her more vulnerable todomestic violence than the subsequent wives.
Girls in Nepal have limited access to education, and as a result, they have very few
opportunities to engage in activities that would provide a greater degree of economic andsocial empowerment later in their lives. In addition, particularly Dalit women andwomen from other socially marginalized groups remain underrepresented in politics andother positions contributing to decision-making and leadership.
Nepal has been quick to ratify international treaties like the CEDAW, the Beijing
Platform for Action, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), etc. The government
has also heeded the tireless advocacy efforts of many international and national nongovernment organizations (I/NGOs) by endorsing the Domestic Violence (Crime andPunishment) Act in 2009 and the Human Trafficking Act in 2007. But, considering theever growing cases of violence even after the promulgation of these acts, it is high timethat the government realized that merely endorsing international instruments andputting laws and rules on paper will not suffice. This is rather a first step, which should
be urgently supported by equally efficient and effective regulatory and judicial systems.
The civil society, the media and the people of Nepal need to continue pressing thegovernment to do the needful to that end.