Strengthening The Law Does Not Stop Violence Against Women

The lawmakers have demanded the formation of a joint mechanism involving all three government levels to stop violence against women.

Stating that violence against women has not been reduced in practice despite efforts to strengthen the law, the lawmakers of the House of Representatives and the Provincial Council pointed out the need to implement the existing law and form a joint mechanism to end violence against women socially.

To end violence against women, a resolution on reducing violence against women was passed by the House of Representatives on September 26, 2008. The Women and Social Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives organized a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss its implementation status.

Binda Pandey, an MP from the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) who participated in the meeting, said that there should be a coordination mechanism between the federal and state parliamentarians to end violence against women.

He proposed that a mechanism should be formed against the violence against women by establishing a mechanism between the people’s representatives at the state and local levels. It would be appropriate to form a joint mechanism involving all three levels.

CPN (Maoist) MP Narayan Prasad Khatiwada said there was no lack of law to reduce violence against women, but there were problems in its implementation. For that, a joint mechanism involving all three levels can be set up. The federal, state, and local levels have to work together.

Gandaki State Assemblymember Meena Gurung and State 1 MP Savitra Regmi also stressed the need to form a three-tier mechanism.

“There needs to be coordination between the three governments. We can end the violence if we work together to create a mechanism,” said Regmi.

Federal MP Thammaya Thapa, who is also a former minister, said that despite many programs against violence against women, they have not been able to end it practically.

Nepali Congress MP Pushpa Bhusal said that there would be no equality between men and women in the society unless violence against women is stopped.

“To make criminals afraid of the law, not only by tightening the law but also by strictly enforcing the law,” she said.

Court Could Not Be Reached

Some lawmakers said women’s access to justice had not yet been reached. CPN (Maoist) MP Khem Lohani said that the victim women could not reach the court, and even if they did, they could not get justice.

“There is an example of not getting justice even after going to court. It seems that the administration of justice has also been affected,” he said at the meeting.

Gandaki state assembly member Meena Gurung also remarked that the judiciary could not be impartial regarding violence against women.

“Women do not go to complain even if they are subjected to violence. The reasons for this must be sought. And now we have to think about how to make the judiciary fair from all angles,” she said.

State 1 MP Savitra Regmi said that women did not have access to justice. “If there are incidents of access beggars, there is a penalty. But if there is the involvement of those with access, it cannot come out,” said MP Regmi.

If not, Nirmala did not come out of the murder. There was so much pressure but why didn’t it come out?

State 5 MP Deepnarayan Pandey said that the general public was not aware of the laws and punishments of violence against women. “Citizens are not aware of all the laws that the state has made; they do not have access to information,” he said.

Minister’s Reply: We Are Doing Policy Work

Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Parbat Gurung said that the ministry is working on a policy against violence against women.

Minister Gurung said, “We are working to create a unified act to end all forms of violence by mobilizing locals, states, unions, and unions to find out what social distortions there are from village to state.”