Unity among Women is the Need of the Hour: Thapa
How do you assess the current situation of women’s rights?
It is a well known fact that women were deprived from enjoying their fundamental rights and freedom due to patriarchal society. They have been suffering from class division. Women were suffering from two kinds of exploitation. They have played laudable role for political change of the country after actively taking part during the armed struggle and political movements which were aimed against the class oppression and in favor of women’s rights. Though the women got relief from feudalism, they are yet to get relief from gender-based discriminations. There has been no change in the perspective to see women as there was no change in the thought and behavior regarding women. Women have not been able to get the status of equal citizen as some laws formed by the state are discriminatory and the situation that women have to face violence only for being women continues.
Though historic achievements have been received in terms of women’s rights as compared to past, women have not been able to get justice and equality in absence of law and passivity of the law enforcing agencies of the state. Active participation of women in the 10-year-long People’s War and People’s Movement of April 2006 has forced all to address the problems being faced by the women.
What are the challenges for protection of women’s rights?
First of all, women were not empowered with full rights as of equal citizens. All the governments of the past did not address the women’s issues and adopted the policy of discrimination due to feudal ideology. Extensive national discussions are going on about the issue of rights of all deprived races, castes and regions after the formation of new Federal Democratic Republic Nepal. Women’s rights could only be protected by incorporating these rights as fundamental rights in the new constitution. There is a need of unity among women in some common agendas. If consensus were not made, women would have to live difficult life. The issues of women’s rights should not be limited to slogans and articles of the constitution; the state should feel its responsibility and formulate necessary laws for implementation.
The feudal mentality of taking women as obstacle and problem should be changed. Women will be able to fulfill their responsibility honestly if they were given chance to do so. Women should not be limited to the household activities and the state has the responsibility of ensuring women’s involvement in the development activities. The main challenge at present is securing the political rights as we could not be able to protect and promote other rights without political rights. Women should always keep their morale high and move ahead.
There has not been representation of women in major organs of the state despite their sizable representation in the Constituent Assembly. What may be the reason and how your office is taking the issue?
Women received opportunity to take part in the constitution drafting process and there was 33 percent representation of women in the Constituent Assembly at the new political base which was established by the People’s War and People’s Movement. The issues of people of deprived race, place, gender and language have been prioritized after the historical political development. Those people who can’t speak about their rights in the past have been able to speak. The Interim Constitution has for the first time established political rights of the women, which is a great achievement but it will take some time to fully materialize the concept. National Women’s Commission has been organizing interaction, discussion, advocacy and public hearing programmes about women’s participation in every organ of the state. There is a need of raising political awareness and enhancing capacity of women to utilize the rights entitled to them. Various excuses were made to prove women as weak due to traditional thinking. But the fact that development of the country is not possible without meaningful representation of women in every organ of the state has been established. Proportional representation of women should be ensured in every organ of the state for restructuring of the state.
. Different organizations have been criticizing the role of National Women’s Commission for not playing effective role for protection and promotion of women’s rights. How do you respond to it?
The National Women’s Commission was formed in 2002 but it failed to continue after two years of its inception. Though the constitution was restructured three times in eight year, it remained vacant for a ling time. The National Women’s Commission Act was formed in December 2006 following historic change of the country after abolition of monarchy on the ground of Armed Insurgency and People’s Movement of 2006. The commission was re-constituted in October 2007 under the Act. Since the formation of present Commission, it has been able to fulfill its responsibility despite limited resources, lack of skilled human resources and technical difficulties. First of all, making institutional development of the Commission is the challenge. The problems of women will be resolved along with the problems of other community and sector. The Commission itself is not the implementing agency, so resolving the problems being faced by women is not possible only through the lone effort of the Commission. The Commission was formed recently but why the organizations, which are working in the field of women’s rights, did not bring any changes in the society. It’s not difficult why they criticized the Commission as the issues of women became a means for earning to some organizations. In the real sense, we are committed to resolve the issues of women wherever we are. Rather than being indulged in the blame game, unity among women is the need of the hour.
What are the priorities of your office?
The Commission was formed with the objectives of mainstreaming women in the mainstream of development through protection and promotion of their rights and to establish gender justice. More things need to be done in the women right’s sector. Various problems of women surfaced after the recent political development of the country. All the activities as mandated by the National Women’s Commission Act fall under regular activities. The main responsibility of the Commission is to formulate national policies and programmes related to the women’s rights and submit it to the government for implementation. The Commission is also studying the contemporary national issues from gender perspective and submitting its recommendations to the government. It has been organizing various public hearing and other programmes for women empowerment and raising awareness on women’s issues.
The Commission has also been collecting opinions about the women’s issues to be incorporated in new constitution by holding discussions with experts and concerned stakeholders on women’s issues and submitting it to the concerned committees. A task force was formed at the leadership of National Women’s Commission to study the draft constitution prepared by Ministry of Women, UNFPA and Pro-Public from gender perspective and the committee will submit the draft to the constitutional committee. We should pay proper attention to make the new constitution women friendly and women should not face the fate as they faced it in the past.
The Commission organized programmes to exert pressure on the government to immediately pass the bill related with the domestic violence and also submitted a memorandum to the Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly. The commission is planning to launch radio and tv programme to raise awareness about the women’s rights targeting the women of rural areas. It is in the final stage to finalize its five-year-long strategic plan. The strategic plan will be implemented on the basis of short and long term planning. The Commission will always give top priority to the issues of women’s rights and concerns.
Women have faced multiple challenges during the period of Maoist insurgency. How your office is pressurizing the government to address their woes?
From the history we came to know that women were the subject of oppression in all the conflicting areas. Women were targeted the most during the decade long armed insurgency of the country. From the world history we come to know that state was involved in more incidents of human rights violations during the period of conflict.
The main priority of the state is to restore peace in the country after taking the conflict into logical conclusion and efforts are being made to this effect. We have already submitted the recommendations after studying the bill drafted to form the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission on Disappearances from the gender perspective. If these bills were passed, such Commissions will be formed and will address the problems being faced by the conflict-hit people. The Commission is planning to raise the women’s issues in the UN resolution number 1325 and 1820. As we are passing through the transitional phase, we have not been able to meet the people’s expectation. Rather than prioritizing the issue of conflict management following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, political parties have been spending time in dilly dallying and blame-game. As women and children were affected the most from the conflict, women should initiate the efforts and also exert pressure for conflict management. The government elected after the promulgation of new constitution will implement its policies and programmes and it will help for conflict management and lead the country towards development.
recent report has said that various existing laws made discrimination against women. Why your office is not taking the issue seriously and initiating efforts to amend these laws?
The laws formed in the past are discriminatory from the perspective of gender justice. Women have not been able to get justice due to discriminatory legal provisions. National Women’s Commission is serious in this issue and has been raising it seriously. We are struggling to incorporate women’s rights as fundamental rights in the new constitution. The Ministry of Women has studied about the discriminatory legal provisions and recommended the government to amend these provisions. Forum for Women and Law Development also publicized the report about the discriminatory provisions. Discriminatory laws will not be tolerable but as the country is moving towards forming new laws after promulgation of new constitution these things should be amended in new laws and constitution.
What are the issues that need to be incorporated in the upcoming constitution for protection and promotion of women’s rights?
The new constitution should be formed adopting the principle of non-discrimination based on human norms, values, justice and equality. The new constitution should recognize women as equal citizens as women were being treated as citizens of second grade till date. Recognizing and respecting the specific physical condition of women, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the women should be ensured in the new constitution. The trend of exploitation to fellow human being should be stopped. The need of the day is the constitution which will be able to make a country independent, sovereign and rich.