CONFLICT AND NEPALI WOMEN
By Kamala Sarup

March 2004 - Januka Shrestha's husband, who was in the army, was killed in action in Acham. With no other source of income, she is solely dependent on the pension she receives from the army for the survival of herself and her four children. "My youngest daughter has not been able to understand that her father is dead. She is still holding on to the promise that he had made: to come back and buy us a radio," said teary-eyed Shrestha. Many women of various ages in Nepal express sympathy for these women. In Kathmandu, a woman says she believes that in times of crisis it is her duty to support these women "We have to be friendly and loving to them". Since 1991, hundreds of local NGOs have been established in Nepal.

According to the findings of the study, the average family size of those killed in the conflict is 5.36 which makes those directly affected by war at over 37,000, given that over 9,000 were killed in the eight-year insurrection. Women comprise at least 50 percent and more than 95 percent of Nepali women are effected by Maoists war. 80 percent of Nepalese women organization are working in Kathmandu.

Bimala Khadka, a 27 year old educated widow who lost her husband in Accham says" Women should be included in the negotiations because their experiences, values and priorities, as women, bring a perspective that is valuable to both process and outcome.

"I had wished for peace when my husband left me home to resume his duty three days before he was killed at Dang Ghorahi and I still wish for peace, as my brother-in-laws too are soldiers and I don't want any Nepali woman to face my fate. I will never forget his simplicity. I cannot believe myself that he is no more now" says Naramaya Thapa, a 16-year-old who lost her husband in Dang Ghorahi. Twenty-two-year-old Thapa had joined the Nepal Police about 5 years ago as a constable. He was transferred to the District Police Office in Dang only three months ago. Naramaya is not alone the Maoist conflict has left in its wake hundreds of young women homeless and displaced. The overwhelming majority of women victimized by Maoists are hovering between life and death, due to lack of timely financial support. Though the government has spent RS 12 million for compensating these women and families of armymen, it has done nothing of the sort for the kin of other victims.

Women bring to peace talks a practical understanding of real life security concerns and their commitment to peace is often critical to ensure the sustainability of peace agreements. The peace negotiations would not be sustainable if we ignore the voice of people at the grassroots. If politics does not become part of the solution, it will motivate hate so trust and peaceful dialogue is essential at various levels". During violent armed conflicts in Nepal, most of the women who could stand the harassment, and the economic hardships, moved to the big cities like Katmandu, Pokhara, Janakpur, Dhangadhi and Biratnagar etc. With increased insecurity and fear of attack often cause women to flee. In Nepal, the opportunities for women to exchange views and forge a common policy against violent conflicts are minimal even they do not know their political rights or understand that they have a role to play in shaping the policies that affect their lives. Even, since the dawn of democracy in 1990, government of Nepal have been making continuous efforts to enhance the women s status and empower them by guaranteeing the "right to equality" under the "Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990," implementing various gender sensitive development programs and ratifying 16 important international human rights instruments, including the CEDAW.

In Nepal, the opportunities for women to exchange views and forge a common policy against violent is minimal even women are often the main victims in situations of conflict, suffering human rights abuses. Nepalese women believe, if they are given an opportunity to make their voice heard, if they can bring their own perspective to the table, the chances for lasting peace and reconciliation will improve immeasurably. Women in Nepal always have to bear a disproportionate burden of poverty and they have painful experience arising from the uncontrolled flows of arms.
When there is lawlessness in society, women s lives are torn apart. Many Nepalese women are living a miserable life, are not educated, do not have access to health facilities and safe drinking water. Nepalese women can not forget how women with political power does not mean improvement overall in women s political, economic or social status.

Nepalese women may talk about physical peace but peace as a lifestyle is difficult to achieve for many reasons, both explicit and implicit, and that substantial homework has to be done before embarking on such a venture that might prove difficult to tread as we go down the line. Nepalese women do not know the position of the political parties which have different attitudes and different ways of thinking according to their preferences and often whims. Economic injustice provides a fertile ground for conflict and globalization makes it worst.

Nepalese women must have a right to be involved in all peace processes because displaced women are the real problem in Nepal. If Nepalese women are to play an equal part in security and maintaining peace, they must be empowered politically and economically. In the last general elections held on may 1999, out of 2238 candidates for 205 seats only 135 were women and as many as 113 constituencies did not have any women candidate at all. As a result, the elections to the local bodies held on 1997 and 1998, returned more than 40,000 women representatives. It constitutes almost 20% of all the elected office bearers. They must be empowered at all levels of decision- making, both at the pre-conflict stage as well as at the point of peacekeeping, peace-building, reconciliation and reconstruction.

Nepalese women's organization should mobilize and build capacity of women and civil society at large to contribute to peace because for women interested in reconciliation, the challenge is to develop an integrated gender approach. Women's organizations should support democratic pluralistic society and peaceful political transition. A member of women's organization can help bring about drastic and conceptual changes. There is an overriding agreement that the lack of sustainable political, economic and social development with no real changes in the lives of the women, children , poor and vulnerable has been the most significant contributing factor to the conflict situation in Nepal. While Nepalese women's organizations can play key roles in information gathering, peace building, and can help the government city to move from simply responding to crises to preventing their occurrence.

Nepalese women and girls are facing discrimination in access to health, education, employment, and other areas. There is an urgent need for women to be in the decision-making bodies in large numbers to improve the overall status of women in our society. The Nepali constitution which is prejudiced against women, has to be reformed if one wants to see an improvement in the status of women. There is a need for mass counseling among the affected lot backed with legal counseling. Nepalese women should be nominated to village councils, municipalities, district councils, district development committees, sub-committees of local government, and a mandatory provision for inclusion of women to various committees.
In Nepal, there are currently more than 118 legal provisions that directly discriminate Nepalese women, strictly limiting their rights. Although the Nepalese constitution strongly advocates gender equity in principle, Nepalese women have not yet experienced that sense of equality. They are still treated as second-class citizens and the on-going conflict between the government and the Maoist militia has only served to aggravate that situation.

Many customs, rituals and practices propagate violence against Nepalese women such as deuki; jhuma; kumari; child marriage, polygamy, unmatched marriage (marriage between partners with a very large age difference), and polygamy. There are countless others. But it is the violence that has forced women and children in particular to pay a terrible price for the situation of insecurity and violence.

Thousands of women have died and many more have been injured or left homeless during the conflict. Since 1996, the Maoist war has cost over 10,500 lives and has brought the country's fragile economy into deep trouble. Innocent women and children, police officials of various ranks and even members of opposing political parties have been the most affected victims. Because of poverty and an ongoing leadership crisis, things have gone from bad to worse in recent years in Nepal.

Nepal's long-running conflict has been marked by an extraordinary level of brutal human rights abuses, including sexual violence against women that include rape, pre-natal sex selection in favour of male babies, female infanticide and trafficking of women prostitution.

Based on the 2003 National Women's Commission's report, women account for around 33 percent of the Maoist militia in some districts, while the figure is as high as 50 percent in "the most highly mobilised Maoist districts." The report also states that 50 percent of cadres at the lower level, 30 percent of soldiers and 10 percent of members of the central committee of the party are women. Based on the commission's findings, a majority of Nepali women are legally, politically, economically, socially and culturally marginalised.

Forceful recruitment of young women in the Maoist force is another serious issue in Nepal. Many young women have been displaced from their homes and forced to stay away because of this threat to them in their villages. Killing of male members of the family by both parties (the Maoist and the police) is another way Nepalese women are being victimized. Even news reports in a Nepali daily said that women were being forced to carry guns and satisfy the sexual appetites of the insurgents. Nepalese women have suffered the loss of family and homes, and they have faced extreme poverty. The majority of internal refugees are women and children.

Nepal's situation is both urgent and complex. For true peace in Nepal, security is essential. Only with security will we win the restoration of women's rights, peace and democracy. Democracy was restored in Nepal in 1990, but all the political parties have since violated the constitution. They have not been able to maintain peace, safeguard the lives of Nepalese people and control the violence, killings and corruption in accordance with the multi-party system and democratic norms.

Even now, we have not yet been able to develop a democratic culture in Nepal. In Nepal, however, instead of educating the women democratically, the political parties are engaged in in-fighting and nasty quarrels with other organizations. It is sad to know that Nepalese women's hopes for democracy turned to a mirage, as they did not sense any difference even after democratic changes. The government and other political parties have failed to maintain law and order or to eliminate poverty and backwardness by those in power. Capturing power at all costs for amassing wealth by whatever clandestine means to enjoy an immoral life became the sole purpose of our democratic leaders, who are despotic and always surrounded by close-knit henchmen.

Since 1991, hundreds of local NGO's have been established in Nepal. Nepalese women's organizations could play a key role in information gathering and peace building, and they could help government and civil society to move from simply responding to crises to preventing their occurrence.

In a pluralist society such as Nepal, ensuring equal representation and participation of all communities and guaranteeing the rights of women and of minorities are among the most important tests of a democracy. The lack of women in politics has a profound impact on the style and content of policies, which can lead to situations of conflict. Policies and programmes need to be sensitive to the quality of life and security of women within the camps or areas where displaced persons are concentrated. The Nepalese women want the war to come to an end and their urgent essential problems to be addressed immediately.