Kathmandu – A shadow report addressing all forms of discrimination against women was submitted by Nepali civil society at the 90th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in Geneva, Switzerland. The report was presented by the Forum for Women, Law, and Development (FWLD) on behalf of civil society. FWLD’s Executive Director, Advocate Sabin Shrestha, stated that the integrated and comprehensive shadow report covered all 16 articles of the CEDAW convention.
In his oral presentation, Advocate Shrestha highlighted Nepal’s progress toward gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, he emphasized that institutional discrimination against women remains prevalent in key areas, exacerbating intersectional issues and putting marginalized women at risk of multiple forms of discrimination.
Despite Nepal enacting gender-sensitive laws, Shrestha pointed out that the country still lacks specific and effective legal provisions to define “discrimination against women” and address intersectional and compounded discrimination faced by marginalized groups, including women with disabilities, Dalit women, single women, religious minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, Indigenous women, Madhesi women, elderly women, girls, and those affected by humanitarian crises.
The Penal Code of Nepal (2017) criminalizes discriminatory acts committed by officials, but Shrestha stressed the need for more effective measures to criminalize and penalize all forms of discrimination in private and individual settings.
Nepal ratified the CEDAW convention 35 years ago in 1991, but discriminatory laws persist in areas such as nationality, registration, employment, migration, sexual and reproductive health, property inheritance, marriage, and family relations, Shrestha noted.
The budget allocated to the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens for this fiscal year was merely 0.0095% of the total national budget, and funding for the National Women Commission has been declining. Shrestha urged the government to strengthen these institutions by ensuring adequate human and financial resources.
He further highlighted that an estimated 1,500 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence have been denied justice due to the statute of limitations on such cases. Removing this limitation and providing appropriate compensation and reparations to survivors is an urgent necessity.
Shrestha called for a comprehensive umbrella law to ensure uniform services for survivors of gender-based and sexual violence, including rescue, compensation, interim relief, medical care, psychosocial counseling, legal aid, shelter, social reintegration, and livelihood opportunities.
Although Nepal ratified the Palermo Protocol in 2020, the country has yet to amend its Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2007, in alignment with the protocol, including removing the association of human trafficking with sex work.
The Sexual Harassment at the Workplace (Prevention) Act, 2014, does not cover informal sectors, where most women are employed. Shrestha emphasized the need to extend legal protections to these sectors and ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions.
Nepal’s Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act, 2018, still does not fully decriminalize abortion and continues to prosecute women and girls seeking abortions beyond legal conditions. The law also prohibits abortion beyond 28 weeks of pregnancy, even when a woman’s life is at risk. Although Nepal has accepted the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendation to fully decriminalize abortion, the necessary legal reforms are yet to be implemented.
Lastly, Shrestha pointed out that Nepal’s disaster risk reduction and management policies fail to recognize sexual and reproductive health services as essential during crises, leaving women, adolescents, LGBTQ+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized communities vulnerable. He stressed the need to ensure access to these services as a fundamental right, even in times of humanitarian emergencies.