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Kathmandu Friday March 09, 2001 Falgun 26, 2057.
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Empower
women
The other day, the Minister for Women,
Children and Social Welfare disclosed that the government has drafted a new
"law" to curb women-related violence across the country including girl
trafficking. This disclosure no doubt sends a new message to the victims of social
atrocities that the country’s concern for justice extends to women as well. Many a
time, human rights and women’s rights groups have criticized the government for its
passive response to the brutal treatment and repression of women both at home and at the
work place. Also, the minister’s disclosure indicates the government is more
concerned about actually empowering women than merely making a show of interest in the
problem. However, will the government be able to correct the mistakes in the Civil Code
that directly undermine women’s rights? Has it realized the necessity of family
courts to deal with domestic violence? How confidently can the government overturn
traditional customs, if it feels these customs have denied women their basic rights? What
are the measures to be taken to raise the women’s literacy rate and, at the same
time, to prevent pregnancy-related deaths also? These are a few questions that remain
unanswered.
Statistics show that 90 percent of deliveries
in Nepal are performed at home and about 40 percent of all pregnancies are risky affairs.
No wonder the country’s maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world.
This unfortunate state of affairs can be mostly attributed to the dismal health
infrastructure, particularly the maternity facilities which leave much to be desired. Life
expectancy for women is lower than that for men, something unusual in the world, and women
engaged in agricultural labor are paid less than their male co-workers. More than sixty
percent of women remain illiterate and only 17 percent of girls have access to secondary
education. The reason for this lopsided picture is that the present judicial system, which
is directly derived from the Civil Code of 1963, does not treat women on par with men.
This is the result of the age-old tradition that reflects the subordinate status of women
in our society.
Any attempt to improve the situation must
necessarily take a multi-dimensional approach. For it has become clear that reducing the
high rates of mortality and illiteracy calls for much more than just having medical and
educational facilities in place. Rather, it has to do with improving the overall status of
women in the country. This, however, will not be possible unless and until we recognize
women’s contribution to the household as well as to the national economy. Improving
women’s status will not be possible without empowering them not only legally but also
through policies that are specifically aimed at providing them with the right
opportunities.
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