NATIONAL7Spotlight Weekly)]

Victims Of Violence

An NGO studies the social impact of violence against women, focusing on rape, incest and polygamy

By AKSHAY SHARMA

Studies suggest that Nepal is the only country in the world where the life expectancy of females is lower than that of males. That statistic powerfully underscores the suffering Nepalese women endure.

Sathi, a non-government organization, has released a study that is aimed at understanding the social and psychological costs being borne by the victims. The objective is focused not only on prevention and providing political support to the women but also to study what needs to be done to prevent the impact.

"It is hoped that this will contribute towards stopping violence against girls inside and outside their homes," said former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, who launched the study. "Whether it is polygamy, rape or incest, the impact on the victims is instant and concerted efforts are required to address the issue," he added.

Arzoo Rana Deuba, president of Sathi, said: "People who commit these crimes deserve severe punishment." Referring to the reportís finding that 38 percent of the survivors of these crimes are under the age of 19 years, she said, "This is a frightening finding which reveals the extent of the victimization of the children in Nepal."

Thirty-two percent of victims fall in 30-39 years age group, 29 percent in the 10-19 years age group. Forty percent are in their twenties and 17 percent are above 40 years. The majority of the 69 percent of the polygamy victims are found to be under 40 years. This makes it all the more important to address the young generation and make them understand the gravity of the issue. They should be warned of the dangers ahead. Parents and guardians must be well apprised of the precautions to ensure the safety of their children, says the Sathi report.

Jan De White, director of SNV/Nepal, said, "When these victim are burning from the physiological fires that are imposed on them, society should understand and respect them for their virtue in humanity. Sathi has provided an excellent data in the book but the fact is that it is hard to understand that the problem with this crime is that you cannot get access to the actual data."

Tirtha Man Shakya, chief secretary to the government, said: "His Majestyís Government will use the findings and recommendations of the publication to raise the status of women, particularly in rural areas. Some of the data have been published in the media and it is the duty of civil society to help solve the problem. In 1973 (the international year of women) these issues were raised and the 1991 constitution ratifies the protection of women. And here we are 25 years later debating on the same issue."

"Polygamy victims are mostly from the higher castes, 38 percent being Brahmin and Chetri, although the case exists in all castes," says Pinky Rana. "Seventy-one percent said that they had no income source and were dependent on others, 56 percent were economically comfortable, while 44 percent were surviving on their own."

Chitra Lekha Yadav, deputy speaker of the House Of Representatives, said: "The overall impact of all three forms of violence against women are physiologically negative. The negative social relations serve to further disturb the victimsí mental and emotional balance while adding to their misery."

Sathi's study focuses on strategies for awareness at the grass-roots level, the advocacy of victim support and amendment to their proposed 11th amendment to the Civil Code. "The study was a daunting task indeed as the hospitals would not provide the proper data saying that it would be against their ethics," remarked Pramada Shah, vice-president of Sathi. The study is a compilations of interviews, data and the findings are based on studies we did in Kathmandu, Taplejung, Banke, Bardia and Ilam districts."

At present, rape carries a punishment of between three and 10 yearsí imprisonment. Sathi recommends that that the sentence be changed to between five and 20 yearsí imprisonment.

Sathi suggests that legal reforms be made to the Muluki Ain. These include more severe punishment, handing investigation of rape cases to women police officers in-camera and redefining rape to include various forms of sexual exploitation, stronger legislation against paedophilia, legally entitling victimsí share of their husbandís property and stricter fines for the offenders. The report also calls for raising the minimum age for marriage and punishment for child marriage, outlawing bigamy and equal punishment for fraudulent marriage, legalization of abortion and abolishing character judgment of women in all sexual crimes.