National 10 (Spotlight Weekly)

Trapped In Conflict

Although the Maoist insurgency has claimed the lives of men in huge numbers, it has affected women and children no less

By BABITA BASNET

There was a time when it was a taboo for women to climb to the pinnacle of a house. The prevailing superstition was that if they do so it would invite misfortune. Thus in case of houses with thatched roofs men became indispensable for covering the roofs. If a household did not have men, male neighbors had to be beseeched for help. Similarly, plowing was another work women were forbidden to do. The reason was the same: doing so was an invitation to misfortune.

However acute the need for an extra hand at the fields, women were not allowed to use the plow. But now the responsibility for the once banned works has fallen on the shoulders of women, especially in Maoist-affected areas. For most insurgency-hit villages are devoid of able-bodied men, with some having gone underground after joining the rebel outfit and some having gone abroad. The scanty male population that has remained behind consists of the elderly, the disabled and children. When someone dies in a village there are no men to carry the dead body in a funeral procession. In many places, circumstances have forced women to carry dead bodies themselves, although before the armed insurgency began that was another restricted job for women.

The Maoist insurgency in the past nine years has imposed additional burden in terms of duties on women, who also have to cope with the grief caused by loss of their husbands, fathers and children. Enforced disappearance of or injuries to family members are another source of grief. A large number of women have lost their lives in the conflict, thousands have been widowed while many others have been raped.

When an armed conflict starts in any country it will affect every person and community. But the fact remains that women and children are two groups most severely hit by such conflicts. Even women without any association with either side of the conflict are victimized. Incidents of violence against women that have come to light range from abduction of women without any reason to their rape while in detention.

There have been efforts to restore peace in the past nine years but women were not given due space in such endeavors. No woman has ever been part of peace process, with the sole exception being Anuradha Koirala, an assistant minister in the Lokendra Bahadur Chand government between October 2002 and April 2003, who was part of government negotiating team for two rounds of talks with the rebels during the period. Nor has the issue of adverse consequences of conflict on women been raised as an agenda.

Many human rights organizations have been voicing the need for participation of women in the peace process. UNIFEM is one such organization. It was at its initiative that a UN Security Council meeting in October 2000 passed Resolution 1325 with special emphasis on women and peace and security. The 18-point resolution, considered to be a historical achievement in women's rights movement, recognized the need for respect and protection of rights of women and children, active role of women in restoring peace, and training on gender sensitivities for everyone working to bring about peace. It has urged all parties involved in armed conflicts to devise and implement ways to protect women and girls from violence, especially rape and sexual exploitation. The very first point of Resolution 1325 has requested all nations to increase the representation of women in decision-making levels at national, regional and international organizations working in the area of conflict management. The decision is extremely important because UN members are obliged to implement a Security Council decision.

Women rights activist Dr. Arzoo Rana Deuba believes that women have taken a united stand on the issue of women participation in the peace process. “If we look at the history of countries once hit by armed conflict, we find that while men started violence it was women who made efforts for peace,” she says. She adds that the armed conflict has created a psychological terror among women. Mothers who have lost children due to the conflict undergo severe trauma.

President of People’s Front Nepal Amik Sherchan agrees that women are the ones who bear the greatest brunt of the conflict. “Women have been directly and severely affected by conflict. Already they have not been able to free themselves from various discriminations. Now inhuman torture is meted out to a woman just because she fed someone, even though she did not have any ulterior motive,” says Sherchan.

In this context there is an urgent need to make gender-related training compulsory in the Royal Nepalese Army and Nepal Police.

Civil society members that are involved in conflict management and peace process should also take such training so as to be able to look at any issue or situation from gender perspective. Says Chief of UNIFEM Nepal Sangita Thapa, who regards women participation in conflict management or peace process a mandatory provision, “The gender perspective in the peace process should not be an issue concerning women only but should be something that concerns the entire human community.” According to INSEC, as of Jestha, 2061, 7800 women have lost their lives due to the armed conflict, while still more have been injured and displaced. Likewise, according to CWIN, which works in the sector of child rights, the conflict has claimed the lives of 150 children, rendered 2000 children orphans and forced more than 4000 to leave home.

(The article is courtesy of Sancharika Lekhmala /Sancharika Samuha)