Nepal: Coinciding the occasion of 109th International Women's Day, Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) organized a discussion program on 'Increasing Violence Against Dalit Girls and Women and Their Access to Justice' on 11 March.
On the program, a situational analysis of violence against Dalit girls and women, especially rape, based on the study carried out by FEDO, was presented. According to the study, girls and the women from the Dalit community are more prone to the violence especially rape when compared to the girls and the women of the other castes. In addition to this, they have lesser access to justice. The study found that off the total incidents of rape, 21% of the victims were from the Dalit community. Unfortunately, only 15% of them could get justice. Likewise, there were 729 incidents of rape in Nepal from the month of Baishakh (April-May) to the Magh (Jan-Feb) this year. Off which in 154 incidents, victims were from the Dalit community. Moreover, in 80% of the cases, the victim has been killed.
They study shows that due to poor and lesser access to education, high proportion of poverty, poor presence in state mechanism, no equality in justice, poor financial status, discrimination from so-called high caste people, Dalit find it difficult to seek justice. Owing to this, even police do not register their com-plaint. The society and even the police emphasize to solve the case by offering some financial benefits to the victims instead of going through the legal proceedings and provide the justice to the victim as per the law.
The study suggests proper rehabilitation of the victim and establishment of the strong mechanism for eas-ing the access to justice. Likewise, it also recommended the amendment of the existing law in a manner to remove legal loopholes that silence the violence on many occasions.
The findings of the study were shared among the Dalit women rights activists, human rights activists, women rights activists, local level representatives, lawyers, media officials and researchers working on Dalit issues.
The program was chaired by the President of FEDO Kala Swarnakar while the major guests presented in the program were: Senior Advocate Meera Dhungana, Deputy Inspector General Haribhakta Prajapati and Parliamentarian Anjana Bishankhe.
Source: Feminist Dalit Organization For a Just and Equitable Society
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