On 10 April 2008, a new Constituent Assembly in Nepal was elected. The elections brought hope for placing human rights at the heart of the Constituent Assembly work and the new Maoist government made specific commitments to end impunity and improve the human rights situation in Nepal, including the rights of women and women human rights defenders.

In July, the government established a task force to make recommendations regarding violence against women and criminalization of domestic violence, following an extended protest by women human rights defenders, initiated after the alleged murder of a women human rights defender and the subsequent failure of police to properly investigate. The task force has yet to submit its report, which was due within two months.

A year on, very little has changed in reality, as women activists continue to face barriers to access justice and seek redress for domestic and sexual violence and gender discrimination. Two women’s rights activists in Nepal have been murdered since the new government came to power, with no significant attempts made to investigate or prosecute the crimes.

Each woman activist’s experience was unique and differed depending on the areas in which they work. Those engaged in policy advocacy in the capital city, Kathmandu, have to tackle attitudes in the patriarchal society that regard women as second-class citizens. One women activist said that, “even human rights activists do not seem to take women’s rights seriously.”

Rita Mahato is a 30-year-old health counsellor with the Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) in the Siraha district, an organization helping survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Rita was threatened with rape and murder in June 2007 when men who objected to WOREC’s work raided her office. The police have failed to initiate any investigation into the attack.

In Nepal, women activists often work in remote locations with minimal communication facilities and support mechanisms. They encounter discriminatory cultural practices such as early child marriage and boxsi (witchcraft). One activist told Amnesty International, “Whenever a woman takes a step forward she is accused of boxsi”.

Women activists in Eastern Terai, southern Nepal, are equally vulnerable to gender based violence. Reported violations tackled by women activists include rape by landlords and members of armed groups, violence in the family including by intimate partners and dowry deaths.

Victims often turn to the quick fix of community justice solutions. Traditional dispute resolution systems are common across Nepal given the barriers to accessing formal justice mechanisms.

The state’s duty to protect women from violence is explicitly stated in the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which Nepal has ratified. States should pursue by “all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women” (Article 4). Under international human rights law, the state has an obligation not only to ensure that its agents and officials do not commit violence against women, but also to protect women from violence committed by private individuals and bodies including members of their own families and communities.

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Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC), a national women’s organisation, has records of over 40 WHRDs reporting violations including threats on their life and assaults due to their work in 2008! Concerned about growing violence against WHRDS, WOREC organised a national consultation of WHRDs in Kathmandu in November 2008.

WOREC’S consultation with Human Rights Defenders on 29-30 November in Kathmandu included more than 200 Women Human Rights Defenders representing various districts and working in different institutions in Nepal. Many women activists present shared that they face harassment, intimidation, and violence because of social taboos against raising discriminatory social practices. Women at the grassroots are on the frontline of combating violence as they challenge feudal practices and face the most direct threats including beatings; lethal threats and even death. Women defenders highlighted that as they become more vocal, building on new political space to discuss discrimination, they fear a backlash without any protective mechanisms in place to support their work.

Rita Mahato is a 30-year old health counsellor with the Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) in Nepal, an organisation defending the rights of women and Dalits please describe who they are. In June 2007, men from her community who objected to WOREC’s work attacked the office in Siraha and threatened Rita Mahato with rape and death. Police failed to investigate the incident. She continued to face death threats in 2008.

Two years on from the People’s Movement, the Comprehensive Peace Accord November 2006 and the uprising of marginalized groups in the Terai district throughout 2007, there has been little delivery on promises of improved human rights protection in Nepal.

The reach of the state in many rural areas remains weak and there is no accountability of police at the district level, particularly in the Terai district, for investigating human rights abuses.

The resulting security vacuum has allowed the proliferation of armed groups that are engaged in a number of human rights abuses such as abductions, unlawful killings etc.

In this context victims of violence against women are particularly vulnerable and crimes against women are going unquestioned and unpunished. Many women and girls are afraid to report rape and other forms of violence, not only because of hostility and stigma from their community, but also due to state inaction in ensuring the investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators through the justice system.