KATHMANDU, JUNE 6

With the wide-ranging impacts of COVID pandemic on human rights, women's right to bodily autonomy must be protected to ensure that they can make choices about their bodies and future without any fear of violence, said rights activists.

Reports from Nepal Police, National Women's Commission and non-governmental organisations show an increase in sexual violence during the current pandemic.

'Child marriages are taking place and girls are forced to become pregnant at a young age.

This shows that women's right to choose who, when and whether to marry is under threat,' said Rachana Sunar, an advocate for women's rights working in Karnali Province. 'This is violation of bodily autonomy, which is all about empowering women to make informed choices.'

For the first time, the House endorsed the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act in 2018 that safeguards the bodily autonomy of women and girls. Nepal is among a very few countries in the Asia-Pacific region to have a standalone law on reproductive health rights. The act makes it mandatory for public health centres to offer reproductive health care free of cost and for local governments to allocate adequate resources to that effect.

According to the recently launched 'My Body is My Own' report by UNFPA, nearly half of all women in 57 developing countries, including Nepal, are denied their bodily autonomy.

Only 48 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 years in the country can make their own decisions regarding health care, contraception and sex with their husbands or partners, the report says.

'I was about to be married off when I was 15 years old. My body wasn't ready to become a bride,' said Sunar, who, together with other noted activists attended the launch of the report by the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office last month. 'Many girls in Nepal are still unable to say 'no' as I did in 2015.'

Through her NGO, IDEA Nepal, Rachana has been working to end the practice of child marriage, and has been promoting the trend of keeping girls in school and engaging them in community-level conversations regarding the issues of adolescence.

Still, nearly 40 per cent of Nepali girls marry before the age of 18 and a third of women aged 15 to 49 years experience physical or sexual violence, according to official figures.

'Our laws and policies guarantee women's rights, but in reality many women and girls are unable to enjoy these rights and lack the decision-making power,' said Prakriti Pokhrel, an activist who advocates young people's sexual and reproductive health and rights. 'The Reproductive Health Rights Act is something we can feel proud of.

As mandated by the law, local levels must work towards providing full access to contraceptives and comprehensive sexuality education at the community level to promote bodily autonomy,' she said.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 7, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.