KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 21

Minister of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, Nawal Kishor Sah Sudi, has said that his ministry is always active to fully implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Speaking at the national session of the national consultation meeting organised by Forum for Women, Law, and Development (FWLD) to prepare CEDAW shadow report, Minister Sah Sudi expressed confidence that suggestions that would emerge from the consultation meeting would help further refine the shadow report.

The Minister said that the government had submitted its seventh report to the CEDAW committee and that his ministry was alert about the list of issues sent by the CEDAW committee as those issues were related to his ministry.

Chair of the National Women Commission Kamala Parajuli said that CEDAW was the most important documents and a shared document for world's women. While Nepal has made significant progress with regard to women empowerment in recent years, implementation laws and policies remain weak, she said. UNDP Resident Representative for Nepal Kyoko Yokosuka said that while Nepali women won many rights under the current constitution, there were multiple areas where reforms were still required to empower women and vulnerable groups. She said there were some legal gaps and harmful social practices including the problems of dowry and violence that need to be addressed to ensure women's rights and their empowerment.

Deputy Representative of UN Women Nepal Mehtap Tatar said that there still were many things that need to be addressed to better women's situation in Nepal.

Executive Director of Forum for Women, Law and Development Sabin Shrestha said that women and vulnerable groups were facing violence at home and outside their homes and all the issues that were impeding women's equal rights would be raised in the shadow report. He urged the participants to raise all the issues, including education, health and employment with their recommendations to address those issues so that their shadow report could stand out at CEDAW Committee.

Civil society members will present their shaddow report at the CEDAW committee in February when the committee will discuss Nepal's report on CEDAW.

Representatives from more than one hundred NGOs working to promote equality and gender justice took part in the consultation meeting meeting.