Kathmandu, November 14:

In a bid to bring down incidents of violence against women in politics, the South Asian Partnership International (SAP-I) is organising an Asian regional conference on Sunday.

The conclave will scrutinise laws, policies and provisions that discriminate against women involved in politics.

It also aims to form a body to reduce incidents of this form of violence. Representatives from the United Kingdom, Canada and Nepal, among others, are expected to take part in the conference.

Dr Rohit K Nepali, executive director, SAP-I, said, “The issue of violence against women in politics needs to be tackled to change the existing social traditions, norms and attitudes towards women’s participation in politics.”

“Existing laws have failed to define political violence against women in clear terms. The conference is an initiative aimed at combating discrimination against women,” Nepali added.

He further said that women were tolerating psychological violence in politics because they

were unaware of this kind of violence.

“We will analyse the effectiveness of relevant mechanisms that are in place in South Asian countries,” said Nepali.

Chandni Joshi, former regional programme director, UNIFEM, agreed that clear definition of the term — political violence against women — was lacking.

She stressed the need to forge coordination between policy-makers, non-government organisations and international non-government organisations to address the issue.

“Groups concerned should lobby with the electoral bodies to introduce laws that discourage

violence in politics,” Shrestha added.

Former deputy speaker Chitralekha Yadav said it would be impossible to frame an inclusive constitution without bringing an end to political violence against women.