Kathmandu, March 6:

National Women’s Commission (NWC) said today all preparations to celebrate the 99th International Women’s Day had been completed. The NWC said it would mark the day by organising several programmes across the country.

NWC president Nayan Kala Thapa said the day would be celebrated to honour and safeguard women’s rights.

The international slogan for this year International Women’s Day is ‘Women and men united to end violence against women and girls’ and the national slogan for the celebration

is ‘Women-friendly constitution drafting, appeal to all Nepali’.

Thapa informed that four sub-committees — management, advertising, publishing and rally — had been formed under the main organising committee to celebrate the day.

“There should be no discrimination on the basis of biological differences, as such discrimination are the violation of human rights. But such discrimination are being continued by the state, society and family. This is a criminal act,” she maintained. She also

said women were being subjected to physical, mental, emotional, economical and sexual violence in the society.

“I ask men in our country to help end all forms of violence against women and safeguard the rights of women,” she said, adding, “Women have both the opportunity and challenges to guarantee their rights in the new constitution.”

She also asked the women to be united and raise their voices while drafting new constitution.

The NWC recorded 105 cases of violence against women in the fiscal year 2007/08. It has already recorded 95 cases in the current fiscal year (2008/09), among which 58 per cent are related to domestic violence.