Kathmandu, November 24:

As the world is celebrating ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Against Women’ (VAW) from November 25 to bring to light the various forms of violence against women, the post-conflict period in Nepal calls for gender sensitive approach towards the peace process.

In this context, Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare, Urmila Aryal, told this daily that the government is working to prioritise conflict-affected women’s issues in its three-year interim plan.

“The peace accord has not addressed women’s issues, and, therefore, data collected by the Truth Commission would be used to formulate policies for conflict-affected women and children,” she said.

A total of 343 women were directly affected by the armed conflict in 2004, according to data collected from news items published in different newspapers by the Institute of Human Rights Communication, Nepal. The State and the Maoists killed 200 women; 36 women were raped and 107 sustained injuries. Similarly, in 2005, a total of 173 women were affected by the armed conflict. Ninety-six were killed and 28 were raped and 58 sustained injuries.Women’s rights are increasingly violated. Statistical data only give an overview. In the rural regions, women’s roles have changed due to the deaths of men and their involvement in the conflict, migration from the villages and displacement.

In consideration of these facts, the United Nations has been taking various steps with special focus on women’s involvement in the peace processes. The UN Charter states that it will place ‘no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.

“When women are present, the nature of the dialogues changes. Women’s concerns come out merely out of their own experiences, but out of their rootedness in their communities. They represent different constituencies: those in need of education, of health care, of jobs and of land. They have different experience of war from male fighters and politicians,” states ‘Women War Peace’, a report prepared by UNIFEM.

The magnitude of violence suffered by women during and after conflict is overwhelming. Resources need to be specifically dedicated for women’s protection, said Shobha Gautam, coordinator of Shantimalika. Gautam said that the peace accord signed by the government and the Maoists is gender biased as it does not touch gender-related issues.

In this context, a meeting of the United Nations Security Council held on October 31, 2000, passed Resolution 1325 for the involvement of women in all processes of peace from the local to the international level.