KATHMANDU, MARCH 6
Women rights activists have said that Nepal needs to invest adequate resources to provide safe abortion services and other reproductive rights services to women.
Addressing a programme 'F for Feminism' organised by Forum for Women, Law and Development, Deputy Country Director of Ipas Nepal Jagadishwar Ghimire said it was bizarre that even 20 years after safe abortion was legalised by the country, 58 per cent women were undergoing unsafe abortion. "This means that Nepal needs to overcome many challenges to enable women to enjoy their reproductive rights guaranteed by the constitution,"
Ghimire added. He said every day 900 women were terminating their pregnancies while 520 of them were terminating their pregnancies in unsafe conditions.
Senior Manager and Officer In- Charge of Centre for Reproductive Rights Prabina Bajracharya said reproductive rights fall under women's human rights and violation of such rights leads to multiple adverse impacts on women's life.
Minister of State for Health and Population Bhawani Prasad Khapung and Chairperson of FWLD Senior Advocate Gita Devi Aryal jointly unveiled the book 'Advancing Public Health and Human Right Standards through Self-managed Abortion.' Artists from Shailee Theater performed a drama to propagate the message of safe abortion. State Minister Khapung said women should be educated to seek medical abortion.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
