KATHMANDU, March 22: Expressing serious concerns over growing cases of violence against women, the Amnesty International on Thursday handed over 23,247 letters to the Ministry of Home Affairs demanding concrete measures to end violence against women.

Despite government’s claims of improved safety and security for women, crime against women and children continue to plague the country, primarily due to poor laws and their ineffective implementation.

According to police, a total of 12,225 women had endured violence in 2017/18, up from 11,629 cases reported a year earlier.

Interestingly, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had cited stiff action  in crime against women and children as one of the major achievements of his government in the annual progress report released by the ministry.  

Among other things, Thapa had claimed that the ministry had held successful investigation of 95 percent of complaints related to cases of violence against women.

The letters were collected from AI members, activists and supporters during the rights group’s global ‘Write for Rights’ campaign that lasted between November 29 and December 20 last year to draw the attention of the home minister toward the alarming state of the increasing rate of the incidents of violence against women and the deepening culture of impunity in Nepal even amidst the current dispensation of a changed political context with a stable government. 

In a statement, AI said that the letters have asked the home minister to take prompt and effective steps to undertake actions aimed at ending all forms of violence against women in Nepal, bring the perpetrators to justice and take legislative initiatives toward having no statutory limitation to file complaints of rape removing the current provision of one year’s limitation.

 
• Violence
 
• Women
 
• Ministry_of_Home_Affairs