Marking the International Day of Action for Safe and Legal Abortion on Monday, they said that women in Nepal are pushing themselves toward unsafe abortion as they don't have adequate knowledge regarding it.Speaking at an advocacy program organized by Nursing Campus Maharajgunj and Youth Champions Advocacy Network Nepal (YCANN), Sulochana Shrestha, assistant chief of the college, said that many women are not well informed about abortion although it was legalized more than a decade ago.
"There is a need of awareness and advocacy regarding abortion in both urban and rural areas to help women know about safe abortion procedure and its legal status," said Shrestha.
According to data of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011, only 38 percent of women in Nepal know about the legalization of abortion and seven percent of maternal mortality in Nepal is due to unsafe abortion. Nepal legalized abortion on September 26, 2002. This is the first time that Nepal celebrated national safe abortion day.
As an effort to dissuade women from opting for unsafe abortion, the budget speech this year declared free abortion services at government hospitals.
Speaking at the program, Smriti Thapa, a youth activist with YCANN, said that women still face social stigmas brought on by abortion.
"Most women don't even realize that abortion has been guaranteed as their basic health rights by the constitution," she said, adding that unsafe abortion was contributing to maternal mortality rate.
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