Twenty two participants from six different countries gathered in the capital and worked on the issue through three work groups: the communication group, events group and research and lobby group with an aim to create a safer city where women can walk without fear of harassment.
The campaign was also launched on Facebook as ‘Safe City’ and pamphlets were distributed in public places, including public vehicles, to create awareness.
Stencils were used as visual medium to inform people and the participants also organized flashmobs on October 17 at Old and New Bus parks and Kathmandu Mall.
They froze in poses that depicted sexual harassments in buses, tempos and other means of public transportation and shouted slogans encouraging women to speak up for themselves.
The organizers held meetings with the Department of Transportation Management and submitted letters demanding help minimize sexual harassments in public vehicles.
Representatives from Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj, HomeNet Nepal and Mahila Adhikar Manch interact during the women’s workshop organized at ActionAid’s office in Gyaneshwor on Friday.
The campaign also brought to light the Public Offence Act 1970 which mentions a little about sexually molesting females in public places but nothing specific about sexual harassments in public vehicles. At the women’s workshop organized on November 2, representatives of the campaign’s partner alliances and students shared their personal experiences of visual, verbal and physical sexual harassments and measures they can adopt during such occasions.
Bhagwati Adhikari, 23, from Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj shared her experience where a friend of hers was harassed by a bus driver. She also pointed out visual harassment in which harassers pass lewd comments about the woman’s body structure and parts.
Most of the participants talked about lack of laws for offenders and what prohibits them from filing cases -- lack of evidence to prove that they have been harassed.
“The impact is psychological and we have no proof other than eye witnesses. Public transportation is always crowded and in most cases, a victim decides to overlook any harassment. Also, what is the point of going to the police station and reporting it later? You have no idea about how you can identify the harasser,” said Mani Lama, 40 from Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj.
Menuka Dangol, 22, from KNK College suggested women not to remain quiet or tolerate harassment. Victims should react immediately and speak out. “For that, we should first understand what harassment is. There is no precise definition of harassment, anything that makes you uncomfortable is cited as harassment,” she added.
Forum theatre was organized after the workshop in which the participants presented a play portraying sexual harassments in public vehicles and the representatives from various organizations suggested solutions to how a victim can tackle such instances and the apt way to react to harassment depending upon the severity.
A rally is to be organized on November 3 from World Trade Centre, Tripureshwor at 11 am as part of the campaign. A concert is also scheduled for November 6.
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