Life becomes luxurious and easy with the help of science and technology. But, violence against women and girls is one of the major problems of the world.

Meanwhile, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was celebrated across the country on November 25 with the theme “Leave no one behind: end violence against women and girls.” Studies have shown that 19 percent of women between the age of 15 and 49 years were tortured physically and sexually by their partners in the 12 months of survey on the basis of data from 2005 to 2016 from 87 countries.  

Hence, to discuss violence against women, My City’s Kiran Lama and Sumit Pokharel talked to various people and asked them about the cause as well as solution to violence against women in Nepal.

Suman Baral, 34, Officer

In my opinion, domestic violence is one of the major problems in our country. This problem can be solved through education and awareness. Stringent action should be taken against the abusers. Not only that, the structure of our society is also another reason why women are not treated equally as compared to men. So as soon as possible, people should be made aware through moral education.

Punam Tamang, 21, Student

Violence against Women still exists in Nepal because of the lack of awareness. Women are forced to depend on men and that is the main reason why they are dominated. These factors should be controlled through mutual understanding between both the genders.

Rajan Laudari, 23, Civil Engineering Student

Because Nepali society is mostly patriarchal, a slight difference in weight between the two genders can also be quite easily observable. This goes for the violence we hear or see against women. Sexual assult against women is rampant in public vehicles, mostly during peak hours. Nepali politics doesn’t see enough participation of women to address issues related to a particular gender effectively. There are different sectors where similar incidents take place, and this was never a surprise.

The causes to it have to be mainly the lack of education in women, particularly in rural areas, and the Nepali culture that overlooks the inequality and discriminations against women.

Ranjan Sharma, 23, Civil Engineering Student

Females are dominated because they doesn’t speak up against the violence meted out on them due the fear of society and everyone else. Nepali society is cruel to females. The problem remains forcefully pushed under the rock by the women’s own family because the family members are concerned about their pride, which is worthless in this regard. Compare our culture to that of the western countries, there’s a major difference in how women are treated.

This doesn’t mean Nepal isn’t developed at all in this regard. Some changes in the country have been carried out but there’s still some more ways to stretch this. Besides the usual policies from the government and usual counseling as a way of cure, more organizations of Women Forum need to be established. 

Sakar Tripathi, 18, Student

Bluntly put, gender inequality and the violence that follow is all due to the way our society is and we have little or no jurisdiction over it, thus we can only do so much if we want the results in a short time. It’s just that all of us know this is not correct and should be put to an end, but any problem is not our problem unless the ones close to us are the victims. This is the mentality Nepali people, in general, possess.

The ultimate solution will arrive in probably the next generation where the society hpefully becomes more liberal and understanding. To help this right now, we can start with abolishing gender equality. Counseling is extremely vital to the victims. Even if it comes from the family. Stubborn wastes need a major sweep to be cleaned.

The victims need to come out and speak more and more so that it doesn’t become one to be thrashed from the others easily. Some forms of security can be offered to the females. This is the age of technology, some effort and things can be carried out in easy manner. These will still leave some holes open, but less hurting is always better than more hurting.

Yamuna Basnet, 19, Bachelor’s level Student

Violence against women exist because women are not given an equal opportunity for education. There’s inequality even from the parents to their children of different genders. The victims are often kept quiet with the help of some considerable political power from the culprit’s side. The families of the victims are reluctant to speak up against the victims because of their worthless stance of pride in the society. 

Education is a major key against this as it allows women, particularly in rural areas who are unaware about their gender rights, to speak up. Women can form organizations to build confidence of the victims. The push needs to come from the victims and their families who needs to think about their members ahead of the society. 

Mausami Timalsina, 20, Nursing Student

Especially, women in Nepal are victims of domestic violence and are abused in every sector. The main reason behind violence against women is our patriarchal culture. People especially from rural areas are blindly driven by the cultural beliefs where the role of women is society is only to breed and take care to their husband and family. So, women are physically, mentally and socially tortured by the so-called men. So, awareness and education are musts to set a proper mentality. Similarly, women should be more confident and have the ability to deal these problems.