Discriminatory Legal and Policy Reformation

Despite being a party to 21 International human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Nepal still has at least 117 legal provisions, spread in different laws, including the Constitution, that have discriminatory provisions. Adverse effects on women of the discriminatory provisions are manifold: economic dependency, domestic violence, lack of access to resources and exploitation in all its forms.

FWLD wants to ensure the effective enforcement of laws. We want to ensure substantive amendment and changes of the discriminatory laws and press that the country institutes more non-discriminatory prerogative-oriented laws. Equality is our concern and for equality, FWLD aims to reform those laws and policies that are discriminatory and derogatory and that marginalize people within the society. We try and amend these laws through Public Interest Litigations (PILs). We have especially been engaged in the field of citizenship rights and property rights issues. For amendments we conduct meetings with the Parliamentarians and Line Ministers and pressurize them for significant changes in the provisions.

FWLD had conducted a research on " Discriminatory Laws and Their Impact on Women: A Review of the Current Situation and Proposals for Change" in the year 2000. The first update of the study was published in the year 2004 and the second update in the year 2006. Our updated research of existing discriminatory laws found 173 Clauses/Sections/Rules, two Rules in their entirety, and 102 Schedules/Annexes/Forms in 83 different laws including the Constitution having discriminatory provisions. On the basis of these studies conducted, FWLD prepared an amendment proposal to the MPs, Speaker and the Women Ministry, pressurizing them to amend the particular existing discriminatory laws. The Gender Equality Bill was approved by the House of Representatives on 28 September 2006 and the Certification of the Bill took place on 3 November 2006 . The Bill has been proved as an important step towards the movement on eliminating discrimination against women. The passed Bill has repealed and amended 56 discriminatory provisions of the various Acts and also has incorporated some provisions to ensure women's rights.

We believe that the State should provide more non-discriminatory equitable laws and should ammend the existing discriminatory laws for a brighter future of the subordinate-treated. We also believe that if the State makes such provisions, most Nepalese women would be able to come out and be more participatory for a better tomorrow.

Read: Summary of Discriminatory Laws  (in pdf)