Women Forum demands inclusive participation of women in state structures

The Forum concluded with 14-point declaration which calls for proportional inclusive representation, taking the transitional justice to conclusion, and increasing access of women and all marginalized communities to justice.

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NL Today

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Kathmandu:  Women Forum-2080 concluded in Lumbini by drawing attention of the government to ensure inclusive participation of women in all levels and structures of the state through its 14-point Declaration, which, among other things, call for proportional inclusive representation by making special arrangement in every structure of the state, taking the transitional justice to conclusion, increasing access of women and all marginalized communities to justice and ending unequal power relation.

Participants of the Forum also demanded an amendment to the bill related to transitional justice. Chairperson of National Alliance for Women Human Rights Defenders, Dr Renu Adhikari, shared that guarantee of justice to conflict victims was also demanded. On the occasion, commitment was made to lead and collaborate to formulate and implement special plan and program for decisive leadership exercise with women’s proportional and inclusive participation for political, economic, social and cultural transformation.

The Declaration mentioned that voice, participation and leadership of young women and girls would be maintained in order to prepare and implement the projects to develop intergenerational transformational leadership. “We are committed to developing plans and implementing them from a rights-based approach by adopting the principles of victim-centered system while facilitating the violence and conflict-affected women in the judicial process and providing them with services,” the Declaration states.

It is also stated that leadership would be taken and collaboration forged for putting to an end all types of discriminatory practices impacting on women’s health and sexuality by formulating the required policy and fully defining the health for ensuring the women’s sexual and reproductive rights. The Declaration also expresses commitment to take initiatives for the formulation and implementation of policies at the local and provincial level for ensuring the environmental justice as well as to guarantee the participation and leadership of self-representative group in the development, implementation and assessment of the policy.

The Declaration calls for the implementation of the women’s right to parental property, right to information, right to education and the right to proportional and inclusive leadership as provided in the Constitution. The Women Forum with the slogan, ‘Ensuring justice, equality and environmental rights– guarantee of sustainable development with social transformation’, held discussions on various topics including on ‘Transitional Justice and Challenges’, ‘My Body, Other’s Control,’ and ‘Issues of Transformation of Leadership’.

The forum was jointly organized by more than 40 organizations working in human rights sector in Lumbini province. Three hundred people including people-elected representatives of local and and province level, women and youth human rights defenders, human rights activists, journalists and civil society representatives from 12 districts in the province participated in the forum.