GBV survivors complain being unattended by NWC

Kathmandu, Nov 25: Sita Karki (name withheld) arrived at the office of the National Women Commission (NWC) in a tense state.

A resident of Kalanki in Kathmandu was here seeking justice for the gender-based violence (GBV) inflicted on her by her husband. She grieved that there was no counselor in the NWC to listen to her sob stories and do counseling for her.

She then returned home dejected after finding none at the office that ensured gender justice. Only those registering the visitors’ names at the gate and registering applications at room no. 302 were available, she mentioned in despair.

While the GBV survivors arrived at the office on Monday hoping that they would be heeded and served justice, all staffers and office-bearers of the NWC were busy holding rallies and interactions outside of their office on the first day of the 16 Days of Activism against VAW.

Thus, they returned home without sharing their grievances. Although Karki was supposed to reach the police office, initially she had come to the Commission to solicit some suggestions. Her son brought her to the Commission for legal consultations after she divulged that she had been pressured to divorce for 20 years since her marriage. She was also threatened to be ousted from her house.

“They say that a campaign against gender-based violence was ongoing. I came to the Commission and was so disheartened to find none,” the victim lamented. A total of five survivors of GBV had arrived at the office of NWC as of 4 pm on the day the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence kicked off.

There are only five legal consultants assigned to the NWC. Except for general employees, all other staffers and office-bearers remained occupied with the celebration of the activism elsewhere. Similarly, Dan Bahadur Tamang of Dolakha district came to the Commission to inquire about the complaint filed against him. One who travelled so far just to find out about the complaint against him returned home, registering his name at the Commission.

“I came from so far and found none here,” he bemoaned, ranting that it gave him the impression that those going elsewhere, deserting their office, were very irresponsible staff towards their organization. Likewise, Jhuma Kumari Khatri (name changed) of Gothatar in Bhaktapur district had also come to the Commission with complaints of GBV against her husband.

Since she did not find any official at the office, she returned empty-handed. Yet she is hopeful for the positive intervention of the Commission into her case and believes that justice shall prevail. Reena Dahal of Koteshwor, Kathmandu district, has been visiting NWC for a month.

She has registered a complaint against her husband and his family, who, she claims, had been torturing her for a year for dowry. As the perpetrator refused to appear in the police, she knocked on the door of the NWC, whose major objective is to protect and promote the rights of all Nepali women like Dahal.

As the 16 days of activism go on, her struggle also continues. She has been juggling between the police office and the commission’s office in pursuit of justice. She hit out, “No matter what campaign is spearheaded, the victims will not get any justice if there are not the right people in the right place to take action.” NWC Secretary Parbati Aryal, however, refuted that no programs were organized on Monday adversely affecting the services of the NWC.

She explained that the NWC’s high-ranking officials were attending to their duties in turns and at least one or two counselors were deployed at the office. “We have deployed staffers in shifts, ensuring that the victims are not left unattended and the services also run unabatedly.”

The global activism that is being observed by 187 countries starts on November 25 and runs through December 10. —RSS