CWAD organized meeting with working group on 2nd February, 2021 with the active participation of representatives from Supreme Court Bar Association, Nepal Bar Association, Nepal Law Campus, CSOs and Working Group Members. The objective of this quarterly meeting with working group is to make strategy and action plan to pressurize Law Ministry for the advocacy on the amendment Legal Aid Act, Civil Code and Criminal Code to make gender friendly provision which has been already submitted to Law Minister Mr. Lila Nath Shrestha on 31st December 2020.
Facilitator Dr. Anita Shrestha chairperson of CWAD, appreciate the previous intense work of working group members formed with Parliamentarian, representative from Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, representatives from Supreme Court Bar Association, Nepal Bar Association, and CSOs regarding their suggestion and input to finalizing Teen Mahale. She again reminding the working group member responsibility ahead to pressurize the authority from individual approach as well as from collective approach to pass the provision from gender perspective. The working group need to more sensible and committed to make authorities to pass the act and code provision. Contentious pressure and effort to Law Minister and Law department of Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs will pressurize them to amend laws and police from gender perspective.
After the massive discussion, working group recommended 5 organization representatives such as National Disable Women Association (NDWA), Public Defender Society (PDS), Women Pressure and Security Group, Single Women for Human Rights (WHR), and Center for Dalit Women Nepal (CDWN) and the alternative organization are selected as Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC), Shanti Foundation, Cellerd, FRESH International, and Sathi Nepal to visit Law Ministry and law department authorities in first phase.
The Program concluded with the three commitment from the working group that intensive advocacy with the Ministry of Law to create a pressure and see the progress of “Teen Mahale” of Legal Aid Act, Civil Code and Criminal Code, simultaneously use social media as a platform to create an awareness to the general public as well as the other like-minded CSO’s about the issue (as discussed the Law and Provisions are made without any public participation or public vote) and the working group members committed to pressurize Law Ministry and authorities from individual approach as well as collective approach to pass the act and code provision from gender perspective.