All seven Provincial Assembly Buildings of Nepal lit up in orange today to mark the celebration of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and beginning of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.

The Provincial Governments of Nepal along with the United Nations Country Team of Nepal and the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Working Group of the International Development Partners’ Group joined hands to the global movement by “oranging” the Parliament building in line with the official colour of the UNiTE campaign that symbolises hope and a violence-free country.

This year’s United Nations theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), “Orange the World: #HearMeToo / मेरोपनिसुन” aims to support women and girls who are coming together in a nation-wide movement of solidarity against the historic power imbalances in which sexual harassment and other forms of violence are deeply rooted.

“Although the Constitution of Nepal has already prohibited harmful practises such as Chaupadi and dowry, Nepal women are still forced to face violence, due to discriminatory social norms,” says the Right Honorable President of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari in the official press release issued by her office. “It is important to create awareness about violence against women and create opportunities to make women independent.”  

“Today we stand in solidarity with all those who, because of their gender, have faced or feared violence. Let us celebrate the voices and tireless work of survivors and activists. Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world,” said Valerie Julliand, Resident Coordinator of UN Country Team in Nepal. “We must work to change what holds women and girls back from reaching the full potential and build a world free of violence and discrimination. Nepal has made impressive strides in putting in place laws for preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Now it is time to put words into action.” She added.

An interaction programme with Provincial Assembly members were also organised in all seven provinces before the event. During the interaction programme, the members discussed the current situation of gender-based violence in Nepal, its causes and consequences and the role of the Parliamentarians to prevent gender-based violence.

Speaking during the event in Pokhara, Headquarter of Province 4, Zane Petre, Deputy Head of Delegation, European Commission said, “Ending violence against women and girls’ is on top of European Union’s global agenda, and we have joined hands with the United Nations to mobilize all efforts and actions in education, awareness raising, prevention and delivering justice, to end gender-based violence.” The interaction sessions and Oranging events in Nepal is supported by European Commission and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC.

The events brought together the government, the civil society, the United Nations and the International Development Partners to bring the issue of gender-based violence to the forefront.

For queries, please contact;

Simrika Sharma; Tel: 01-5523200 Email: Simrika.sharma@one.un.org

Ashma Shrestha; Tel: 01-4255110 Email: ashma.shrestha@unwomen.org