Amnesty International is currently undertaking an action research project to expose the practical difficulties and barriers experienced by Dalit women in accessing Nepal’s criminal justice system. In this context, on 9 June 2023, a closed discussion program was organized with Dalit rights activists to brainstorm on future campaign strategies geared towards addressing the barriers faced by Dalit women in accessing justice.
The program was attended by 16 people, including activists, lawyers, and Dalit rights leaders. Welcoming the participants Nirajan Thapaliya, Director of AI Nepal, informed that the ongoing research work by Amnesty International on the issue will generate a report featuring existing hurdles for Dalit women in accessing justice based on the evidences gathered from the field and consultations with the stakeholders with concrete recommendations to the government towards addressing those hurdles. He also expressed gratitude towards all the partners for their ongoing support and guidance and expected even greater degree of cooperation and collaboration to pressurize the government towards implementing the recommendations of the report.
Shyam Bishwakarma, a research consultant, provided a debrief of the recent field visits by Amnesty International, the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), and the Samata Foundation. He stated that the fear of breaking “communal harmony” deterred Dalit women from reporting crimes to the police, while law enforcement agencies like the police did not accept the First Information Reports on the case of caste-based discrimination and untouchability citing it as a minor offense. He also shared the poor status of the Dalit desk and the conventional approach followed by the police during the investigation, which did not adequately reflect the severity and trend of the problem. He further shared that Dalits have historically been more susceptible to atrocities like murder, rape, and other abuses simply because of the fact that they belonged to minority groups.
Smriti Singh, Amnesty International’s South Asia Deputy Director for Campaigns and Communications lauded activists in Nepal for their relentless efforts towards supporting victims and creating conditions that facilitate access to justice. She also led an interesting group exercise on the theories of change for a joint campaigns journey that will be locally owned, driven and led not only during the research phase but also after the output comes out.
The participants, split into two groups had initially discussed about the key barriers to access to justice by Dalits in general and Dalit women in particular and their causes. The discussions identified the need to amend the Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability Act, 2011 (CBDU Act) to ensure the punishment is proportional to the gravity of the crime, enhanced interim relief to the victims, and address the challenges victims face in accessing justice shifting the burden of proof.
A joint campaign strategy with a clear theory of change that also underpins critical pathways to intervene at different stages for the amendment of CBDU Act was also discussed.