The federal government has launched a nationwide campaign to end violence against women. The campaign has been flagged off from Province 1.

The Federal Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Tham Maya Thapa, initiated the campaign amidst a function organised in Biratnagar on Monday. She said the campaign against all sorts of violence against women would be launched in all the wards and local units of all seven provinces. She underscored the need to give continuity to the campaign since the issue of violence against women cannot be solved over a short period of time.

“The campaign to end violence against women has not been launched to last a few days or a couple of weeks. This campaign is aimed at ending all violence against women and it will take time to get the desired results. So we will continue with this campaign until the time we see results,” said Thapa.

The ministry had launched the 16-day campaign to end violence against women in the past and had held interactions with the elected people’s representatives and other stakeholders. During such interactions, the stakeholders suggested that all three levels of government should prepare strategies and implement the campaign from village level itself. They also suggested forming formal and informal mechanisms for the effectiveness of the campaign.

With the suggestions and feedbacks collected during the interactions, the ministry announced the launch of the campaign in all seven provinces throughout the year. “Implementation committee has been formed at the federal, provincial and local levels to make the campaign a success,” said Thapa.

Domestic violence, rape, acid attack, workplace harassment, child marriage, polygamy, human trafficking, dowry and Tilak, Chhaupadi and witchcraft charges are the main forms of violence against women prevalent in the society. The stakeholders are of opinion that the campaign should be launched in the grassroots level as women, especially in the rural area, are in the dark about their rights and the legalities to adopt if they fall victim to gender violence.