I made a plan of visiting various districts of mid- and far-western regions of the country immediately after the announcement of cease-fire between the government and the Maoists. Emmanuel and Amina two friends from Handicap International also accompanied me. I made an excellent preparation for the visit. I prepared a list of subject matter for holding talks with the army and the Maoists while visiting the war-affected areas. I also learnt the dos and don'ts of checking points. After all, life is dearer to all.

I thanked cease-fire a lot for the success of my visit to those districts. It is unimaginable how difficult it would have been to reach to those places had there been no cease-fire. I visited Rukum during the first leg of my tour. Even months after the announcement of cease-fire, people of Rukum seemed terrorised.

Hari Maya (name changed) said, "The army inflicted more trouble on us than the Maoists. Every night armies come and ask us the whereabouts of the Maoists directing guns to our chests. We fear death every minute," she said in a quivering voice and gave a quick look outside.

We also decided to visit the place where Bhagavati Gautam had fallen victim to landmine. But it was a difficult path to take especially for outsiders and we requested some of the local human rights activists to escort us. It took us four hours to reach to Shova Village Development Committee from the district headquarters.

The experience of visiting the place this time was different from the past ones. Most of the people did not speak to us. We felt awkward and hurt because villagers never used to be like this. A mobile barrack near the place where Bhagavati was wounded in a landmine explosion had already been shifted. But barbed wire are scattered everywhere in the place. Non one knows what is there and people don't know whether the land should be tilled.

Bhagavati lost her right leg in mine explosion permanently. How can she take the incident up? I asked myself. Above all the worsening relationship with her husband due to being a handicap further troubled me. Meanwhile, a group of small children with worn out shirts and bare feet went down the hill gazing at us.

Kamala of Sankh has a different painful story. Her husband left the village three years ago. She has no idea about her husband. She has to look after her children, tend the cattle and work on field. "It is difficult to do household chores and work on field. Moreover, the armies and the Maoists come ask me the whereabouts of my husband alternately. He has not sent a single letter yet and I have no idea about his stay. And what can I say about him. I have to live in fear. It has been extremely difficult to live," she says pathetically.

It is not only the problem of Kamala rather the of the entire village. There are only women and children in the village.

There is a health post in the village. At first glance one can see that it is unattended. There are neither doctors nor nurses nor health assistants. Only a peon by the name of Ganesh Prasad Sharma. There are a few medicines given by the government. He gives medicines to patients banking upon his experience. Kamala came to the health post for check up while we were talking to Ganesh.

She related her pain. We were helpless in such a place. We had neither knowledge on health nor medicines and nor could we show her ways out of the problem. The same peon gave her digene guessing that she was suffering from gastritis. Patients who manage to go to Nepalgunj hospital from Rukum, Rolpa, Salyan Pyuthan, Jajarkot, Dang and Dailekh also facing a lot of problems.

The government has not been able to extend necessary assistance and the hospitalised patients have not been able to return home. The entire family members are forced to share the food given to a patient. Many patients are forced to return home without getting treatment due to lack of money.

Two hundred families displaced by conflict have living in the district headquarters. We tried to see them. Some families are living around the airport in Salle. Some of the men were playing cards while some women were weaving clothes in a handloom and other women were busy carding thread. Some of the women said that their husbands and young sons were not there.

It was learnt that some of the male counterparts had shifted to other village as even three families were forced to live in a single room. The women are quite unknown about the market of their clothes. Since the only means of transport is air transport, it is almost impossible to sell their products carrying them all the way to Kathmandu and other cities paying high airfare. And there is no possibility consuming their products in the village. I tried to ask the names of some of the women, but they were unwilling to identify themselves.

Women are not only facing problems just because of being members of the society, but also being female. A pregnant woman of Nayakwada Village Development Committee ward no. 1 was in labour pain, but could not give birth to the child. Then while her husband Narendra Bahadue Shah was making preparation to take her to the district headquarters, which is a two-day walk from the village, Maoists abducted him. The rebels also warned the villagers on not taking the women to the district headquarters. Later the woman gave birth to a son, but she died afterwards.

Army arrested some young women in Bardiya. In the name of detaining them, the armies raped the women. Amnesty International, human rights organisations and the media protested against the incident. But the army exerted pressure on the women and they were forced to state that the army did nothing to them. Sexually exploited have not been able to made their suffering public due to social stigma. In Nepal sexually exploited women are looked down upon rather than sympathised by the society.

During eight years of conflict, 15000 women have been disappeared, said a woman police official speaking at a public program. The internal conflict has inflicted pain to the women members of the families whose male counterparts are either in the police or in the army.

Goma's husband was in the police and was killed in a clash with the Maoists. Goma came to Kathmandu from Dhading to receive aid to be given by the government. Being all illiterate, she also brought her landlord along with her. Only 700 rupees was left with her after deducting the expenses incurred during visiting the government office for the aid and spending on food and accommodation. "How to live rest of the life? Had I been alone, I would have committed a suicide. What can I do for my daughter? Now how can I live?" she poured out her agony.

Geeta also has similar fate. A resident of Janakpur, Geeta's father-in-law drove her away from home after her husband, a police, was killed in a clash with the Maoists. Now she lives in a rented house and earns her living washing dishes.

More pathetic is the condition of Sulochana, a widow. She wanted to devote her entire life to her dead husband. One night, her mother-in-law sent her brother-in-law into her room to rape her and locked it from outside. The next morning the mother-in-law proved Sulochana guilty and forced her to marry her brother-in-law in the presence of the villagers, Sulochana said with tears in her eyes.

When the media reports the necessity of identifying the dead bodies of those killed in conflict, how much worried would be the women of those families. Words cannot express their sorrow. It is an extremely difficult job for women to identify the dead bodies of their husbands, brothers or sons.

Similarly, the society does not approve the girls who return from the recruitment of the Maoists, if any. Meena Chaudhary (name changed) from Kohalpur, who surrendered to the police with the help of her maternal uncle says that it has been very difficult for her to live in a society.

"Even my friends are reluctant to speak to me. All label me as a Maoist. I tell them that I am not a Maoist, but they do not believe. I am living a lonely life even being in my family and village. No one is ready to employ me now. Those who used to give me job tell me not to go to them without their call. Some times I think I should have been a Maoist, but it is not good for women. What shall I do now? I am frustrated with myself," she related her angst.

The condition of the Maoist women arrested by the security forces has not been public. And it is the women who have suffered most from the problems arisen from the conflict. Even the innocent housewives and girls are unsafe. Unknown armed men enter the house at broad day light and rape women, but the society remains a mute spectator. There are a large number of such women victims in our society.

Women either they are from the Maoist side or the security forces, they have been the target of the warring groups. Women have been abducted, detained, tortured, exploited and starved. There is no body to share all the afflictions of those women. If killed by the Maoists, they are labelled as informants and if killed by the security forces, they are taken as terrorists. They are tagged with unwanted adjectives even after death. Women do not get justice from any where.

The troubles inflicted by the conflict upon women are many. Young women are forced to join the Maoist army. There are numerous incidents of abduction. Now the cease-fire between the government and the Maoist is in effect in Nepal and the two parties have held two rounds of peace talks.

But the date for the third round of talks has not been fixed yet and the government and the Maoists are preparing for war. It has terrorized common people and women.  In order to end such a situation, women themselves have to be active and raise voice in favor of peace and justice. It has been imperative to protect women from the damage of war. And it is necessary to do the following:

†   The coalition of women should be expanded for peace and justice.

†   Environment conducive to garnering support from women and to generate massive publicity at national and international level on the affairs is a must.

†   To organize meetings, seminars advocating peace and to lobbying and to pressurize both the parties to uphold cease-fire code of conduct.

†   To generate massive publicity on Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

†   To collect the data of women victims.

†   Women victims should be rehabilitated and integrated socially and economically, and

†   National and international support should be garnered for this purpose.

Landmines and Youth

by Shrish Pandey

Our country is now suffering a severe condition, the threat of landmines imposed are tending to jeopardize the peaceful environment that we used to live in. Frequent detonation of mines has now created an anarchic situation. And not to forget, youth are the ones who have suffer the most. Hence, to represent youth against this ruthless power 'Youth for Peace Nepal' established in 2002.

In this trend of remonstrating landmine plantation we organized some programs, which was helpful to attract public as well as authoritative attention.

Firstly we started the signature collection, which was indeed a successful step to influence many students take a stance against landmines. Also some signatures collected in the past have been sent to India-Pakistan CBL. This year, we are collecting 2000 signatures , which we are sending to Indian and Pakistan campaign.

Next we organized a poem competition on the theme 'Youth against landmines' in 1^st march 2003 on occasion of 'Treaty into Force Day', which was a great success to enhance public awareness against landmines. This was also an admirable step to motivate students against landmine plantation.

I am very excited to attend 5MSP and General Meeting of ICBL' in Bangkok as this would enhance communication between youth and other campaigners around the world and provide information about the current and future strategies of ICBL. Moreover, this program would act as a platform for we youth campaigners to gain knowledge about the current happenings and develop different skills to strengthen youth campaign.

I would like this training to provide information about the donors and help prepare funding proposals.

Shirish Pandey




Power of Youth

by Purna Shova Chitrakar

We always believe that youth has power, strength and power of create new ideas, making new plans, decision making, involve actively to fulfill their mission. They have a confidence. So, they are not only future, in present they are the source of encouragement. Just they need to some hands to step and to step in right way.

What I experience in the past years youth sometimes steps in wrong way. For example a lot of youths joined in arm struggle. They involved in violent activities. Not only they participate violent activities, most of the victims of the conflict were youth. Regarding the landmines most of the youth getting training to plant landmines, to make landmines.

NCBL believed that if we can organize youth we can change the situation gradually. So NCBL organized different programs focusing the youth of Nepal (e.g. Interaction program among youth organizations, Interaction program among student organization. Inter school painting competition). It is true that in the beginning youth did not involved themselves. But gradually the feelings came out to organize themselves. And they formed Youth for Peace of seven members. I am very happy to say that they create excellent ideas and decided to organize signature campaign to send signature to India and Pakistan and Inner school poem competition.

Shirish is coordinator of Youth for peace. He is actively involving from the beginning to till now. Not only he is active in Youth for Peace, he is providing help in email, web page designing. He actively involved to make success the rally on the occasion of International Human Rights Day and Nepal Mission.

I believe that if he get an opportunity to participate in the 5MSP he can share his experience and gain more experiences and knowledge which helps not only his capability, but the entire campaign of youth.