Women continue to live with the complex effects of the ten-year armed conflict that ended with a peace agreement in 2006. Yet, they were effectively excluded from the peace negotiations and their participation in transitional justice processes remains severely restricted. With our programme, we strengthen the agency of women and young people affected by the conflict and enable their access to political decision-makers so that they can hold the government accountable to finally deal with the violent past and its consequences.
The Communist Party of Nepal launched an insurgency in 1996 with the aim of overthrowing the Nepalese monarchy and establishing a people's republic. The signing of the comprehensive peace agreement between the Seven-Party Alliance and the then Maoist Party in 2006 marked the end of ten years of armed conflict. The conflict claimed more than 17,000 lives, up to 80,000 people were displaced, and around 1,500 remain missing to this day. Sexualised violence was used as a weapon of war by both parties to the conflict.
The provisions on transitional justice in the peace agreement, which are intended to address the causes and consequences of the conflict, are proceeding slowly. In August 2024, the Nepalese parliament took an important step towards reviving the faltering process by passing a new transitional justice law. This law recognises rape or “serious” sexualised violence as a significant human rights violation for the first time, but excludes other serious crimes and offers amnesty to perpetrators. The law also provides for the appointment of new members to Nepal's two main transitional justice bodies: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. Over the years, more than 65,000 unresolved complaints from conflict victims and their families have accumulated. Due to the instability of the parliamentary coalition and the Nepalese government, the implementation of the law is uncertain.
Women affected by the conflict continue to face challenges such as gender-based violence, patriarchal norms and natural disasters caused by climate change. Physical and psychological trauma make it difficult for those affected by the conflict to access education and employment, perpetuating poverty and dependence on the state.
Nepal's peace process has failed to include women, recognise their contribution to systemic change and provide justice for those affected. Women who experienced sexualised violence during the conflict are still being accused or blame themselves for what happened to them. They have not been considered “conflict victims” and therefore have not received any compensation.
Although women in Nepal have been affected in multiple ways by the violent conflict, they were effectively excluded from the peace negotiations. Various obstacles severely restrict their access to transitional justice processes such as social status, gender or a lack of political will.
The political will to deal with the violent past has also been lacking so far, as has the will to let women participate in political decision-making processes. The 2024 transtional justice law offers an opportunity to significantly include women in the associated processes.
"We demand recognition. We demand that our voices be heard. We demand security. We demand a future for our children. We demand truth. And we demand justice, now!"
These are the words of a participant at a Women's Peace Table in Surkhet, Nepal. Since 2017, thousands of women have participated in Women's Peace Tables in all provinces of Nepal. Particularly for women in remote areas these events were often the first opportunity to talk about their traumas and to listen to women from the opposite side of the conflict. There they learned more about the important role they can play in transitional justice processes and about their rights as conflict-affected persons and as citizens. The Women's Peace Tables were conducted by our programme partner Nagarik Aawaz.
The meetings not only helped to heal the participants’ traumas, they also increased their self-confidence. Many organised their own Women's Peace Tables and founded regional networks to lend more weight to their demands and put pressure on the regional government to advance transitional justice. At intergenerational Women's Peace Tables, held since 2024, participants share their experiences with young people who did not live through the conflict, thus building bridges between generations.
From 2025, the programme's goal remains to promote the meaningful participation of women in transitional justice and conflict-transformation processes. The programme is focused on supporting women and young people affected by the conflict to advocate more strongly for their rights and for justice and to hold the local and national government accountable. At local meetings and in intergenerational dialogues, their agency is strengthened so that they can demand their rights in front of representatives of local and national authorities. They are also holding the government accountable for implementing the obligations and promises they made in the peace agreement and in relevant Nepalese laws. To do this, they use their own local peace initiatives and regularly monitor the local governments actions.
An important component of the programme is the exchange of knowledge between the partners in Colombia, Nepal and the Philippines. This began in 2019 with an initial face-to-face meeting and culminated in 2021 with the joint development of the publication “From transition to transformation: strengthening women's effective participation in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes”. We will continue this exchange of knowledge in our programme work with Nagarik Aawaz as well as in the Feminists Connecting for Peace network.
Trishna Thapa, deputy managing director of our partner organisation Nagarik Aawaz in Nepal, explains how our collaboration promotes a holistic understanding of justice in Nepalese society and politics based on feminist principles.
Various factors are hindering the implementation of the peace agreement in Nepal, with intergenerational consequences. At a Women's Peace Table, two generations talked about how the war has affected them.
Podcast with Susan Risal, executive director Nagarik Aawaz, our partner organisation in Nepal
Short film about a participant of a Women's Peace Table in Nepal, whose husband was disappeared during the armed conflict. Nepali with English subtitles, 2023
Making peace processes more gender-sensitive
In 2019, we brought peace activists from Colombia, Nepal and the Philippines together to share their experiences of armed conflict and of the subsequent peace efforts and to benefit from each other's expertise.