Stop Harassment Of Women Commuters

The other day, a video grabbed my attention where a college girl was sharing her experience of sexual harassment in a public bus. Her body was trembling because of rage, pain, fear and frustration; her voice was choked and she was crying badly. My heart went out to her. At the same time, I started to remember the days some 40 years ago when we used to live in Kirtipur. During that time I had to travel to Kathmandu by public bus every day because I was studying at a college there. There were very few buses, and they were extremely crowded every time you got on. There were no seats available, so I always had to stand, facing a lot of unwanted touches and pressure. It was so frustrating and would make me feel sick. Because of hopelessness, every night I would think of quitting college. 

The worst part was that I could not even raise my voice against that harassment. It was shameful to talk about such subjects at that time. In this regard, I found the girl luckier than me, as she at least was able to bring the topic of harassment to the public. I was extremely shocked to learn about the fact that after all these years the problem remains the same even if there are numerous talks and awareness programmes on gender equality! The public buses may be the easiest space for males to abuse females but there are cases of sexual harassment in other situations as well. A police officer posted in Kathmandu also has a similar story to share. According to her, some girls from a private school came to the police station to report that some of their teachers had harassed them. Based on this report, those teachers were arrested.

Irony 

The students from that school were not satisfied. So, they gathered in the police office demanding the death penalty for those teachers. The crowd was so big that the lady police officers were also there to control those youngsters. What was ironic was that the same boys who were demanding justice for their friends (girls) were harassing those female police officers. Witnessing and experiencing all this, she concluded that no woman is safe in Nepali society, so we must protect ourselves, as no one is there to support women. What a bitter reality she expressed.

The problem of sexual harassment is not only limited to Nepal; it is worldwide and anybody can be a victim of this. One of the worst such examples can be of Aimee Anne Doffy, a popular Welsh singer and songwriter. She was internationally famous once she released her debut album 'Rockferry'. It became the UK's biggest-selling album of 2008. Not only this, it made her win a Grammy and three Brit Awards. She released her second album 'Endlessly' in 2010. Then she surprisingly vanished from the music industry. It took her nearly a decade to reveal a cause for her disappearance. What she said was quite disturbing - she had been drugged, kidnapped and sexually assaulted.

In principle, any type of harassment is not tolerable but sadly, it is happening here and there frequently. In the case of Nepal, sexual harassment basically occurs in public spaces and workplaces. The studies show that 66 per cent to 92 per cent of women and teenage girls experience verbal, physical or non-verbal harassment while commuting. Similarly, women at their workplaces have also not been spared. The available studies point out that half of female workers have experienced one or another sort of harassment; it ranges from verbal abuse to unwanted physical contact.

There are laws to protect workers from unwelcome physical, verbal or digital sexual mistreatment. These include the Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention) Act of 2015 and the Labour Act of 2017. Under Nepali legislation, physical misconduct includes unwanted touching, physical contact or advances; verbal/non-verbal behaviour is related to inappropriate comments, sexual innuendos and suggestive gestures; digital means sending explicit texts, emails or displaying pornographic material; and quid pro quo includes demanding sexual favours in exchange for employment, promotion or other job benefits.  Breaching sexual harassment laws results in penalties. The offenders can have up to 6 months of imprisonment, fines of up to Rs. 50,000, or both. If they repeat, they need to face double these penalties. Furthermore, employers who fail to establish compliant workplace prevention policies can also be fined up to Rs. 25,000. Even this is the case, sexual harassment is a major issue to deal with.

Good news 

It is good news that the present government has been seen to be quite sensitive towards the matter of women's safety. Therefore, it has made a commitment to introduce Women-Only Blue Bus Service in all seven provinces to ensure a secure commute and protect women from public harassment. In addition, it is going to introduce Safety Technology Integration in public transportation. This includes the installation of CCTV, dashcams and GPS systems on public buses alongside SOS buttons for instant alerts directly to the police. Among these devices, CCTV and SOS buttons are helpful to take immediate action against those who dare to harass women or girls.  

Now the government should effectively implement the sexual harassment laws at workplaces and develop a strong mechanism to punish those who do not comply with these laws. Also, female workers should not hesitate to bring the harassment issues to light if they experience something wrong from their co-workers or bosses. The term gender equality should not be in paper only; instead, it must be in practice.       

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, June12, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]

 

 

PM's Silence Gives Rise To Speculations

The Prime Minister Balendra Shah's silence and his absence from the parliamentary sessions have been making headlines in the media for the last few weeks. The opposition MPs have repeatedly demanded his presence there and they have been accusing him of not following parliamentary norms. Every day, a substantial amount of time is being wasted fussing over why Balendra is not there to answer their questions, overlooking the fact that the Prime Minister has already deputed Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle to present proposals and answer questions on his behalf.

The general public has mixed views on the same. They are applying different theories to interpret Balendra's deliberate silence and absence in the parliament. His supporters are trying to defend him by saying that he has not gone against the constitution as Balendra knows the law better. They even argue that people have become fed up with the incessant speeches of previous prime ministers, so they want actions, not words and Balendra is fulfilling their wish. Some are insisting that the PM will speak up only after completing the government's 100 days, as he will be ready by then to show results of the 100-point governance reform agenda that the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) promised the public during the general election in March this year. 

Theorising silence 

Even if they are supporters of the present government, opponents are theorising his silence as a result of his vanity. According to them, he may think, 'I'm the only authority, so I'm not accountable for anybody, including members of parliament, ministers or journalists.' All in all, Balendra's die-hard fans strongly agree with whatever he does. Therefore, they have not taken his silence negatively. They argue that actions speak louder than words, as Balen is striving to bring positive changes in different sectors of the country, why does he need to talk? He is a result-oriented person, they say. 

Balendra Shah's opponents are the ones who are very critical. They spread all sorts of negative comments about him. More than this, they engage in name-calling all the time. Understandably, the opponents have been backlashing against Balendra but how come Dr. Amresh Kumar Singh, being an MP from RSP, points his finger towards him? He is the same person who was boasting during the time of the general election that if Balendra Shah did not become the Prime Minister, he would immolate himself.

On the other hand, the PM has not spoken a single word since he suddenly left the parliamentary session midway through President Ramchandra Paudel's address on the government's annual policy and programme. Although he has posted several Facebook statuses regarding his silence and absence in the parliament, we have not heard any formal speech from his side. Instead, Rabi Lamichhane, the chairperson of RSP, has assured the public that Prime Minister will definitely speak and answer all the questions asked of him when the right time comes. We are patiently waiting for that time. 

Everyone is expressing their opinion on Balendra's prolonged silence and I am not an exception. I have my own calculations. In my opinion, Balendra may not want to be a subject of unnecessary controversy due to his speech. Whatever he says, some people always twist his meaning to their favour. There are many such examples from the past. Let me consider one that I found the most ridiculous. During the election campaign, when he visited the far-western region, he was captivated by its beauty and said that leaders do not need to make Nepal Switzerland because we have places like Badimalika, which is 'the father of Switzerland.' For this, a gentleman passed his comment, 'How can Balendra Shah say that Badimalika is the father of Switzerland?' It is not the father but the 'mother!' What to say, such people?

Reasons 

I do not believe Balendra Shah has not public speaking skills. Of course, he has a capacity to connect to people whenever he feels. We have heard him giving interviews to different media, both national and international. In these interviews, he sounds quite convincing. So, he must have some reasons to be quiet this time. His main focus seems to be to fix the broken and corrupted system first; we can see his team is working tirelessly in this direction.

There are so many important topics to discuss and find appropriate solutions collectively. The members of parliament are those select people who are trusted by the citizens to be their voice. Obviously, the public does not like them blaming the ruling party at every step. They are sent there to find solutions, not to throw problems. The government may make mistakes knowingly or unknowingly and it is the duty of opposition parties to help it sort them out. It is very clear to them that the PM will not come to the parliament sessions to answer their questions anytime soon, so why make the speaker's job difficult by doing nonsense activities? The world is watching us, so it is good to follow the basic parliamentary rules by all the members of parliament.  

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, May 29, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]