A new report submitted to the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by the Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) exposes the abuse that Tibetan women face in Nepal. Previous reports submitted to CEDAW by the Nepali Government, in 1997 and 2003, made no mention of refugee experience and the 2010 report, though briefly mentioning refugee women, did not discuss the particular experience of Tibetan women. The TWA’s 2011 report states that Nepal is not working hard enough to end gender-based violence.
As a result of their internally displaced or refugee status, Tibetan women are at an increased risk for trafficking, physical abuse and sexual assault while crossing the border into Nepal or while living in refugee camps.
A 2008 report on the treatment of Tibetans in Nepal by Human Rights Watch documented the pervasive sexual assault that Tibetan women are subjected to during arrest. In addition, Tibetan women are not defined or protected by the caste system which makes them more vulnerable to sexual assault.
TWA recommends that the Nepali Government fully adopt the provisions of CEDAW and implement them within specific legislation against gender-based violence. They also recommend ending all arbitrary arrests and promoting the punishment of officers who sexually assault detainees.
Compiled from: "Shadow Report on Nepal," TWA, WUNRN (June 2011).