Kathmandu, Nepal, March 29, 2024—To mark International Women’s Day, Global Compact Nepal, International Finance Corporation, Nepal Stock Exchanges, and the United Nations, partnered to jointly Ring the Bell for Gender Equality, highlighting the private sector’s key role in boosting the investment to gender equality in Nepal. Under the theme Invest in Women- Accelerate Progress, the event chaired by Honorable Bhagbati Chaudhary, Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen and attended by public, private, and development partners highlighted the opportunities to jointly advance gender equality by actively increasing women’s access in Nepal’s financial sector.

25,000 women and children have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on 8 October 2023. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, some 3,238 women and girls have been killed and 4,872 wounded, and the war has displaced some 4 million people in Ukraine, 56% of whom are women. Médecins Sans Frontières reported 18,000 cases of sexual violence in the North Kivu province (Democratic Republic of Congo) between January and October 2023. Victims of the direct consequences of bombardments such as starvation or lack of health care, women suffer all kinds of gender-based violence. What’s more, the migration crisis particularly affects women, increasing their oppression and exploitation.

The Cabinet has recommended the President summon the winter session of Parliament on February 5. Amid criticism that successive governments have paid little attention to preparing necessary laws, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal administration is working on over 100 bills, several of which are related to constitution implementation. Reports from different ministries presented at the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs show they are working on 109 bills which are either for entirely new laws or the amendment of the existing ones. As a liaison ministry to the federal parliament, the law ministry wants a maximum number of bills to be registered in the upcoming session of the parliament.