Legal Assistance for Women

Many women in Nepal are unable to seek legal assistance through current channels because they are either unaware that they have legal rights or unable to pay the associated legal fees. WFN provides legal assistance to women who are harassed or tortured by their husbands, families, and society but cannot get legal help by themselves. Our assistance may be in the form of advice, payment of court fees, or active participation in the case, sometimes repeatedly if the case is appealed to a higher court.

Since 1988, WFN has given assistance to many thousands of women and girls across Nepal. The legal assistance program remains one of WFN's busiest and most successful programs, with an average of 2 to 3 women visiting the office daily to seek legal advice or to arrange legal representation.  The demand for legal advice has steadily increased, requiring WF to expand its legal service to 3 lawyers employed on a full-time basis. In 2004, WF won 27 cases (the majority having to do with divorce, citizenship and property disputes), and registered 50 new cases in court (i.e. Supreme Court, Appeal Court, District Courts etc), taking the total number of cases currently in progress to 150.  

In Nepal there is no law against domestic violence, which is surprising given the prevalence of domestic violence.  This represents a significant barrier to securing gender-based equality of human rights.  Where a woman experiences domestic violence and seeks assistance from WFN, they can only assist her in getting a divorce and/or property entitlements. They cannot file a case against the husband for the abuse alone, a situation which WFN believes is unacceptable.  WFN believes that this is the most significant barrier to women's development and takes advantage of each opportunity to join other NGOs to lobby the Government to introduce laws against domestic violence. 

 

More: Successful Legal Assistance, Legal Counselling