| lola |
Posted
on 30-Jun-01 12:57 AM
Soon, the Children’s War?
There’s a relatively new but alarmingly fast-growing phenomenon that needs the attention of Nepali child and human rights activitsts. The recent Global Report on Child Soldiers 2001 released last week by Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers says that about 30 percent of the guerillas involved in the underground CPN-Maoist led People’s War are children. The report claims that Maoists are using school students and younger children in the five-year-old insurgency. Six guerrillas under 18 were killed in a single encounter in 1999 in Kavrepalanchok district. “The Maoist leadership is fully aware that children under 18 are recruited to their cause,” says National Human Rights Commission member Professor Kapil Shrestha.
The Report says that while the recruitment of children is not yet a widespread occurrence, there are “symptoms” that it could turn into a serious problem soon. Most of the children in the Maoist insurgency are believed to be between the ages of 14 and 18, but the presence and use of even younger children cannot be ruled out. The Report points out to the possibilities that they are being forced to pick up arms against their will. The Human Rights and Peace Society, a Nepali rights NGO, reported that at least 30 children were abducted by the Maoists last year, but it cannot confirm if they were abducted to be trained for the life of insurgents.
The 1962 Royal Nepal Army New Recruitment Rules requires that a person be at least 18 year old to be recruited. Similarly, the Asia-Pacific Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers held here in 2000 endorsed the same age provision for recruitment in the army.
How are Nepali women doing?
Not too well, according to the World Bank. A new Bank study concludes that women’s subordinate position in society is the main impediment to their accessing health care facilities.
Other reasons rural Nepali women often do not receive adequate care are lack of knowledge, an unwillingness to disclose illness and ignoring ailments. Such attitudes to sickness are usually the result of other phenomena like few trained women at health care posts, and the unavailability of cash, an excessive workload , and caste-based discrimination, all of which are found to impact women’s health more than that of men. The study says that flawed policies compound the problem. Rural women would have better access to health care if women were better represented at the policy level, policymakers understood gender issues better, there were a women’s health database, more staff and supplies and political commitment.
What can be done to improve the situation? The report says starting awareness programmes to increase knowledge about women’s health, “developing women’s capacity to visit health care facilities”, working with traditional healers, encouraging women to participate in health management and incorporating gender issues at every level of planning would all help.
Since we know why Nepali women aren’t healthy, and what to do about it, it should be an easy ride from here on.
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