November 25: Social organisations have initiated a 16-day campaign against sexual harassment in public transport, which kicked off on Saturday, November 24. Issuing a statement, the stakeholders said that the campaign is being organised with the objective to discourage touching, pressing, staring and teasing in city buses, country buses, night buses, mini/microbuses and three-wheeler tempos.

Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Tham Maya Thapa inaugurated the campaign on the premises of Sajha Yatayat in Lalitpur amid a function. The 16 days of the campaign (November  25 –December 10) represent the period designated by the United Nations for activism against gender-based violence, reads the statement.

“The present campaign is an effort by several social organisations and committed individuals to reduce the level of harassment faced by riders, particularly women, in public conveyances. Nepal Traffic Police, Zonta Club-Nepal, Sabah-Nepal and Sajha Yatayat are the organisations backing in the campaign,” the statement said.

The campaign includes messages on banners and stickers developed to empower women when they face harassment in public vehicles, encouraging them to confront the perpetrators, inform fellow passengers, report to the conductor, and/or call the hotline of the Women’s Commission at 1145. The campaign also seeks to educate passengers to become aware of acts of sexual violence happening around them and to speak up and intervene.

Chandni Joshi, former South Asia head of UNIFEM who is a part of the campaign, says, “With women venturing into crowded public spaces ever more than before, it is appropriate to have a focus on public transport, which is a prime area of harassment. The 16 days of activism is a start of what we hope will be a continuous campaign throughout the coming year.”

President of Zonta Club-Nepal Meera Jyoti says, “We are hopeful that the message from this campaign will permeate society as a whole so that sexual violence everywhere is reduced and not just in public vehicles.”

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basanta Panta, chief of Nepal’s traffic police force, says that his force is highly sensitive to the harassment of women in crowded buses, and was happy to support the citizen’s effort to ensure the security of riders of public transport.

Kanak Mani Dixit, chair of Sajha Yatayat, says, “Though we are starting the campaign with Sajha Yatayat, we are hopeful that activists and volunteers all over the country will join in a long-term campaign to end sexual harassment in public transport and in public places.”