Kathmandu : Next week, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will receive Nepal’s seventh periodic report.

The CEDAW meeting, set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 3, 4, and 5, will receive reports from both the Nepalese government and civil society organizations.

A 10-member delegation from the government will attend the meeting under the direction of Secretary Laxmi Basnet and Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens Nawal Kishor Sah Sudi. On behalf of civil society, representatives from a number of non-governmental groups will take part, including the Forum for Women, Law, and Development (FWLD). Notably, Prakriti Shrestha, a 17-year-old Nepali girl, will lecture on topics pertaining to teenage girls for the first time.

It was revealed during a press conference on Thursday that 106 non-governmental organizations, including FWLD, will also submit a shadow report. Sabin Shrestha, Executive Director of FWLD, stated that the shadow report addresses 16 important problems pertaining to discrimination against women. HIV has been mentioned in the report for the first time. Following in-depth conversations in each of the seven provinces, the report was put together.

The shadow report this year also discusses issues pertaining to refugee women, including Bhutanese refugees in Jhapa and Tibetan refugees in Pokhara, Gandaki Province. Legal discrimination against women, the state’s obligation to women, gender-responsive budgeting, specific measures to attain equality, cybercrime, and women’s access to justice are some of the other important subjects discussed in the study.

One of the twenty-three members of the CEDAW committee is Nepali. Prior to offering their thoughts and suggestions, the remaining 22 members will examine Nepal’s reports.