11-point declaration for rights of women, minorities call for women leadership

KATHMANDU: The 11-point declaration endorsed by the World Feminist Forum for Women Rights was unveiled here today.

The Women Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) unveiled the document amidst a press meet on Wednesday.

Unveiling the document, WOREC Nepal Chair Dr Renu Adhikari said women are forced to face more consequences of global environment degradation and environmental injustice, demanding women leadership roles, policy reforms, and equitable distribution of resources to ensure justice for all women.

She calls for identifying and analyzing detrimental impacts of capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy on youths, women and sexual and gender minorities and establishing a youth leadership through politics to effective transformative change.

The declaration calls for an end to all forms of digital violence and the formulation of laws and policies that are friendly to women and sexual/gender minorities. “Globally, women’s body are objectified and commercialized in the consumerist society,” the declaration states, seeking a correction to this approach.

It has called for further accelerating activism and movements to secure the rights of indigenous peoples, landless individuals, and rural communities, particularly in their struggles for land and housing.

Recognizing the disproportionate impact of resource exploitation, violence, and inequalities on women and children, exacerbated by militarization and capitalism, the declaration advocates for justice, equality, and human rights for all.

It has also denounced economic systems guided by uncontrolled markets, unjust development practices, and export-oriented policies that at it argues commodify the human body, leading to forced migration, displacement, and human trafficking.