A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE Traditional gender roles, dictating that women remain at home to carry out domestic responsibilities and men serve as breadwinners, mean they have fewer resources (time and money) to pursue electoral complaints. Men still control family resources, and, in some areas, do not want their female relatives to leaving home at all. And they are the primary decision-makers in families, even on electoral matters. One interviewee commented that party leaders will ask a woman’s husband if he supports her candidacy and will help her raise money and fund her campaign rather than addressing the candidate herself. An interviewee noted that such restrictive gender roles are related to a Hindu culture that puts women second and encourages patriarchal thinking. However, patriarchy transcends religion and is a much broader issue in Nepal and beyond. Many interviewees noted that cases take a long time to resolve. One interviewee spoke of a disputed election result that was not resolved before the next election for the seat in question. Respondents cited lack of political will, resources, and capacity for the ECN or the courts to settle electoral disputes in a timely manner. In addition to women’s lack of control over finances and lack of time due to domestic and other responsibilities, there is a barrier for those who speak languages other than Nepali. The lack of resources is even more acute for women with disabilities, whose movement is further restricted by their disabilities and by family members who might be overprotective or seek to conceal their disability status. In addition, literacy in Nepal is low especially among older populations. Justice system actors are not sufficiently prepared to handle cases related to violence against women in elections. Women may not feel comfortable reporting gender-based violence or harassment to police officers, most of whom are men. In addition, those tasked with handling and receiving complaints related to gender-based violence often have not received sufficient training on how to handle these cases sensitively. Lack of sensitivity creates an additional barrier for women interested in pursuing cases related to electoral violence. While there have been a number of efforts to increase gender-sensitive police practices in Nepal, including training police to handle gender-based violence and establishing Women, Children and Senior Citizen Service Centers,162 interviews conducted for this assessment indicate that additional work is needed. “Judges should take concrete steps to break barriers that women are still facing in accessing justice and should play key roles to ensure that courts are more genderresponsive and women are able to access justice equally and without discrimination.” – ICJ Cases of violence against women, including election-related violence, are usually handled by the courts rather than the ECN in spaces that may be intimidating for women because most judicial lawyers, judges, and prosecutors are men.163 However, several interlocuters noted a positive trend of more women becoming involved in the legal field – women than men attend law school, and women lawyers are more willing to push back on sexist colleagues than in previous years.164 In addition, more than a decade of 162 For example, with support from the Asian Development Bank, the police established a network of service centers in 20 districts across the country for women and children to help women feel more comfortable reporting gender-based violence. See: Asian Development Bank. (2019, March 18). Police and Community Partnership in Nepal Tackling Violence Against Women. In the fall of 2021, 210 police officials working in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur District participated in a three-day workshop on gender-responsive investigation and communication skills in cases of gender-based violence. See: Forum on Women, Law, and Development. (2022, January 11). Training on Gender Responsive Service and Communication Skill to Nepal Police in the Cases of GBV. 163 Koirala, D., and Mahaseth, H. (2020, January 18). Why Does Nepal Still Have So Few Women Lawyers? The Diplomat; Mellowes, S. (2017, October 1). Scaling mountains of prejudice in Nepal. LSJ Online. 164 In addition, the National Judicial Academy published its Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Strategy for the Judiciary, which covers the period from 2021 to 2026. See: National Judicial Academy, Nepal. (n.d.). Gender Inclusion and Social Inclusion (GESI) Strategy for the Judiciary. 63