The Nepali Civil War was a protracted armed conflict that took place in the then Kingdom of Nepal from 1996 to 2006. It saw countrywide fighting between the Kingdom rulers and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), with the latter making significant use of guerrilla warfare. The conflict began on 13 February 1996, when the CPN (Maoist) initiated an insurgency with the stated purpose of overthrowing the Nepali monarchy and establishing a people's republic; it ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord on 21 November 2006.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (Nepali: नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी (माओवादी केन्द्र)), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal and a member party of Samajbadi Morcha. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre). The party launched an armed struggle in 1996 against the Nepalese government. In 2006, the party formally joined mainstream politics after signing a peace agreement following the 2006 Nepalese revolution.
Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted sexual act—or attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion—or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of their relationship to the victim. This includes forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed, and may be physical, psychological, or verbal. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.
Rajendra Kumar Acharya, is a district judge and former Director of Judgement Execution Directorate, Supreme Court of Nepal.
One Billion Rising is a global campaign, founded by Eve Ensler, to end rape and sexual violence against women. It was started in 2012 as part of the V-Day movement. The "billion" refers to the UN statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime, or about one billion. The campaign expands each year with new themes and artistic actions. In 2024, the theme of the campaign is Rise for Freedom. "This year's campaign will escalate the collective actions of activists worldwide, and amplify their call for systematic changes towards ending violence against women and children once and for all," said OBR global director Monique Wilson.
Neha Dixit is an Indian freelance journalist covering politics, gender and social justice. She has been awarded over a dozen awards including the Chameli Devi Jain Award (2016) as well as CPJ International Press Freedom Award (2019).
Radha Paudel is a Nepalese nurse, activist and writer. She won the Madan Puraskar for her memoir Khalangama Hamala. She has actively worked for raising awareness related to various women related issues.
The Islamic State (IS) has employed sexual violence against women and men in a terroristic manner. Sexual violence, as defined by The World Health Organization includes “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.” IS has used sexual violence to undermine a sense of security within communities, and to raise funds through the sale of captives into sexual slavery.
The Commission of Inquiry to Locate the Persons Disappeared during the Panchayat Period (1990–1991) is a truth commission established in Nepal in 1990 after the end of the autocratic Panchayat Regime by the first post-Panchayat Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattharai. The commission was set up to examine allegations of human rights violations and inquire about enforced disappearances during the Panchayat system from 1961 to 1990. A report was officially submitted to the government in 1991, but it was made public only in 1994. The commission identified 35 persons disappeared on about one hundred studied cases. However, no alleged perpetrators were judged.
Karuna Nundy is an Indian lawyer and a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. A dual-qualified lawyer in India and New York, she was designated Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India in 2024. Some of her notable cases include enforcing blockchain regulations against major telecom companies on behalf of Paytm, and contributing to legal action that secured damages for a disability rights activist against SpiceJet. She also served as one of the counsels in a case concerning restrictions on online speech, including issues related to platform liability and website blocking. She has also been involved in efforts to bring safe water to the victims of the Bhopal gas disaster.
Women were a significant group who were involved in the Maoist movement during the Nepalese Civil War, which refers to a violent insurgency that took place from 1996 to 2006. The insurgency was led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (Nepali: नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी, or CPN with the aim of establishing a People's Republic and ending the rule of the Nepalese Monarchy. During this time, over 13,000 civilians and public officials were murdered, approximately 200,000 were displaced, and numerous others were tortured, extorted, and intimidated. Although the majority of Maoist insurgents were men, the Maoist Party claimed that up to 40 percent of their 19,000 combatants were women. This was regarded as an unprecedented move at the time, given that women were forbidden from fighting in the Nepalese Army until 2003.
Angela Atim Lakor, also Angela Lakor Atim, is a female Ugandan community activist, who is the co-founder of the Watye Ki Gen organisation, which supports former female abductees of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The organisation assists the female returnees with their children's education and helps the families to cope with the stigma of association with the LRA.
Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a truth and reconciliation commission established by President Alejandro Toledo to investigate the human rights abuses committed during the internal conflict in Peru between 1980s and 1990s. The TRC was a response to the violent internal conflict between 1980 and 2000 during the administration of Presidents Fernando Belaúnde (1980–1985), Alan García (1985–1990), and Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000). The commission's mandate was to provide a record of human rights and international humanitarian law violations committed in Peru between May 1980 and November 2000, as well as recommend mechanisms to promote and strengthen human rights. The TRC reported on the estimated 70 000 deaths, assassinations, torture, disappearances, displacement, employment of terrorist methods and other human rights violations executed by the State, Shining Path, and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. The report concluded that there is both institutional and individual accountability, as well as identifying racial and cultural factors that became a catalyst for conflict.
Julienne Lusenge is a Congolese human rights activist recognized for advocating for survivors of wartime sexual violence. She is co-founder and President of Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development (SOFEPADI) and director of the Congolese Women's Fund (FFC).
Nirmala Panta, a 13-year-old girl from Kanchanpur, Nepal, was found raped and murdered in a sugarcane field near her home on 27 July 2018, after she had gone missing the day before. The news of the incident went viral on social media and received widespread condemnation. In the subsequent days and months, various justice campaigns and mass protests were organised throughout the country to put pressure on the government and the police. The first investigation carried out by the local police and a team from the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB) drew widespread criticism for its methods and conduct.
Sexual violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka has occurred repeatedly during the island's long ethnic conflict. The first instances of rape of Tamil women by Sinhalese mobs were documented during the 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom. This continued in the 1960s with the deployment of the Sri Lankan Army in Jaffna, who were reported to have molested and occasionally raped Tamil women.
Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman is a Kosovo Albanian activist, a politician serving in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, and a survivor of rape.
Women in the Internal conflict in Peru were active in a large variety of roles, both making significant impacts on the Conflict and with the Conflict having significant impacts on them. Post-conflict women, especially Indigenous women, have played major roles in reconciliation efforts.
Operation Romeo was a Nepal Police operation that aimed to suppress the Maoist movement in Nepal. Taking place in November 1995, it resulted in human rights abuses, the arrests of 132 people, the displacement of 6000 locals, and rape and torture on an unknown scale. More than twelve people died during the course of the operation, and severe violence against locals took place. No perpetrators were arrested. The operation was one of the causes of the Nepalese Civil War, which began three months later in February 1996.
Mridul Machindra Wadhwa is an Indian-born Scottish women's rights, trans rights and anti-domestic violence campaigner. She serves as Chief Executive Officer of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre but is on leave as of May 2024 due to the employment tribunal case against the centre that identified Wadhwa as involved in the mistreatment of a gender critical worker. She was formerly active in the Scottish National Party, a candidate for the party in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, before moving to the Scottish Green Party.