Zonta Club Kathmandu hosts digital panel session against domestic violence

Zonta Club Kathmandu organised a digital panel session titled “Behind Closed Doors: Unleashing the Truth of Domestic Violence during Covid 19” as a response to the increasing cases of domestic violence against women especially after the lockdown on August 2. The aim of the session was to bring awareness and find solutions to the increasing cases of violence against women amidst the pandemic. Bandana Rana, Vice-Chair of UN CEDAW Committee and one of the panellists commented, “The pandemic has created havoc globally and has brought along another form of crisis which the UN has declared as the ‘shadow pandemic’. It refers to the increase in the domestic violence amidst the crisis which needs to be prioritised and addressed.” The nationwide lockdown has seen an alarming increase of 40% in violence against women and girls in the country and especially in the case of domestic violence. Vulnerable women are trapped inside their homes with the perpetrators having no access to safety. Likewise, the increase in the number of mental health issues and suicides is an area of utmost concern. Zontian Seema Golchha, the President of Zonta Club of Kathmandu shared that Zonta Club Kathmandu aims to bring attention to women and girls who are trapped and violated physically and mentally in their own homes by their perpetrators. “With the digital panel session we hope to bring this issue forward to all and fight against it.”