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September 10, 2025

Rethinking Nepal’s Transitional Justice Process through a Feminist and Intersectional Lens

Key Points

Nepal’s transitional justice faces significant barriers, particularly the exclusion of women victims of sexual violence and enforced disappearance.
Critiques of patriarchal evidentiary norms demonstrate a systemic failure to address the needs of female ex-combatants and widows.
Victim testimonies and consultations reveal the need for a more inclusive, gender-responsive approach to justice.
Recommendations for legal reforms aim to transform the current justice framework into a more equitable, victim-centered process.

Abstract

Nepal’s transitional justice process, initiated after the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord, has been repeatedly hindered by political interference, legal ambiguity, and institutional inertia. Despite multiple cycles of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP), the experiences of women—particularly victims of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), widows, and female ex combatants—remain systematically excluded. This paper examines the gendered and intersectional failures of Nepal’s transitional justice framework through a feminist lens. It critiques the state’s reliance on patriarchal evidentiary norms, token participation, and structural silence, especially in how sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and reintegration are addressed. Drawing on victim testimonies, legal rulings, UN recommendations, and provincial consultations held in 2025, this paper argues that Nepal’s transitional justice must be fundamentally remained as a victim-centered, gender-responsive process. It concludes by offering concrete legal and institutional reforms to advance an inclusive and transformative model of justice.

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