Gender and Security Sector Reform

With increasing space at the national level for discussion on security and justice sector issues, the coming years will present significant opportunities for meaningful reform of Nepal’s security and justice system. However, the focus for now is on immediate priorities such as the future of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Nepal Army. While critical, this is serving to limit any wider debate on longer-term reform processes that are inclusive and locally informed. There is a growing risk that such debates will not reflect the needs and perspectives of ordinary people and will instead reinforce institutional interests and political agendas as the primary frame of reference.

Gender is one particular consideration which risks being overlooked in any Kathmandu-centric reform process. Although a growing number of civil society organisations are now supporting wider debate on security sector reform, none of these organisations have, as yet, been able to bring a gender perspective to these debates. Furthermore, a plethora of organisations in Kathmandu are working on gender and peacebuilding. However, very few of these organisations are working on issues related to security sector reform.

Through our Gender and Security Sector Reform programme, we aim to build the capacity of civil society organisations to inform and monitor public security reform processes from a gender perspective. Specifically, the programme will:

1. Generate knowledge on gender specific needs in relation to the provision of security and understand how these needs are (or aren’t) currently addressed in government policy;
2. Support civil society to advocate for specific government policy changes that will improve the way gender needs are addressed in security policy.