Prime Minister vows to make provision for free treatment of breast and uterus cancer

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said the early diagnosis and treatment of uterus and breast cancer would be taken ahead as a special programme.

Arrangements would be made for providing free treatment services for breast and uterus cancer in all the seven provinces, he said while addressing a programme organised on the occasion of the 113th International Women’s Day here today.

PM Prachanda said: “Infertility treatment services, setting up of neonatal care centres at the ward level, early diagnosis and free treatment of cancer of the uterus and breast seen in women would be expanded to all the seven provinces as a special programme. The HPV mass vaccination programme targeting girls between the ages of nine to 13 years would be expanded across the country for the prevention of uterus cancer.”

He added that a nutrition programme targeting women would be carried out to deal with anaemia found in about 34 per cent of women of reproductive age.

Stating that the 113th International Women’s Day is being celebrated throughout the world today around the slogan – ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality’, the PM observed that the issues of women’s rights are intricately related to the economic and political system in society.

“A prosperous and equitable society cannot be built unless the disparity between men and women, and all forms of exploitation and suppression of women in society are put to an end. The narrative of valour and heroism demonstrated by women in the People’s War and the People’s Movement that took place in the land of Nepal has proved wrong the traditional notion of taking women to be the weaker sex in the social and cultural context, constricting the women’s world and that women cannot bear the social existence as the male do.”

The Prime Minister reminded that the Constitution of Nepal has successfully established a proportional, inclusive and equitable state system by ending all sorts of disparities, inequalities and discriminations against women.

He also reminded of the achievements such as the guarantee of 33 per cent women representation in all the State bodies and the provision of representation of persons from different gender and community in the post of President and Vice-President and the provision requiring the compulsory representation of women either the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of the National Assembly and either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

He added that there is 30 per cent women representation in the federal and provincial parliaments and 40 per cent representation of women at the local level either as the mayor or deputy mayor of a metropolitan city, sub-metropolitan city and municipality, and the chairperson or deputy chairperson of the rural municipality.

Prime Minister Prachanda further said that any act of violence against and exploitation of women had been made a punishable offence and a policy of zero tolerance has been adopted against VAW. He presented facts regarding the various policies, and legal and institutional arrangements made aiming at guaranteeing women’s meaningful participation in the different mechanisms and processes at the federal, provincial and local levels as per the constitutional provision.

According to the Prime Minister, the expected outcome of the policies, plans and programmes adopted by the State in the women’s rights sector have been achieved through the improvement of Nepal’s gender development indicators.

Stating that Nepal is moving ahead towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals in terms of the sexual and reproductive rights of women, he said access to reproductive health-related devices and services has also increased. The PM reiterated that necessary initiatives would be taken to improve the livelihood of the conflict and violence-affected women through various programmes and providing them with relief, rescue and free legal and psycho-social counselling services.

He reiterated that special initiatives would be made to build a gender equality-based society by studying the gravity of the household work done by women. Stating that the topic of women’s rights is intricately related to the establishment of a socialism-oriented State along with building a prosperous and self-reliant Nepal, PM Dahal stressed that all should commit themselves towards prosperity with social justice as envisioned by the Constitution.

He also stressed increasing women’s access to information technology.