Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Nepal (Ratification: 1974)

Equal access to education and vocational training. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that for the fiscal year 2008–09, 21,741 persons were trained, without any distinctions. The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the importance of ensuring that both men and women have equal access to training in the broadest range of specializations, and that vocational guidance is not based on gender stereotypes regarding their professional capacities and aspirations and suitability for certain jobs, in order to ensure future equal opportunity in employment and occupation and to avoid occupational gender segregation. With respect to equal access to education, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern about the very high rate of school dropout among girls, the disparities in access to education and illiteracy rates between urban and rural areas and the low literacy rate of women. The CEDAW requested Nepal to strengthen its efforts to provide quality education to girls in all areas, with special attention given to girls from Dalit, indigenous and other disadvantaged groups (CEDAW/C/NPL/CO/4-5, 29 July 2011). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that men and women from all groups of the population and in all regions have access to education, vocational and skills training on an equal footing, including any measures taken to address stereotypes on the professional capacities and aspirations of men and women and their role in society. Please also provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the number of persons that have participated in the various training programmes.

Awareness-raising and enforcement. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that there were no judicial decisions on the application of the Convention and that the report contains no information on discrimination cases that would have been identified by or reported to labour inspectors. The Committee recalls that the absence of complaints could indicate a lack of awareness of the legal provisions, lack of confidence in, or absence of, practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure effective enforcement and appropriate awareness raising of the anti discrimination legal provisions and legal procedures available for redress. Please also provide information on any administrative or judicial decisions relating to discrimination in employment and occupation.