By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, June 17: The government has been widely criticised for poor quarantine facilities across the country which can lead to rampant rise in coronavirus cases in the country.
In addition, a recent gang-rape of a woman staying at a quarantine facility in Lamki Chuha Municipality-1, Kailali district has now raised a serious question about security arrangements in quarantine facilities.
A woman returning home from India was raped by three volunteers at the quarantine facility, after she was left alone in the centre.
From the very beginning human rights defenders had been demanding for separate quarantine facilities for women and children with essential measures to protect them from possible risks.
However, this latest incident has added to public anger over unsafe conditions of thousands of migrant workers who were forced into confinements over the coronavirus.
The lawmakers, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and human rights defenders have demanded improvement in the quality of the quarantine facilities that meet the standards by accelerating safeguard measures to protect women.
During the Upper House session on Tuesday, the members of the National Assembly protested the alleged rape of a woman and demanded stern action against those involved in the crime.
Expressing their opinion at the zero hour of the session, Dil Kumari Rawal, a lawmaker of Nepal Communist Party (NCP), demanded for separate quarantine facility for women along with women health workers and security forces.
Seeking an immediate investigation into the rape, Rawal called for stern action against those involved in the crime.
Drawing attention to the poorly managed quarantine facilities across the country, Prakash Pantha of Nepali Congress called to bring the guilty of the rape to book. He also asked to make the quarantine facilities as per the set standards.
Following the incident, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asked the government to implement the guidelines for operation and management of the quarantine sticking to the guidelines of World Health Organization.
It has also asked the government to bring the guilty to book and make quarantine facilities safe for women and prevent possible crime against them.
The commission has demanded for proper treatment of the victim, conduct PCR test on her and provide socio-psychological counseling.
National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders (NAWHRD) on Tuesday demanded to make the quarantine facilities gender-friendly.
Drawing attention of the government to the ill-managed state of quarantine facilities, the women human rights defenders said because the quarantine facilities were set up without meeting guidelines and were not gender-friendly, women staying in such centers were facing various forms of violence.
Central member of the NAWHRD Renu Adhikari said the volunteers and health workers deployed in the quarantine centers themselves were found involved in the gang-rape.
“The NAWHRD condemned the incident stating that the protectors themselves are turning into aggressors,” she said.
From the very beginning, the NAWHRD had been demanding with the government to keep women, children and gender minorities separately in the quarantine facilities and make arrangement of separate toilet and bathroom, said Adhikari.
The rape of a woman inside the quarantine facility shows the government apathy towards the issue, said NAWHRD. It is condemnable that the rooms where women are kept are without door lock, said Adhikari.
“We ask the government to make the quarantine facilities across the country gender-friendly,” Adhikari asked.
The NAWHRD further asked the government to guarantee justice to the victim, conduct immediate health check-up, ensure the safety of the victim and make arrangement of female health workers and security personnel in quarantine facilities.
On Monday, the main opposition party Nepali Congress also condemned the incident and asked the government to protect females inside a quarantine centre.