The then Royal Nepal Army had extra-judicially executed both of these young women during the armed conflict in 2004. Maina was brutally tortured to death while Reena was gang raped and later shot to death.

Reena's younger sister Gita Rasaili welcomed the participants and said that she wants justice for her sister. She raised a powerful question of whether a revolution can take place without raping women or killing innocent people.

Speaking at the commemoration event, Transitional Justice (TJ) Expert and AF's Founder Dr. Mandira Sharma said that Maina Sunuwar is a representative case for various human rights violations during the conflict. She remembered the struggles to document the case of Maina's extrajudicial execution and praised Maina's mother Devi Sunuwar's bravery in fighting relentlessly for the justice of her daughter.

Dr. Sharma also talked about the TJ commissions being unable to serve justice to victims. The government is creating a narrative among the stakeholders that the TJ process is stalled due to "middlemen" but the real obstructers are the political parties, she asserted.

Expressing his views at the event, Panchkhal Municipality Mayor Mahesh Kharel said that the brutal murder of Reena and Maina occurred in his municipality. To commemorate them, the local government is committed to helping Devi Sunuwar in memorial activities and the municipality will also help in carrying out the funeral rites of Maina Sunuwar. He further said that establishing the rule of law in the country is of paramount importance.

Devi Khadka, a rape survivor during the armed conflict, said that men take women as objects of desire fulfillment and thus they rape a woman before killing her. Rape is not just an ordinary crime but a crime against humanity as it has a lingering effect on the mental, physical, cultural, religious and social standing of the victim, she asserted.

Conflict victim and human rights activist Suman Adhikari said that he feels sad about the incident that happened to Maina and Reena. The victims have been asking the state to make victim-centric TJ laws but the government has not addressed the victims' concerns, he said. He also emphasized the importance of victims being united for the cause.

Charan Prasain, senior human rights activist, expressed condolences for the deceased Maina and Reena and appreciated the resilience of Devi Sunuwar in her fight for justice. He said that the perpetrators had tried to corrupt Devi Sunuwar by offering her a huge amount of money instead of justice but Devi Sunuwar refused to budge from her position. He lamented the government's accusation against human rights activists as "dollar-reapers" and asserted that such labelling will not deter the activists from fighting for victims' justice.

Thanking the participants, Devi Sunuwar, Chairperson of Maina Bal Bikash Samiti, said with tears in her eyes that the mental wounds inflicted by the state are still fresh and being a mother she cries for her daughter each day. She, however, asserted that she won't let emotions overwhelm her fight for justice. She said that conflict victims do not ask the government to do anything difficult but follow the verdict of the Supreme Court.

Conflict Victim and Incumbent Member of Parliament Maina Karki, Conflict Victim Dr. Ram Kumar Bhandari, Senior Human Rights Activist Prof. Kapil Shrestha, and National Human Rights Commission Secretary Murari Kharel also expressed their opinions in the event.