HARIZ BAHARUDIN
There may be more women than men in Nepal, but their numbers hardly match up outside the census report. Only 172 out of 575 Constituent Assembly members are women, there has never been a female chief justice, and the current cabinet has only two women ministers.
It doesn’t stop there. We have also denied our daughters a shot at being Nepali. Our parliament passed a law in 2006, on par with international covenants, that women could pass on their citizenship to their children, only to be ‘amended’ – so long as their husbands are Nepali citizens. As a result there are at least 4.3 million people in Nepal who don’t have papers and can’t get an education, job, or own property.
Despite the immense challenges women face – at home, on the street, at their workplace – it is not all bad news. Women all across Nepal have overcome discrimination, violence, abuse, and family disapproval to set examples for everyone. Read our Women’s Day special feature to find out more.