Nepali Times

From 12 women in the 1999 parliament to 197 after the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections, Nepal had taken a great leap forward in achieving gender parity at the highest levels of governance. Six years later, things have regressed. Out of over 6,000 candidates from 130 parties who registered for the First Past the Post race in November elections, about 600 were women. Only 10 won. A further 162 women made it to the assembly floor through the Proportional Representation system, giving them less than 30 per cent of seats.

While the number of women lawmakers has slumped, those elected remain just as passionate as their predecessors about making their collective voice heard and drafting a gender-friendly constitution.

SATISH POKHREL

Former Maoist guerrilla Onsari Gharti Magar was seven months pregnant when she fought in the battle of Pakhapani in Rolpa in 1999. Eleven days later, she gave birth to her daughter, while still recovering from injuries. With an infant on her back, Magar went back to the field four months later and took part in the attack on Ghartigau police station.

Magar is among the 10 women who secured seats in the parliament through direct polls. Last month, as the 36-year-old took the oath of secrecy as the vice chair of the CA, her journey from being a shy teenager to a fierce woman commander flashed before her eyes. She credits her success to her education, which was an immense struggle for her poor family.

“Education gave me the confidence to face the world and break the shackles placed on me as a woman from a marginalised community,” admits Magar. She believes that unless women have the same access to education as men, they will not be able to compete with them.

The war is long over, but Magar says she needs to hold onto her fighting spirit more than ever in a parliament where men outnumber women by a huge margin. Says Magar: “Nepali society is steeped in patriarchy, but we are ready to fight for equality and ensure that the new constitution guarantees our rights.”

DEVIKA GHARTI MAGAR

Sushila Chaudhary has been active in local politics since 1997, slowly working her way to the top. Years of fighting for the rights of women and marginalised communities finally paid off when she won the CA elections last year. Although she now has to spend a lot of time in Kathmandu, the 45-year-old president of Laxmi Women Development, Savings, and Loan Cooperative, remains deeply committed to her hometown.

While party and government leadership has changed numerous times over the years, Chaudhary feels that women’s involvement and status in national politics is still appalling. “Party workers don’t attend our rallies because women are usually cash strapped and the cadre feel they won’t be well fed,” she says. “Women haven’t fared well in this country because we have been too tolerant of abuse and discrimination. Nobody is going to hand us our rights. We need to fight for it.”

RISHEERAM KATTEL

When UML leader Sita Oli Giri won CA elections from Kaski-4, there were many people within and outside the party who questioned her success. But the 46-year-old from Rivan VDC has remained unfazed by all the criticism and resentment that has come her way. “Ever since joining politics in the late 1980s, I have faced a lot of hostility specially from men,” admits Giri.

She is encouraged by the provision of 33 per cent female representation in all the state apparatus, but feels that more can be done to make sure that there are greater number of women at decision-making levels. “Men and women have stood shoulder to shoulder during the war and the democracy movements. They play just as important a role as men in development. And yet we continue to be sidelined. Our contributions can no longer be overlooked,” says Giri who was jailed for 19 days during the 2006 Janandolan.

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