House of Representatives (HoR) has unanimously endorsed a proposal that allows acquisition of citizenships based on maternal name and 33 percent reservation to women in all state mechanisms. This \'motion of public importance\' was presented by CPN (UML) MP Bidhya Bhandari on Monday.
With the ratification of the proposal, citizenship certificates can be issued by the name of mothers and women will have 1/3 rd share at all levels of the state mechanism. Existing provisions allows citizenships to be issued only by the name of father, which has so far deprived children of single mothers from citizenships.
Women rights groups have hailed this endorsement as a historic achievement. This ratification has opened the doors for annulment of all discriminatory laws against women. Women rights groups have been saying that there are 173 provisions and 102 schedules in 83 laws that discriminates against issues such as citizenship, property, marriage and family, nationality, legal and court proceedings, trafficking and sexual abuse, employment, education and identity.