Since the restoration of democracy in 1990, the Nepalese government has made significant progress in adopting the policy initiatives and various measures to reach gender equality: Some of the undertaken policy initiatives are the following:

• Establishment of a separate ministry (Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare) as a focal agency for bringing social and gender equality.
• The Ninth Development Plan (1997-2002) emphasizes increasing women’s access to political, economical and social sectors.
• The Tenth Development Plan advocates affirmative action to increase women’s role in public offices, administration and community level participation and management.
• Establishment of the National Women’s Commission.
• Collaboration and partnership initiated between the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and the non-governmental organizations.
• Formation of a Women’s Parliamentarian Caucus.

Political Sector
Additionally, the following changes were made in the legislative framework:

• Revisions and Amendments to the Electoral System/Laws
- Constituent Assembly’s Electoral Act of 2007 guaranteed 50% of women’s representations under Proportional Representation (PR) system. This allowed the implementation of mixed electoral system with First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) and closed-list Proportional Representation (PR) systems in the elections to the Constituent Assembly held on April 10, 2008. This election resulted in providing 32.87% women’s representation in the assembly. Women hold 189 seats out of 575 (29 from 240 elected through first-past-the-post and 160 from 335 elected through proportional representation system.

• Quota/Reservation
- Local Self Governance Act requires 20% reservation for women in local bodies, which resulted in getting approximately 40,000 women elected at the local level. Before this policy, Nepal did not have women prepared for leadership positions; but as a result of the policy, political parties have to search for women. Some men did not want women to come forward, so they put forward their wives, daughter-in laws, sister-in laws and mothers. But talented, educated women also came forward. Now the old argument that there are no capable women to become candidates for legislative assemblies no longer holds. Because now the women who served as ward members, ward chairs, village development committee members, and deputy-mayors has been groomed as prospective candidates for the parliament. Some of the 40,000 women elected at the local level are now elected to the Constituent Assembly. Thus, the reserved seats measure is a very effective tool, especially in Nepal and other South Asian countries, where there the representation of women in the parliaments is meager.

- In 2006, the Interim Parliament in Nepal passed the resolution to reserve one third representation of women at all levels of the government structures and decision-making positions within the political parties. Currently, women’s rights groups are advocating for passing the legislation for the implementation of the resolution.

Social Sector

Civil Service Act allowed the following measures:

• To lower the age bar for entry into Civil Service to 40 years for women as oppose to 35 years for men.
• To reduce the probation period for women to six months as oppose to one year for men.
• To allow government service of spouses in the same district.
• To reduce the minimum service period for women before the eligibility for promotion to one year.
• To recruit women in the Nepal’s Army.

11th Amendment to the Civil Code of Nepal and other Legislative Acts:

• Women’s Right to Abortion: Abortion was illegal unless a doctor advised that a mother’s life was endangered unless a fetus was aborted. Charged with this crime, more than five dozen women were imprisoned across the country. The new law legalizes abortion with various circumstances as specified in the law. Nepal is the first South Asian country to legalize abortion in this way.
• Women’s Right to Property: Today, women in Nepal can enjoy their rights to inherit property from birth. The new law establishes a wife’s equal right to her husband’s property immediately after marriage. The law also envisions the widow’s right to claim her share of property from the joint family after the death of her husband, and to use this property even if she gets re-married.
• Women’s Right to Divorce Bill gives women the right to seek divorce from if they face harassment and physical or psychological violence exhorted by their husbands; The bill also gives women rights to seek divorce in the following cases: a. if a husband had sexual relationships with other women; b. if the husband is incapable of producing children; and c. if the husband has STD, including HIV/AIDS.
• Citizenship Act insures that citizenship to newborns is issued through mother’s name. Previously, citizenship was issued only through the father’s name.

By Ms. Anamika Rai, Resident Program Manager, Nepal, National Democratic Institute (NDI).