Women who led Nepal’s anti-corruption protests are largely absent as candidates in Thursday’s vote, despite constitutional quotas.
KATHMANDU: Women who risked their lives in Nepal’s deadly anti-corruption protests last year will be largely absent from the ballot as candidates when the country votes on Thursday.
The September unrest toppled four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli and demanded a new generation of leaders. Former chief justice Sushila Karki, 73, has since led Nepal as its first woman prime minister.
Yet when she steps down after the polls, parliament is again expected to be dominated by men. Just 10% of the more than 3,400 candidates running in direct elections for the 275-member House of Representatives are women.
Ranju Darshana, 29, is one of them, campaigning door-to-door in Kathmandu for the Rashtriya Swatantra Party while heavily pregnant. “It is about issues of half of the population,” said Darshana, active in politics since her teens.
“It is important that we build policies through the lens of women.”
Nepal’s constitution mandates that at least one-third of parliamentary seats be held by women. Women make up a significant proportion of the 110 seats allocated by party-list proportional representation.
Critics say this arrangement allows parties to sideline women from directly elected races. “It gives political parties an excuse that women will be included through the PR system, and deny them chances to contest,” said former lawmaker Bidhya Bhattarai.
Male politicians continue to wield greater influence in negotiating party tickets, reflecting deeply embedded gender biases. Kunti Devi Pokhrel, contesting from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, described the uphill battle.
“We have to struggle to be a candidate in the party… They do not trust women, so we have to struggle and prove ourselves,” she said.
Political analyst Sucheta Pyakurel pointed to deep structural barriers. “There is no lens to view women as a viable and legitimate political actor,” she said.
Sita Gurung, 49, was among nine women who won a seat for the Nepali Congress party in 2022 but was not nominated this time. “No matter which revolution, we do not see a change,” she said.
“Women are just not accepted. Perhaps it is time that we women lead our own revolution for change.”
The Sun Malaysia
