Then Nepal’s newly-restored parliament passed a resolution in May 2006 directing the government to reserve at least 33 percent seats for women in state bodies, initially there was jubilation.

This was a landmark legislation for a country with one of the lowest levels of participation in Asia of women in government and among elected representatives. But for some women not only did the bill not go far enough, there was also a danger that like past laws it would never be implemented.

So they registered their own political party, Sa-shakti Nepal. “An entire year has gone by, many meetings have been organised, there has been a lot of rhetoric about gender equality, but they are just words,” says party’s chair, social worker Padmini Pradhananga (pictured). “We say reservation is not enough, we are equals so give us 50 percent not 33 percent.”

Sa-shakti Nepal is now registered with the Election Commission for the November polls and has the scales of justice as its symbol. It has nine working committee members and recently opened its membership to those interested in joining, including men.

Vice chair Sarala Lama says many of Nepal’s ills can be traced to under- representation of women in politics. “I think violence, hatred, communalism have come up in Nepal because women are not in decision-making positions,” says Lama, quickly adding, “we are not extremist feminists, we are only asking for equality and what is rightfully ours.”

According to the party’s manifesto Sa-shakti Nepal will ‘struggle against all kinds of extortion, inequality, injustice, and feudalism, reactionary regression and all kinds of anti-nationalism’. Some of the party’s goals like ‘supporting world peace, disarmament, national, and social freedom movement and fighting imperialism, communalism, violence, and discrimination based on caste and gender’ may sound a bit self-righteous. But what may appeal to Nepali voters are more specific goals like decentralisation, social security, transparency in public administration, and the setting up of village cooperatives to help create jobs for women.

"Men and women should vote for Sa-shakti because we aren’t politically affiliated and our main agenda is equality,” says Pradhananga who says her group’s social service and wide network across Nepal will allow the party to hit the ground running. 

Mallika Aryal

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