President Ram Chandra Paudel. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Speaker of the House Dev Raj Ghimire. Army Chief Prabhu Ram Sharma and Police Chief Dhiraj Pratap Singh. Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki. Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari. The most powerful people in Nepal today are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/political-patriarchy">all men</a>, and all from dominant caste groups.&nbsp; Top leaders of all major political parties are also all men: Dahal, K P Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Baburam Bhattarai, Madhav Nepal, Rabi Lamichhane, Rajendra Lingden, Mahanta Thakur, Upendra Yadav.&nbsp; The 2015 Constitution has strict quota provisions for the representation of women, Indigenous people and Dalits in Nepal’s legislature, government and bureaucracy.&nbsp; Prithvi Nayaran Shah called Nepal a ‘garden of diverse ethnicities and castes’ but this is reflected nowhere in the corridors of power today.&nbsp; To be sure, affirmative action and Constitutional provisions for inclusion mean better representation than before of marginalised groups in all sectors. The 2015 Constitution mandated that 33% of MPs had to be women. In the 2017 elections, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/women-leaders-set-example-for-rest-of-nepal">women were elected to every local unit</a> as either a mayor or deputy mayor, or both. The Constitution also has a quota for Dalit representation in every ward. True, many women and minorities tended to be nominal nominations to ceremonial posts just to fulfil quota requirements. But electoral alliances between political parties with diametrically opposing views in the 2022 elections to all three levels of government meant women and minorities did not even get those token positions.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230316110312_df226f81be265abaf121ee43c90aebfe1a54bcfd527488ff43903ef1819613ca.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230316110312_df226f81be265abaf121ee43c90aebfe1a54bcfd527488ff43903ef1819613ca" data-rendition-name="original" width="859" height="766" loading="lazy" alt="under-representation"> </figure>  There is also pushback from dominant caste groups against reservation, arguing that it goes against meritocracy and that more qualified individuals miss out on opportunities to rise up the ranks. But for a country where the scale of social justice is so skewed, historically-excluded groups need to be given a chance to catch up through proportional representation. A quota system gives a much-needed push for the underserved to at least be more visible, even if they do not immediately become decision-makers. Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/political-patriarchy">Political patriarchy</a>, Editorial&nbsp; Yet, reservation laws can be abused. Former president Bidya Devi Bhandari was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/interpreting-article-76-5-of-nepal-s-constitution-52msrghp">openly doing the bidding </a>of UML Chair Oli when he was prime minister. There are many examples of women deputy mayors who are not equipped to fully perform the required roles.&nbsp; Which is why it is crucial that women, Indigenous people, Dalits and other minorities are empowered to function. This can be made to happen through education, training, financial independence and exposure.&nbsp; The very first step will be to recognise just how lopsided the whole process is. As the largest party in Parliament, the Nepali Congress (NC) and the third largest Maoist Centre gave tickets for just one woman candidate each in direct elections last year. In Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provincial Assemblies there is not a single woman elected through direct ballot. Even though women have 20% of jobs in the bureaucracy, they have only 4% of the topmost positions. Brahmins make up only 12.7% of Nepal’s population, but hold 70% of higher jobs in civil service.&nbsp; Janjatis are 32% of the population but have less than 2% of senior positions. Dalits make up 15%, but are even less represented, with only 0.7% of special and gazetted jobs.&nbsp; To solve any problem, we have to first recognise there is a problem. In Nepal, under-representation of the historically-excluded is a problem. Given platforms, women have generally proven to be better at governance. Jumla and Hupsekot of Nawalparasi were two municipalities in which women were voted both chair and deputy in the 2017 local election. They helped improve &nbsp;education, agriculture, conservation, and had effective Covid-19 response in their localities. Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-women-envoys-make-a-mark">female ambassadors</a> have been exemplary in dealing with migrant issues, tourism promotion and economic diplomacy. Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/post-presidential-politics">Post-presidential politics</a>, Shristi Karki Kulman Ghising, Sanduk Ruit and Mahabir Pun are lauded by Nepalis as national heroes. All three belong to Indigenous groups — proof that inclusion is not just morally right, but that there is strength in diversity. &nbsp;&nbsp; Eventually, we have to move beyond quota-enforced inclusion to one that includes and engages all groups by default. Till then, because some are more equal than others, the excluded need that extra weightage. The election for Vice President is slated for Friday 17 March. Two of the three candidates are women: Asta Laxmi Shakya of the UML and Mamta Jha of CK Raut's Janmat Party. But Ram Sahay Yadav of Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) is the heavy favourite to win, even though the Constitution recommends that the vice president should be female if the president is male. Need we say more? Sonia Awale

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Whose country is it anyway?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcOLeRbQqWwSwiss Ambassador Elisabeth von Capeller Oswald is on her second diplomatic stint in Nepal after also serving as assistant director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Bern. She spoke to Nepali Times last week about Switzerland’s changing focus in Nepal’s development over the decades. Excerpt:  Nepali Times: This is your second tenure in Nepal. How has Nepal changed?Ambassador von Capeller Oswald: I am very happy to come back here, and I have seen many positive changes. Nepal was a rural society but now through mobility, it is more of a rural-urban society. The places that you had to walk for days to reach are now reachable in a few hours. In the past, the young wanted to be government officers, now they want to have their own enterprises. It’s much more diversified, self exploratory and self determined. That is a huge change.Then, of course, the political system has changed a lot. Not everybody agrees with it but that is a part of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/federalism-rule-of-law-and-the-judiciary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federalism</a>. People are closer to service delivery and elected representatives are closer to the people. The politics is more dynamic and engaging.What is still there is discrimination. Probably it’s not as strong in some regions as it was, but maybe it’s more subtle and not so visible.You mention how mobility has changed Nepal. Your government has worked a lot on building trail bridges. Has that priority changed?I think Switzerland was among the first countries to understand that roads are needed for economic and social development. The Jiri road benefited the people there. The Swiss Embassy has provided technical expertise in this area, later collaborating with the government for knowledge transfer. We want to stop building roads now because the competence lies with local governments.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Dolakha-rebuilding-bridges-after-quake,3702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bridge builders</a>, Sonia Awale<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813110/636a44da9c7e80680e04d353jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s migration economy has had a huge impact. What has been your embassy’s involvement? I remember 10 years ago the government refused to accept <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/doubts-on-zero-cost-migration-deal-coming-into-force,2157" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migration</a> as a fact. Now it is fully understood that it is a reality and it needs to be addressed. A lot depends on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/paying-an-arm-and-a-leg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migrants who contribute to the development</a> of this country. Our aim is to support positive migration but also to help the government mitigate the negative aspects.The Migration Information Centres we have set up are the best initiative in our 30 years of development cooperation. They have helped people learn of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepali-migrants-too-young-to-die,2811" target="_blank" rel="noopener">risks of migration</a>, and their rights, and helped them to contact the right people in case of emergencies. We also give skills training to help them earn better, and to inform them about the cultural context of where they are going. We also have financial-literacy trainings. And what I appreciate is psycho-social counselling for victims and family members. Some of the women migrants really suffer because their family think they are not ‘honourable’ any more.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-lottery-of-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The lottery of migration</a>, EditorialThe Swiss embassy has been working a lot on gender and social inclusion. What can Nepal do to achieve better inclusivity?Let me start by telling you that I am the first woman to head this office in 60 years. Even in Switzerland we are not where we want to be. It is a long process, it entails powerful people letting go, and for others to take over. Swiss laws are not as complex as Nepal’s, but we do have different languages, cultures and religions. It is about diversity.I would say this country has very progressive election laws: the President and Vice President need to be of different genders, and so do the mayors and deputy mayors. I think that is fantastic, exceptional and will have an impact on gender and inclusion. Compulsory Dalit representation at the local level will have a powerful effect too.We have always said the root causes of the conflict were exclusion and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-great-income-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poverty</a>. It is important that those excluded due to gender or caste gain from development, including in the workforce. It is now our duty to support elected women and representatives of marginalised groups.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-great-income-divide/">Nepal's great income divide</a>, Ramesh Kumar<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813110/636a44dd9c7e80680e04d354jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="5616" height="3744">Nepal has recently become a federation while Switzerland has been one for a long time. What would you say are the ingredients that make devolution work?We have different contexts and histories, but the principle is the same: services are delivered where the people are, by elected persons. Last week I was in Karnali and I met many committed mayors, deputy mayors and also ward level members. They really want to understand the people and deliver the services. For me, this is what makes federalism work; that is its secret.It is now or never. All citizens, and we as development partners, have to contribute if this is going to be a success story. Development partners will be decisive in power sharing at the local level. Do we still implement through the central agency with provincial representatives, or do we now implement and collaborate at the local level? I do not yet see a full change in approach by the donors. We have clearly adapted all our programs to the local level.The Swiss embassy is also very involved in transitional justice. How do you gauge progress in that arena?I was first here in 2006, and a lot has happened since then: the peace accord, the Maoist integration, an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-great-income-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquake</a>, the Constitution and the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/trial-error-democracy,3713" target="_blank" rel="noopener">election</a> at three levels. It’s a lot for a country to go through in a short time, and shows the country is able to deal with difficult situations.Having said that, we also believe it’s the right time to finalise the peace process. We support a Nepali-led process which is victim-centric. It is not just about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/rocky-transition-to-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">justice</a> but also about people who have the right to know what happened to their loved ones, about compensation and memorials. It is also about rule of law, because if <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/12-years-later-justice-is-a-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impunity prevails</a> it will have an impact on the economic environment. The economy can only be strong in an environment with a strong rule of law.

“It is now or never to devolve power to local governments”

<figure><img width="1400" height="1129" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811110/636a29249c7e80680e0458acjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Diwakar Chettri</figcaption></figure>While a debate about equal citizenship rights for women raged in Parliament this week, single women who survived the earthquake are quietly and bravely struggling against deep-rooted patriarchy to rebuild homes and carrying on with their lives.On International Women’s Day, this illustration by Diwakar Chhetri shows where Nepali women are today: their responsibilities have increased and so have their capacities and achievements. But they continue to face impediments from all sides, most glaringly from the state.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/staying-alive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Staying alive</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-better-halves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's better halves</a>, Anil ChitrakarSince the mid-1990s female literacy in Nepal has doubled, and this has brought far-reaching changes that have ultimately empowered women. Employment and property ownership rates, and maternal and neonatal health have dramatically improved – all because women were more aware about health and rights.There has also been progress in politics, the economy, and sports. Not so long ago, the Chief Justice, Speaker of the Parliament and President of Nepal were all women and at the same time. We have also had one of the most inclusive parliaments in history in terms of gender. Most municipalities in Nepal have proactive female deputy mayors.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-house-for-the-nepali-family/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The house for the Nepali family</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/making-gods-for-a-living/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Making gods for a living</a>, Sonia Awale<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/surviving-the-aftermath/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Surviving the aftermath</a>, Sonam Choeyki Lama<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/staying-positive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Staying positive</a>, Sewa Bhattarai Nepal’s National Women Cricket team returned home this week after clinching second position in the World Cup Asia Region Qualifier in Thailand. Not long ago, our women’s blind cricket team won the First International Women’s Blind Cricket Series in Pakistan. Nepal’s women football team was second runner-up at the Gold Cup in India last month.The outflow of men for overseas work has had many consequences, and the most notable is the feminisation of rural Nepal. With the men away, women have taken charge both in their homes and communities. They have decision making power in the management of schools and health posts, in community forestry and irrigation. It won’t be too far-fetched to say that much of the credit for ground-level development, despite the absence of local government for 20 years, goes to women. And now that we have local governments it is women who are standing up to corrupt male counterparts in some municipalities.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-kathmandus-past-for-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saving Kathmandu's past for future</a>, Sonia AwaleTo be sure, not everything is rosy. Juggling their dual roles of breadwinner and primary care givers in homes and raising children has increased their burden. This inequitable distribution of work is more prominent in urban areas where women have both careers and homes to make. Men and society in general have been slow to accept these changes, and see the economic benefits of shared responsibility at home and office.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/learning-about-teaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learning about teaching</a>, Prakriti KandelAmong survivors of the 2015 earthquake, women were more affected. There are an estimated 2,000 earthquake widows and 50,000 single women whose houses collapsed in the disaster. In lack of reliable support, reconstruction and survival has been more difficult for them as reported in this issue. But despite these shortcomings, women are going boldly forth where men have gone before in rebuilding lives and homes.We have produced some of the finest females doctors, pilots, engineers, artists, teachers and historians in the past few decades. But despite the fact that for the first time FNCCI is headed by a woman, and 80% of Nepal’s labour force is female (one of the highest proportions in the world) women continue to be restricted to ‘informal sectors’. Though there are higher numbers of women in politics today than ever before, there are still very few in leadership positions. Despite women heading all three organs of the government, the legislative, judiciary and executive at one point, there are still too few actual decision-makers to exert enough influence. This has led to situations like the current citizenship debate, where a male MP this week said providing citizenship to the children of rape victims will encourage rape.Clearly, higher literacy has not led to behaviour change among males in our conservative culture that sees women as an inferior gender. Given opportunity, women have proved themselves time and again and prevailed despite roadblocks and limitations. All they need now is a little help from institutions like the state and family to remove the obstacles that impede progress.

3/4th OF THE SKY

<img width="1500" height="701" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903c99c7e80680e037ce3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>In May, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) faced a dilemma. The Election Commission (EC) was throwing the book at the ruling party for not meeting the constitutional requirement to have women make up at least one-third of its executive committee.Made up after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/one-body-two-heads/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the union of the UML with the Maoists,</a> NCP had just 16% women in its 441-member Central Working Committee. And it did not have a single woman in its nine-member top executive body.The EC refused to register the NCP, asking the party to first reserve 33% seats for women. Women leaders within the NCP also urged Prime Minister Oli, and NCP Chair, to induct more women into the executive committee.However, sources told Nepali Times that instead of meeting the constitutional requirement senior party cadre tried to intimidate and threaten Election Commission members.Oli and his acolytes argued that the executive committees of the UML and the Maoists were elected before the Political Parties Registration Act 2017, and therefore would not have to abide by the one-third women rule. Election Commissioners who did not agree were threatened with being framed for corruption.In a face-saving measure, the EC asked all political parties to ensure 33% women in their executive committees within 30 days. The deadline expired last month, but no party has yet inducted more women into their executive committees. They have just informed the EC that they will do so when they hold their General Conventions.MP Binda Pandey says: “In a way, all political parties have now already lost their legitimacy because they have not abided by the law even in the 30-day grace period given by the EC.”Within his own party, Oli shut his women members by ordering them not to “keep babbling with Westernised rights activists”. Oli immediately was slammed on social media for belittling women and their <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12936#.W3V8Ns4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">political contributions</a>.The way the NCP and other parties tried to bamboozle the EC doesn’t just prove the level of impunity and the erosion of the rule of law, but also indicates just how entrenched patriarchy is in the political leadership.Given this, it is not surprising that they are trying to push a discriminatory Citizenship Bill that would make Nepali women second class citizens.Ex Supreme Court Justice Balram KC, who delivered a landmark verdict on the Sabina Damai vs Government of Nepal case says the Constitution and the law have not overtly denied citizenship rights to women, but there are many cunningly ambiguous clauses that can be manipulated by the authorities to humiliate, harass or even exploit single women seeking citizenship for their children.Says KC: “Since most authorities are steeped in patriarchy, they deliberately misread and misinterpret ambiguous clauses just like how political parties have manipulated the Political Party Act.”

All political parties are technically illegal

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