Last 10 April 2008, Nepal held elections for its Constituent Assembly. Isis International interviewed Bandana Rana for her perspective on the election. Ms. Rana is former president and founder of Sancharika Samuha, a women's independent media organisation and currently the president of Saathi, an NGO working on violence against women, based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

 

Isis: Nepal's constitution set a quota for women's participation in the elections as candidates in the political parties. Was there a satisfactory number of women running for the posts?

Bandana Rana:  The election for the Constituent Assembly in Nepal took place on 10 April. Women sought to be elected in a proportional representation system and in a direct representation system.

According to the Electoral law, the political parties are to field 50% female candidates under the proportional representation system with 50% of the total and 50% of each inclusion group. These groups are the Dalits, Madeshi, Janjatis, backward regions, and others. This will hopefully guarantee 168 seats for women. This makes the total number of women 197, which means 34 % of the 575 elected representatives. This will be quite a victory for Nepali women.  As compared to earlier elections (6% in 1999), this election will have more than five times as many women in the parliament and will place Nepal well above the Asian average of 17 %.

On the other hand, none of the parties fielded 33 % women as candidates in the mechanism where the candidates were to be elected directly. The congress had 11 % women for the three biggest parties, 11 % for the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist - Leninist), and 18 % for the Maoist. The results of the the direct ballot sytem for 240 seats had shown that 29 women have won the elections. This is far below the 33% ratio stipulated by the interim constitution.

Isis: Was there  a significant number of women who voted in the elections?

Bandana Rana:  We do not have actual figures of women who voted but judging from the news reports, TV and radio reports, and the initial reports from election observers, it seems that 50% of the voters were women. At the constituencies around my area and in visual reports, we could see equal percentage but sometimes it seems that the lines were longer of women voters.

Isis: Did the candidates carry  issues during their campaigns that were relevant to women's rights?

Bandana Rana:  Almost all the parties in their election manifestos committed to ensure 33 % participation of women in all positions of policy making and government bodies. They did state provisions for positive discrimination and reservations. Promotion of gender equality and access to all economic, social and educational programs as well as health services were stressed. Some even stated establishing child care centers and women, family and juvenile courts.

Isis:  With the overwhelming win of the Maoist parties, do they have any specific programs or policies directed at women?

Bandana Rana: Compared to other parties, the Maoists policies regarding women seem to be more progressive. This is evident from the fact that they have fielded the highest number of women for the elections. They have committed to provide equal inheritance rights and ensure land ownership rights of women. They talk about 50% representation of women in all state structures and policy making bodies. They have stressed on equal opportunities and empowerment of women. The present minister for women children and social welfare, Pampha Bhusal, belongs to the Maoist Party and she won the elections through the direct representation ballot. She has committed to passing the Bill on domestic violence, ending discrimination against women, combating trafficking of women and girls, and providing support to women victims of conflict.

Isis:  What do women's groups look forward to after this exercise of democracy?

Bandana Rana: At the moment, the future is not very clear. There are speculations about whether it is a party that we are fighting or an armed movement that has come to power that is now winning the highest number of seats. However, many women of Nepal also see this as an opportunity. The Maoists always expressed and exhibited strong commitments to women’s development.  For the women of Nepal, we can be hopeful that this will be a special period. We do hope to see more and more women in decision making positions in all sectors. Also, we hope to provide justice for women victims, access to domestic violence legislature, abolish all discrimination legislation, give special programs to empower women, and introduce effective affirmative actions in government bodies. Therefore, we have to take this change as an opportunity to advance women’s rights, a time for all women to work, monitor, advocate, and strengthen activities for gender equality collectively.