Women's Under-inclusion

In the recently concluded parliamentary elections, only nine women members were elected to the House of Representatives in the first past the post (FPTP) voting category in which a total of 165 representatives are elected. This female representation accounts for about 5.45 per cent of the total members under this category. In a country where the ratio of female population is more than 51 per cent, such a representation in the national legislature is dismal and discouraging. This shows how seriously Nepali women are existing as an outcast in national politics. The picture may not possibly be rosier in other sectors such as bureaucracy, business, law practicing and other enterprises. When it comes to the fields of decision making, leadership and independent economic activities, Nepali women are obviously lagging behind compared to their male counterparts. 

Despite the nation embracing the inclusive democratic system, there is a long way to go for women to assert their visible role in the national politics and other decision making institutions. Any type of gender discrimination is banned by the law of the land. The female inclusion is ensured by the constitution. But in reality, the state of spontaneous female participation in vital areas of national affairs is still dismal. Female inclusion is visible only when there is special constitutional and legal intervention for it. Talking about the inclusiveness of the parliamentary elections, the minimum 33 per cent female representation could hardly be attained, it seems, if there was no mandatory conditions laid out in the proportional representation category. The bare minimum yardstick has been met only through special intervention of the PR requirements. 

According to the final results of the just concluded elections of the House of Representatives, only 91 female representatives have made it to the 275-member House of Representatives. This manages to touch the bare minimum requirement with 33.09 per cent. Nepali Congress, which has emerged as the largest party from the latest parliamentary elections, has single woman representative to the House of Representatives elected through the direct (FPTP) election. The second largest political party CPN-UML has four women representatives in the HoR under this category. Similarly, the CPN-Maoist Centre has one woman member elected to the federal Lower House. This surely does not bode well for inclusive politics that the political parties are campaigning and advocating so much. 

Women's representation is slightly better in the provincial assemblies with 200 female members elected out of total 550 seats. This makes 36.36 per cent. But again, the scenario is grim also in the provinces when it comes to the women's representation under the FPTP category. Under this system, a total 14 women candidates in seven provinces made it to the assemblies. It is not only the number of women winners in the parliamentary elections that is meagre and discouraging. Parties had fielded small number of female candidates in the first place. It is not that women perform more poorly than their male counterparts. Empowered by opportunities, social encouragement, inclusive grooming, male support and culture of equality and equity, they can perform as good as men and in some cases even better. The challenge is to overcome the hindering social stigma that developed over centuries and unfairly tilted towards patriarchal superiority.