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Nepali state and violence against women

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Nepali Prime Minister Sushil Koirala issued a message expressing the government's commitment to the policy of "zero tolerance" towards violence against women.

Violence against women is any form of violence committed against women explicitly because they are women. The Nepali state offers a glaring example of this unremitting brutality.

By not granting women the right to transfer citizenship rights to their children, solely on gender grounds, the state has been perpetrating the biggest violence against women in Nepal today.

Citizenship is a basic human right, not a privilege to be exploited by a handful of men who have created policy stalling mechanisms to ensure that women do not rise above their subordinate position in our society.  

I strongly believe that society should be built on the solid foundation of gender equality. In a patriarchal society like ours, granting women equal rights, if not more, is the first thing the state should be doing. Instead, it is hell-bent on stripping Nepali women of their civil rights.

It troubles me when the PM delivers a message ensuring protection of women’s rights in the new constitution, with no mention of their right to issue citizenship to their children when this has been the glaring question all along. Doesn't it warrant a more thoughtful response from the PM? An unequivocal assurance of legal provision for citizenship through mothers? His ambiguity is, not surprisingly, informed by the misogyny pervading our society.

I want to know how exactly the government hopes to uplift the status of Nepali women without addressing this violation of their basic human right?

It equally bothers me that sensible citizens who unhesitantly proclaim their support for equal rights for women do not press enough for the same, especially on days like today. It is disturbing to not see many people talk about it. That women hold up half the sky is the most substantial thing they manage to say. It is very annoying- to see people unable to go beyond idealism.

Reality is how we make it, and we can make it with an effort- an effort to correct the gender bias in our constitution. I am hoping the government doesn’t squander away this opportunity to rectify historical injustices and stand on the right side of history (for once).

If the society is dominated by men, do not forget that it has always been sustained by women.

Happy International Women’s Day to all men and women who’ve been striving to make this world a fair place to live in.


Comments

  1. azmeepMarch 11, 2015 at 10:23 AM

    I agree with the point you made here, didi. We have been accustomed to be led by ambiguity; there are these assurances and statements that gives people hope and then nothing changes. It was very dismissive of the PM to make an statement as such. And I don't see why citizenship through mothers has to be such a big issue. Isn't it justifiable that women are as much part of the country's jurisdiction/legislation as men are?

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