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Nepal reserves 33 p.c. posts for women

Ameet Dhakal

KATHMANDU: The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a landmark resolution, reserving for women 33 per cent of posts in all organs of the state and amending the "patriarchal" citizenship law.

According to the resolution, passed unanimously by the House, 33 per cent of the seats in government bodies will be reserved for women. Tabling it in Parliament on behalf of the Seven Party Alliance, Vidya Bhandari, a CPN-UML lawmaker, on Monday said, "Men occupy 95 per cent of the seats in the state organs, and women only five per cent. How is this justified?"

The resolution recommended that the "patriarchal" law related to citizenship be amended immediately. Currently, an individual qualifies for citizenship only if his/her father is a Nepali citizen. The resolution also asked the Government to present Bills to amend all other discriminatory laws based on gender.

Sapana Malla Pradhan, Chairperson of the Forum for Women, Law and Development, told The Hindu that there were 173 provisions in 83 laws that discriminated against women. "

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