KATHMANDU, Dec 21:  MPs have emphasized that the citizenship law should be further improved. Since the latest amendment to the Citizenship Act has not solved the problem, they have drawn the attention of the concerned bodies to make a law according to the constitution.

On the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Chairman of the Committee on Education, Health and Information Technology Bhanubhakta Joshi opened the discussion program on 'Complete Citizen, Complete Rights: Equal Rights in Citizenship', organized by Women, Law and Development Forum on Thursday. He said that since there are borders, citizenship laws should be arranged based on the country's own characteristics. He  gave the example of Sonia Gandhi in politics. He mentioned that giving political rights based on citizenship might cause issues in Nepal too. Chairman Joshi suggested that Nepal's constitution is advanced and needs adjustments. He said that the citizenship law should fit Nepal's special qualities.

The Chairman of the Women and Social Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, Kiran Kumar Sah, said that he was saddened that foreigners involved in the gold scandal were granted Nepali citizenship without a recommendation. He said that even though the Citizenship Act has been amended, it is still incomplete and it should be completed by taking the suggestions of all concerned parties. Speaker Shah said that there is a problem with the interests of political parties in the matter of citizenship.

Parliamentarian Ranju Thakur said that the present arrangement in the citizenship law related to marriage recognition is correct. He said that if a foreign daughter-in-law does not get Nepali citizenship within 35 days, it should be clear what will happen to her after marriage. He said that the provision of imprisonment for three years is discriminatory when the mother self-declares that the father of the child has not been found and gives her citizenship.

MP Amrutadevi Agrahari argued that coming to Nepal from abroad is not guilty of taking citizenship but is guilty of giving citizenship. He said that mother is the biggest proof for Nepali citizens to get citizenship. MP Agrahari emphasized that arrangements should be made so that there would be no problem in getting citizenship after his mother's recommendation.

Member of Parliament Ishwari Gharti emphasized that as women are still discriminated against in the Citizenship Act, parliamentarians from the ruling party and the opposition should register a resolution together. The executive director of the forum, Savin Shrestha, said that there is a discriminatory provision in Nepal's citizenship law, which states that men who marry Nepali women do not get citizenship and their children get unrecognized citizenship, so these issues should be reformed.

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