While Nepali Congress has nominated just 17 women seats out of the 234 candidates finalized till Wednesday, CPN-UML has picked only 22 women candidates among the total 236 election tickets distributed so far. [break]
Similarly, though the entry of actress Rekha Thapa into UCPN (Maoists), who will fight election from Parsa district, has added to the party´s popularity, many deserving women of the constituency have been sidelined, according to the party sources.
“I have been asking Sushil dai to expand women´s seats in the election. However, nobody listens to me,” said former parliamentarian and youth leader of Nepali Congress Maiya Devi Shrestha. “Thirty-three percent participation of women was ensured in the last CA. But if even major parties do not care to be gender inclusive, women representation will fall behind this time around,” she said.
According to her, there are many youth and women candidates who deserve nomination. The party, however, is not showing any seriousness towards it.
Former NC lawmaker Sabitri Bogati commented that women are being discriminated by political parties at both central and district level. “Women are sidelined in the center. And they remain more in shadow when their names are not forwarded from the districts as well,” she said.
Women leaders affiliated to CPN-UML fare no better. Even in the last election, the party had given ticket to just one woman, Dil Kumari Rawal, from entire Narayani zone. There has been no improvement this time either. Senior leader in the party Vidhya Devi Bhandari feels that women are following or bound to follow the instructions of the male leaders.
According to CPN-UML leader Dilkumari Rawal, women are sidelined due to the lack of confidence and fighting spirit and absence of support and resources from the party due to move ahead.
“While women are not quite ready to face challenges, they also lack power and resources to confidently come ahead in election,” Rawal said.
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