Stakeholders Urge Increasing Women’s Representation to 50 Percent in Nepal

Kathmandu – Following the strong government established by the Gen Z movement, there is a growing demand to increase women’s representation to 50 percent. On Friday, a program titled ‘Interaction on Strategic Issues for Promoting Gender Equality and Ending Gender-Based Violence’ was organized by a group of media professionals with support from UNFPA. During the event, youth leaders emphasized the need to enhance women’s representation to set a global example.

Bandana Rana, member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), highlighted that Nepal’s Gen Z movement has captured worldwide attention. She stated, “While the Gen Z movement failed in other countries, in Nepal it succeeded and even saw the government take a strong leadership role. This strong leadership should strive to increase women’s representation from 33 percent to 50 percent.” Rana stressed the importance of Nepal establishing a ‘global record’ in this regard.

At the program, Sabin Shrestha, Chairperson of the Forum for Women, Law and Development and a lawyer, pointed out the need to focus on sexual and reproductive health issues as key components in tackling gender-based violence. He said, “Decisions about how many children to have should be a woman’s choice, yet the government imposes various policies depending on population needs. State policies are effectively contributing to violence against women.” According to Nepal Police data, 91 percent of violence is committed by acquaintances.

Of all cases of violence in Nepal, 29 percent involve gender-based violence. Shrestha also revealed that secret surrogacy-related abortions still occur in the country. He added, “Women in live-in relationships suffer significant exploitation and thus there is a pressing need to address the associated legal complexities.” Senior advocate Meera Dhungana lamented that although adequate laws exist in Nepal to protect women’s rights, access to justice remains elusive for victims. She noted, “Because of legal complexities, women often cannot even file complaints at the police, let alone reach the courts. Even in serious crimes, women are often compelled to seek mediation. This reflects a lack of legal literacy.”