Although the Constitution of Nepal guarantees a 33 per cent representation of women in all three tiers of the government, no political party has fulfilled that criteria while fielding candidates for the November 20 general elections.
The mandatory constitutional provision however is honoured while picking up names under the proportionate representation system.
As women are heavily under-represented in all political bodies in Nepal, the Constitution, which came into effect in 2015, made a mandatory provision of providing adequate representation to them through this fast-track formula, pointed out constitutional expert Dinesh Tripathi.
Among the major political parties, the CPN-Maoist Centre has offered the highest number of tickets to women candidates contesting for the House of Representatives (HoR), the percentage of which comes to around 28 per cent, close to the mandatory 33 per cent mark, pointed out Sunil Manandhar, Politburo member of CPN-Maoist Centre.
Former deputy Speaker Onsari Ghartimagar is contesting the election from Kathmandu — 2 Constituency, while former Science and Technology Minister Kalpana Dhamala is contesting the election from Kathmandu — 9 constituency.
Similarly, Manushi Yami Bhattarai, daughter of former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, is contesting the election from Kathmandu -7 constituency while Anjana Bishankhe is contesting the election from Kathmandu — 10 constituency.