The number of UML female candidates in the 165 seats in the House of Representatives is only 4 percent, while there is a constitutional provision that requires at least 33 percent (one-third) female participation in the federal parliament (House of Representatives and National Assembly).
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The UML has finalized its candidates for the 140 direct seats in the House of Representatives elections by Sunday evening, but only 8 women have been selected. Provincially, not a single woman has got a chance from Bagmati, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim.
Three women candidates have been nominated from Koshi. Bhagwati Chaudhary (Sunsari-4), Kalpana Rai (Solukhumbu), Asmita Thapa (Okhaldhunga) have been decided to be candidates. Similarly, two women candidates have been nominated from Madhesh, Julie Mahato (Dhanusha-3) and Jwala Shah (Bara-3).
Two women candidates have been decided from Gandaki, Bhagwati Neupane (Tanahun-1), Manju Sharma Chalise (Baglung-2). The only woman candidate from Lumbini is Bimala Bik (Bardiya-2). Public criticism has begun that the UML did not prioritize women while finalizing the candidates.
The number of UML women candidates in the 165 seats of the House of Representatives is only 4 percent. While there is a constitutional provision that at least 33 percent (one-third) of women should be mandatory in the federal parliament (House of Representatives and National Assembly).
Political analyst Indra Adhikari says that the UML's candidate recommendation shows that the parties are indifferent to practically implementing the provisions in the constitution to make the presence of women in parliament strong and effective. According to her, women are not given priority because the leadership's initiative and personal access play a greater role in candidate recommendations than their contribution to the party and organization.
'Since the social awareness to accept women as competitive candidates has not yet been created, the situation of party workers and voters giving priority to women is weak,' she said. 'On top of that, women candidates also face difficulties in campaigning, meeting voters and organizational access. That is why it seems more like a practice of completing formalities than empowering women.' According to Adhikari, in some cases, there is a tendency to field women candidates only in areas where the party is sure to lose.
UML leader Binda Pandey expressed serious dissatisfaction over the low participation of women in the elections and said that the parties have not followed the constitution and the Election Commission's guidelines. The commission had issued guidelines stating that at least one-third (33 percent) of the candidates should be women. However, Pandey says that even the commission's guidelines were ignored while recommending candidates.
'There is no thought in the parties that women are capable, they should also be given opportunities, on the contrary, there is a tendency to question women's ability and leadership. As long as this thought persists, women's participation in politics cannot take place,' she said, 'They proudly say that women's participation is ensured in the constitution, but in practice, they are shirking their responsibility by claiming that it will be achieved only through proportional representation.'
