Nepal’s Gender Policies: Achievements and Challenges

Bandana Rana; Samiksha Koirala

doi:10.3126/nppr.v1i1.43442

Authors

Bandana Rana Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW); Global Network of Women Peacebuilders
Samiksha Koirala Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/nppr.v1i1.43442

Keywords:

gender policies, gender based violence, participation of women, sexual and reproductive health

Abstract

Nepal has experienced extraordinary political and social changes in the last 25 years. Since the Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, progress has been noted in increasing women’s access to literacy, education, and healthcare services. Despite significant gender reforms in policies and strategies, Nepali women continue to experience discrimination and violence mainly because of their gender. Drawing upon six different cases – constitutional and international framework, participation of women, women peace and security, sexual and reproductive health rights, gender-responsive budget and citizenship law – this paper highlights some of the achievements and gaps in the area of gender reform policies and practices. Methodologically, the study adopts document review and personal reflections of authors as the main source of information. The paper concludes with some key recommendations to address existing challenges and gaps of these selected policies/strategies.

Author Biographies

Bandana Rana, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW); Global Network of Women Peacebuilders

Ms. Bandana Rana is a member of the UN CEDAW Committee since 2017. Her experience spans three decades of active engagement in promoting women’s rights and gender equality through the different organizations and networks she has co-founded and led. She has worked from the grassroots to the national, regional and global level leading advocacy, research, and public outreach and community mobilisation programs. Her many years of dedicated work has been in the area of violence against women, gendered conflict transformation, peace building and engendered media. She is the former chair of the National Women’s Commission of Nepal and has worked with Nepal TV as News Editor/Anchor for two decades. She is a Commissioner of the UNFPA High Level Commission on ICPD+25 and Chair of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders.

Samiksha Koirala, Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen

Samiksha Koirala is a media and gender researcher and educator. She has a PhD in journalism & gender from the University of Oslo, Nepal. At present, she is working closely with the government of Nepal and different international agencies in developing and reviewing policies, mainly in the area of gender equality, safety of journalists, gendered disinformation and media literacy. Koirala also worked as the advisor to the Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen from 2019 to 2020. She has published journal articles and book chapters on the issues of gender and journalism, safety of journalists, digital harassment, among others. Koirala has more than ten years of experience in journalism in Nepal and abroad.

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