Strategy & Action

THAT the population time bomb is relentlessly ticking in Nepal is a fact of our national life. Population growth rate outpacing the developmental achievements—i.e. what little we have been able to notch up—is a real concern. Nepal has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest growth rates in Asia. What this means to a country that is somewhere at the bottom of the list of the developing countries in terms of per capita income needs no amplification here. In a country where a majority of the population does not have enough to eat, more mouths to feed are added every day at an inexorable rate. The available resources are simply not sufficient to give the new-born a life that can avoid deprivation. Population growth control being the important necessity that it is, family planning services are recognised as one of the most essential services that the Nepalese should have access to. Very many programmes have been chalked out over the decades ever since FP service in Nepal started in the early 60s. The five-year plan documents clearly spell out the importance of promoting FP if Nepal’s development endeavours are not to be neutralised by the burgeoning population.

Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) has been a key player in the scheme of the country’s family planning promotion. It runs its own programmes, as complementary to governmental agencies’ FP efforts. Of course, over the past decades, the association has been a prominent FP service-provider. But it would be incorrect to say that it has fully lived up to the role expected of it. Indeed, it has been found wanting in meeting the targets that it has set for itself. A cursory look at its past plans and programmes and the fulfilment of objectives unmistakably confirm that. FPAN’s newly-elected executive committee announced on Monday that a five-year 2001-2005 strategic plan has been formulated that contours the path for the association to take in the days ahead in a whole gamut of FP areas. What the new office-bearers have to bear in mind is that a strategy per se is not enough; what activities are thought of and how they are going to be implemented are equally important. They only have to look at the previous end-of-the-century strategy to see how many of the targets contained therein remain unmet in absence of intensive execution of follow-up programmes. The association’s past experience should provide lessons for them to think of concrete actions that ensure that the new strategic plan’s objectives will not be found unfilled, come 2005.

Increasing Women’s Role

MINISTER of State for Women and Social Welfare Kamala Devi Pant said that political parties need to give more roles and responsibilities to women in decision making level. In an interaction held in Kathmandu the other day, State Minister Pant said that the ruling Nepali Congress Party, whose general convention is scheduled to begin this week in Pokhara, also needs to increase the number of seats for women in the central working committee in order to increase the number of women in the decision making process. At present, women’s participation in the policy level is nominal and at times rather negligible in certain areas. Despite the big contributions of women in national economy and other sectors, their role and contribution yet to be duly and fully recognised. Although the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal has provided equal right to all citizens irrespective of caste, religion, colour and sex, women are not equally treated in several fronts in practical sense. Human rights and women activists have demanded change and amendments in legal and other provisions to translate the constitutional provision of equality into practice. Women are lagging behind thier male coutnerparts in several fronts mainly because their representation in the forumulation of the policy is limited. Considering the low level of women’s participation in political field, the Constitution has clearly stated that political parties must give at least 5 per cent seats to women in the general election. The spirit of the Constitution is to increase the participation of women in political and parliamentary decision making process. Political parties allocate 5 per cent seats for women only to implement the mandatory constitutional provision but not with the objective of increasing women’s participation. Moreover, women often get the party’s tickets in election in constituencies, where competition is tougher and chances of winning is relatively less. As a result, the number of women in parliament is far less than that of men. Political parties, thus, need to increase the number of women’s seat in all their decision making level right from the bottom to the central level. This would ensure increased role of women at all levels — from decision making to the implementation. This would also reflect in the general election and parliament. As the Nepali Congress is the country’s oldest and largest political party and its ideals are liberty, equality and pluralism, the party needs to take the lead role for bringing women into political, social and economic mainstream.