Women Representatives

IT has already been four decades since the women in the West, particularly in England, France and America launched an organised feminist movement demanding equality with the men in all spheres of life. Slowly, the movement encouraged women worldwide to fight for their rights and oppose all sorts of exploitation against them. However, the Nepalese women remained isolated from such a global feminist movement for almost three decades after its emergence and most of them were mostly confined to household chores. But lately, especially after the restoration of multi-party democracy in the country in 1990, learned Nepalese women have started raising voices for women's rights. The pro-women protests launched a few years back in front of Singha Durbar demanding for equal rights on parental properties and the bucket rallies of Kathmandu women asking the government for a regular supply of drinking water in the Capital were some of the incidents to indicate that the Nepalese women are getting conscious about women's rights. Still, the illiterate and poverty stricken rural women are yet to be made conscious about their rights.

Of course, the country witnessed a lot of improvement in position of women in the last decade of democracy. The Constitutional provision to grant equal status to men and women, creation of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, approval of a number of international conventions on women issues and formation of the National Women Commission are surely an outcome of the Nepalese women's efforts. It is also encouraging that apart from such social gains the involvement of the women in local and national level politics is also on the rise. One achievement is that the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal has made it mandatory for all the political parties to have at least five per cent women candidates for the elections of the Lower House of the Parliament. However, the number of women representatives in Parliament and the government has always been negligible. Considering this, the women leaders of the mainstream political parties and other organisations participating at a programme the other day, demanded that the political parties should field at least 33 per cent women candidates for the forthcoming elections. Certainly, the demand seems to be very rational in a country where the women's population outnumbers that of males. In fact, women and men are the two wheels of a chariot. When a wheel of the chariot becomes weaker than the other, it cannot function well. The same thing is applied to the human society. Undoubtedly, absence of women at the decision making level is the prime reason for the backwardness of women in Nepal. And the only remedy for this is to let more women reach in the Parliament and the government. As such, the efforts of all the political parties should be directed to meet the demand by fielding not only 33 per cent but also more women candidates in the November elections.

Cooperation Needed

IN an interaction programme organised by the Bouddhanath Area Development Committee and the Monastery Management Committee, the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Bal Bahadur K.C, as per a news item carried by this daily the other day, appealed to all the monastery heads to work in coordination with the BADC. He further said that the Bouddhanath Area Development Master Plan will be approved by the Ministry with promptness. The programme was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Department of Archaeology and Chief Lamas of the 25 monasteries in and around the Bouddhanath Stupa. That the area in and around Bouddhanath Stupa, considered to be one of the biggest stupas of the world and presently a major draw among tourists coming to Nepal, has undergone quite a drastic change hardly needs any mention here. The more so since Nepal opened up to the world in the early '50s and the influx of tourists began to register a rise with the passing of each year. But then, change, as the popular saying goes, is inevitable. Especially when a place or destination, due to its vaunted attraction(s) that, either through word of mouth or publicity through the global tourism-related media, begin to draw visitors in increasing numbers. Nevertheless, any change, merely for the sake of change, would not only become an eyesore to the very visitors thronging that same place witnessing the change but also lead to degradation of its congenial atmosphere, be it social, cultural or even religious. Especially if the change that is underway in carried out in a haphazard way and manner. In this regard, a mere glimpse of the Pasupatinath area would suffice. Thankfully, the concerned authorities, as per the government's master plan for Pasupatinath area, have already initiated necessary measures to protect its religious and cultural sanctity.

Likewise, the government, to protect, preserve and retain the Bouddhanath area's religious sanctity, has also drawn up a master plan for this area. However, without the cooperation of all, it would be quite impossible to realise the master plan's laudable objectives, leave alone implement it. As such, if the Bouddhanath area's cultural importance and religious sanctity are not to be vitiated by the ongoing erratic changes in and around its precincts, then it looks to reason on the part of all, including the stakeholders, to the forward their cooperation to the Bouddhanath Area Development Committee.