Women should not be denied legal rights: CEC Thapaliya

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya asserted that women should not be denied of their rights enshrined by the Constitution and laws. Their rights to be voted in politics should be ensured.

At an interaction organized by the Election Commission in the context of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence here today, CEC Thapaliya viewed that although the election laws were relatively gender-friendly, de-facto discrimination still existed.

According to him, the Commission did not receive any formal complaints on gender-based violence during the parliamentary elections on November 20 although the Commission had put in place the mechanism to receive such complaints. “Violence against women in politics still exists.”

“We found out that there were cases of prejudice while nominating the candidates for elections although we had drawn attention towards no gender-based discrimination. The Commission believes that women’s capabilities and contribution should not be overlooked and they should not be deprived of their rights and privileges,” Thapaliya observed.

He pointed out the need to bring about changes in people’s mentality and discriminatory treatment towards women that dubs male candidates as ‘heavy weights’ and does not give women their due.

Furthermore, he reassured that a gender-based violence monitoring mechanism will be put in place in the next election.
Similarly, Election Commissioner Dr. Janaki Kumari Tuladhar clarified that the Commission did not leave any stone unturned to maintain gender equality and ensure fair participation of women in election management as stipulated by the constitution, laws, and policies.

Newly elected House of Representative Shobita Gautam shared that she did not face much discrimination during the election campaign but spoke of the need to continue raising voice for women, youths, and sexual minorities among others.