DPA
Kathmandu

A preliminary draft of Nepal’s new constitution, submitted to the constituent assembly after eight years of negotiations, prompted protests from some opposition parties and was branded as “undemocratic” by rights activists yesterday.
A new charter was one of the provisions of the peace deal struck between the Maoist rebels and the government that ended a decade-long civil war in Nepal in 2006, but bickering over the charter’s content and power-sharing had foiled the work.
“The draft has greatly undermined the rights of women and has curtailed many rights of women that were agreed by previous deals and also included in the interim constitution,” said Subin Mulmi, of the Forum for Women, Law and Development.
Rights activists have been demanding that women be allowed to pass on their citizenship to their children.
But the preliminary draft constitution includes a provision that says one can only attain citizenship if the “father and mother” of a child are Nepali. Critics have been demanding “and” be replaced by “or.”
According to Mulmi, the removal of the right to equal payment for women for similar work, the removal of a guarantee for women’s participation in local, federal and central elections, and the removal of inheritance rights were some of the other problems in the draft.
Some opposition parties walked out of the constituent assembly, tearing up copies of the draft and threatening further protests.
Krishna Prasad Sitaula, the chairman of the constitution drafting committee, defended the document.
“We have come up with the first draft of a new constitution after eight years of relentless efforts,” he said.
“We have been able to forge a common point despite
differences among parties.”
The draft came after a 16-point agreement was struck between the four major parties on a number of disputed issues such as the electoral system and change in the structure of the state. But the Supreme Court had issued a stay order, saying the draft needed clarity in the restructuring of the state.
The four parties had agreed to divide the country into eight federal states. But smaller opposition parties have been demanding federal restructuring along ethnic lines, and said their voices had not been heard.
Today, the parties will meet again at the constituent assembly, when they will discuss the draft before finalising it and getting the public’s opinion.