Nepal's citizenship bill: Is it gender discriminatory?

In Nepal, there's an apparent tussle between the executive and the president over the citizenship bill. It appears that the House of Representatives is stuck between the government and the president, which is a constitutional post in the nation with no executive powers.

This comes after President Bidya Devi Bhandari recently returned the bill to amend the Citizenship Act 2006 to the Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives) for review, which was then passed again without reviewing.

The move highlights the differences between the government and the president, which have surfaced recently as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba reportedly told his party leaders recently that the president is planning to resign.

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But amid all this chaos, experts are highlighting how this law will appear as gender discriminatory.

Controversy erupted after lawmakers of the main opposition CPN-UML raised questions on some of its provisions including granting citizenship certificates immediately to foreign women married to Nepali citizens.

It is also the most debated issue as the bill did not bar foreign women from marrying Nepali men from getting citizenship easily.

As per the reports, the main criticism against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2006 is that it is against gender justice.

It is also termed as contradictory to some sections of the law.

As per Article 11(2b), a person born to a father or a mother with Nepalese citizenship can get citizenship by descent. On the other hand, as per Article 11(5) of the constitution, a person who is born to a Nepalese mother (who has lived in the country) and an unidentified father will also get citizenship by descent.

But concerns have been raised as a mother has to declare that her husband is unidentified for the child to be eligible for citizenship. Meanwhile, such declarations are not needed for a Nepalese father.

As quoted by Kathmandu Post, Khim Lal Devkota, an independent lawmaker at the Upper House, said, "It is wrong to grant a foreign woman naturalisation immediately after marriage. There must be a cooling-off period."

(With inputs from agencies)

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