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(FIRST DRAFT)
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TATELESSNESS AND THE PLIGHT OF WOMEN INN
EPALSUBMITTED BY
N
EETUP
OKHARELC
ALCUTTAR
ESEARCHG
ROUPC
ALCUTTA2 Table of Contents
1. Background / context
2. Constitutional provisions and international provisions 3. Barriers and impact of statelessness
4. Conclusion / Recommendations 5. References
3 (Draft)
Statelessness and the plight of women in Nepal Abstract
This paper focuses form the perspective of women who are rendered statelessness as a result of discriminatory policies, discriminatory procedures, administrative hurdles/ barriers. This paper tries to explore how women have been discriminated by the state, society and family on the process of accessing citizenship that has led them to live a life of statelessness in their own country. How women’s independent identity has been undermined by the sates that they are denied to get the citizenship by themselves and to confer the citizenship to their children without the support of their husband and male family members. This has creating the statelessness in Nepal.The paper further explores how the discrimination and unequal treatment to women impacts on the lives of women from different case that they are deprived of exercising their civil political and socio –economic rights. The paper is based on literature review, focus group discussions and case studies.
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Introduction
Nepal has entered into the democratic republic country with an adoption of new constitution in 2015. The constitution is marked as a progressive constitution. The constitution guarantees the civil political and socio economic rights of people in more progressive way. It also guarantees the marginalized people’s socio economic rights progressively. The constitution guarantees the right to equality and right to justice as a fundamental right to all citizen. Any forms of discrimination based on the sex, race, gender, caste, physical ability is strictly prohibited by the constitution. However, in reality, women in Nepal have been deprived of enjoying their civil, political and socio economic rights in full fledge because of their status of stateless in their own country. Many women in Nepal lack the citizenship - legal identity documents - due to the discriminatory constitutional provision, discriminatory laws and discriminatory social practices embedded with the patriarchal norms and values. The discriminatory administrative procedures and hurdles has also resulted many women deprived of getting their citizenship. Due to lack of citizenship, many women have been living as a status of stateless in their own country.Women, who do not have citizenship, have further been deprived of obtaining their other legal identity documents such as marriage certificate and birth
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certificates to their children. They are deprived of accessing other socio economic entitlements such as scholarship, school admission and to join the higher education and obtaining employment. This condition has further pushed them to endure violence and discrimination from the family and society. COVID-19 situation has added more difficulties in the lives of statelessness persons in Nepal as they have been deprived of getting relief and vaccines. They are more struggling for their livelihood as they have lost their informal jobs and are not able to get the formal job. There is a vicious cycle between the violence against women and statelessness.
Section -1: Background
Stateless is the situation of violation of human rights when one is not under the protection of any state. (Upadhyaya, 2019). According to the UN, “a stateless person as ‘a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law'1.Statelessness is a symptom of a dysfunctional system which does not allow members of a minority group within the Nepali society to explore their full economic, political and social potential and capacities.2 (Citizenship plays a vital role for an individual to engage with the society institutionally in its socio –economic activities.
Citizenship is a basic human rights, which is closely linked with right to nationality. Black's Law Dictionary has defined the term ‘nationality’ as the relationship between a citizen of a nation and the nation itself, customarily involving allegiance by the citizen and protection by the state; membership in a nation. This term is often used synonymously with citizenship3 (Recited, Upadhyaya 2019). The citizenship also proves the relation between a stat e and an individual with duty and responsibilities.
It is a basic document that allows citizens to access the public resources, economic and political participation. In overall it opens the door for an individual to exercise and enjoy their socio – economic and political rights. If a person does not have a citizenship, he/she face multiple problems with a lifelong impact in their lives. They are not able to enjoy their human rights fully, and feel alienated from the socio economicand political activities of the society as a member of state.
There is no exact number available about the stateless persons globally. however, it is estimated that there are many million stateless people are in the world (UNHCR, 2021). It is estimated that the larger number of the stateless persons are in from South Asia particularly. Nepal falls as one of
1UN Convention 1954 on the Status of Stateless Persons.
2Foot Note: Gender Discrimination in Nepal and How Statelessness Hampers Identity Formation by Susan Rothe, 2015).
3https://thelawdictionary.org/nationality/#:~:text=That%20quality%20or%20character%20which,domicile%20dete rmines%20his%20civil%20status.
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the country of South Asia, having the issues of statelessness with a highly debated issue of discriminatory citizenship law in the country. Nepal a country from South Asia is regarded the country The US department of State ‘s country report (2017) reveals that 5.4 million individuals mostly age of 16 years and above lack the legal identity documents (citizenship card) and it is considered as the persons as statelessness. In Nepal About 4’350.000 (4.3 million) people above the age of 16, which equals 23,65% of the Nepali population, do not have citizenship certificates4.According to the report of Forum for Women and Law Development (FWLD, 2014), 87% of men above the age of 16 but only 74% of women are holding citizenship certificates (FWLD, 2014). This shows that 26% of women are living as statelessness in their own country.
According to UNHCR global report 2019, Nepal falls under 25 countries globally that denies the women to confer the nationality (citizenship) on their children on an equal basis with the men.
However, there is no national level data and documentation from the government side, about the stateless persons in Nepal. In public forums and interactions with the civil society members, government authorities do not accept the realities of number of stateless persons in Nepal rather they claim that people does not have citizenship simply because they do not feel the necessity to apply for this.
Nepal is the party of various international conventions and treaties likeInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), International Convention on Child Rights (ICCRC), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Convention on Refugee and many others.
Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly mentioned that (1) “Everyone has the right to a nationality" and that (2) “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality"
(UDHR, 1948). The country also expressed its global commitment on UN by endorsing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on which the goal 16.9 the government commits to develop the indicators of legal identity with a target of legal identity for all. The government also promises to end violence and discrimination against women and girls through various laws, policies, action plans on gender. .2021) But, the constitution and the citizenship act itself discriminates women to confer citizenship and birth certificate independently to their children on the equal basis as men. The notion of citizenship is mostly masculinized in the context of Nepal and its legacies practiced makes the women and children more vulnerable in the absence of legally recognized
42017 Country Reports on Human Rights PracticesNepal, US Department of State
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documents.The country has entered into the democratic republic country with an adoption of new constitution in 2015. The constitution is marked as a progressive constitution. The constitution guarantees the civil political and socio economic rights of people in more progressive way. It also guarantees the marginalized people’s socio economic rights progressively. The constitution guarantees the right to equality and right to justice as a fundamental right to all citizen. Any forms of discrimination based on the sex, race, gender, caste, physical ability is prohibited by the constitution.
However, in reality, women and children in Nepal have been deprived of enjoying their civil, political and socio economic rights in full fledge. Not only the law discriminates to women, the legacies of patriarchal society by treating women as a subordinate of men is continued to be practices in the women’s access to citizenship and their exercise of being an independent citizen of Nepal. In practice a married women need to prove her husband’s approval or with marriage certificate to get the citizenship for her. In the absence of husband, the government authorities need husband’s family’s consent (testimonies) to provide citizenship to a married woman. (court’s order)Many women are deprived of getting the citizenship as result of her husband and families denial to provide recommendations driving from the patriarchal notion of controlling women of exercising her liberty and rights. The husband and the family denies to make her unable to claim the property, to go the abroad and to go the legal action in the case violence, divorce and property separation. The condition has made women dependent to men and has further pushed her in living violence, insecurity. Thus, the issue of citizenship is not only the question of national identity (who has the citizenship and who does not have) from the legal point of view only. It has created a question of dignity, equality and independent identity of women in Nepal.
In this paper the author has tried to discuss on theseabove issues particularly form three points of arguments: one point how women are rendered as stateless, as a result ofstate’s discriminatory policies, discriminatory procedures, administrative hurdles/ barriers in Nepal. Secondly, how women are controlled and discriminated by society and family on the process of accessing citizenship that has led them to live a life of statelessness in their own country. In both the arguments, it is tried to discuss through the evidences (case studies) and literatures how women’s independent identity has been undermined by the sates that they are denied to get the citizenship by themselves and to confer the citizenship to their children without the support of their husband and male family members.
Thirdly the paper has illustrated about the impacts of being statelessness in women’s lives; how they are deprived of exercising their civil political and socio economic rights that has put them in more
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vulnerable. The paper is based on literature review, focus group discussions and case studies. The case studies and focused group discussions are made from the three districts of Nepal; Kailali, Bardiya and Siraha that lies on province no 7, 5 and 2 according to the new federal structure.
2. Gender Discriminatory Law: Question of Legal Protection and Commitment on International Law
2.1 National laws and policies:
Nepal began granting citizenship in 1952, it has increasingly restricted access to citizenship certificates by demanding difficult-to-obtain proof of Nepali citizenship, and by applying gender- discriminatory requirements. Regulations restricting access to citizenship certificates are justified by the open border with India and the perceived concomitant threat to security and sovereignty a desire to maintain a unified national identity, and population size concerns, but also result from a patriarchal society and other entrenched systems of discrimination.
The constitution of Nepal ,2015, guarantees the right to obtain citizenship for the citizen of Nepal.
Article 10(1) states, no citizen of Nepal may be deprived of right to obtain citizenship. 2015 constitution further guarantees Right to equality as a fundamental right. In this regard, Article 18(2) states that no discrimination shall be made in the application of general laws on the ground of origin, religion, race, caste, tribe, sex, physical condition, condition of health, marital status, pregnancy, economic condition, language or religion, ideology or on similar other grounds. Article 18(3) states that the state shall not discriminate citizens on grounds of origin, religion, race, caste, tribe, sex, economic condition, language, religion, ideology or on similar other grounds. Article d38 (1) of constitution guarantees the right of women by stating that every woman shall have equal lineage right without gender based discrimination. Under the article 39, it states that every child has the equal right to name and birth registration along with his or her identity (Government of Nepal, 2015). However, the constitution’s commitment on the principles of equality, nondiscrimination is contradicted with its provision on citizenship (discussed below). The Government of Nepal enacted Citizenship Act, 2063 and Citizenship Regulation, 2063. Both the laws and regulations are gender discriminatory that contradicts with the principle of equality and nondiscrimination.
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2.2 International Human Right Mechanism and Nepal’s Commitment:
The treaty act of 1990 of Nepal has clearly mentioned that if the national laws and policies are discriminatory, then the international laws will be applicable. The country has ratified numerous international human rights treaties intended to protect human dignity and strengthen equality, but the state has failed to fulfil its legal obligations. To give an example, the country is violating its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), whereby in accord with Article 9 the state must safeguard against gender discrimination and statelessness in national law. Moreover, Nepal is also in violation of Articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which stresses the importance of child registration and the prevention of childhood statelessness. Nepal is neither party to the convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons 1954 nor to the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 1961 (UN. 1979).
Right to nationality of a citizen has also been ensured by various international human rights conventions to which Nepal is a state party. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 states that everyone has the right to nationality and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality no denied the right to change nationality. Article 24 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights 1966 ensures that every child has the right to a nationality.
The Article 9 of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979 provides women equal rights with men to acquire change or retain nationality and also grants equal rights to the nationality of their children. Similarly, Article 7 of the convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 provides the right to acquire a nationality and further obligates the state parties to ensure the implementation of these rights, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.
In contradiction to these internal laws, human rights principles for which Nepal has committed by becoming the signatory of the above conventions.
The court has decided some of the cases in regards of women's equality based on the international laws. Thus, the international human rights provisions played crucial role to empower the women and girls.
2.3 Gender Discriminatory Nationality Laws in Nepal:
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According to the Constitution’s Article 11(2)(b), any person whose father or mother is citizen of Nepal at the time of birth is a citizen by descent. However, this provision is the later contradicted by Article 11(3), 11(5) and Article 11(7). Article 11(3) requires both the ‘father and mother’ to be citizens of Nepal for a child to acquire by descent in cases where one of the parents acquired citizenship by birth, preventing Nepali women to independently transfer her citizenship to their children. According to Article 11(5),A Nepali woman only retains the right to pass nationality by descent if her child is born and resided in Nepal and ‘’whose father is not traced’’, with condition that the citizenship of the child to be converted into naturalized if the father is known to be a foreigner. Article 11(7) states that the child of a Nepali women married to foreign man may only acquire naturalized citizenship. In addition to the contradicting article 11(2) (b), these provisions further violate Nepali citizens’ right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law enshrined in Article 18 of the constitution.
Furthermore, the application process for the acquis ion of citizenship by children born to Nepali women, outlined in the Citizenship Act is a challenging, bureaucratic process. According to the Section 5 (2 and 3), this process requires the applicant to provide; a copy of the mother’s citizenship certificate; a recommendation by the local authorities certifying the child’s birth and permanent residency in Nepal; and evidence that the child has not acquired the father’s foreign citizenship. It is likely to be particular onerous for the children of Nepali women – especially in women headed households – to provide evidence that foreign citizenship has not been acquired.
Putting a special condition for women creates a discrimination against them and puts their children at the risk of statelessness. Lack of clarification expands the discretionary power of authorities on issuance of the citizenship, thereby making it difficult to implement this provision, especially in a non-discriminatory way.
The constitution further discriminates against women with regard to their conferral nationality on foreign spouses, a right reserved for Nepali men denied to Nepali women. Inequality stems from the Article 11(6) of the constitution and Section 5(1) and (4) of the citizenship Act, whereby a foreign man married to Nepali women is not allowed to acquire citizenship by marriage. (footnote). A Foreign women married to Nepali man may apply for citizenship, with a marriage certificate and proof that she has initiated the renunciation of any other citizenship. The Constitution and the Citizenship Act are silent with respect to the ability of foreign spouses of Nepali women to acquire citizenship through marriage, meaning that their only path to naturalization is the general path
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provided to non-nationals with no family links to Nepal, and that includes onerous residency and other requirements.
Beyond denying Nepali women the right to confer nationality to children and spouses on the equal basis with Nepali men, the Citizenship Act denies Nepali women equal rights to acquire and retain their own nationality. According to the provision of Section 8(1) (a) of Citizenship Act, Nepali women married to foreign men are not permitted to obtain documentation of citizenship by descent if they have not acquired it before their marriage, in contradiction with CEDAW Article 9(1).
The constitution and international law obliged the government to grant the citizenship to women.
The government has not yet enacted a citizenship laws that allows women to confer citizenship to her children. The women have to lodge the cases to the courts (mostly appellate and Apex court) to acquire citizenship to the children. However, most of the cases court ordered to grant the citizenship certificate. The local level authorities create the legal and administrative hurdles to confer the citizenship certificate in the name of mother. Legal and constitutional rights to legal identity documents are not currently implemented in a consistent and non-discriminatory manner, limiting equal access to nationality for vulnerable individuals particularly women. In the next section, the writer has highlighted key challenges of the women facing due to lack of citizenship certificate.
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1.2 Nationality and exclusion
In the context of Nepal, the right to nationality (citizenship accessibility) is gender biased gendered which favors male. The women are considered as dominated subject of the male that they are compelled to get dependent on male on conforming the citizenship. The feminist activist and a writer Paula Banerjee et.al, argues that 'the state makes, conscious decisions about who to include and who to exclude. In this process of inclusion and exclusion, many are denied of citizenship, and as a result they become stateless (Banerjee, Chaudhary and Ghosh, p.4, 2021)'. This highly resonates in granting the legal identity documents for the women and children in Nepal. It is further argued that the 'a person has to be regarded as stateless when no competent authority within a state could vouch for the fact that they were the citizen of that state (p. 5)'. The local authorities demand so many documents even for the vital registration. The authorities have created complexities in granting the documents.
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‘Citizenship is a fundamental element of human security in Nepal, citizenship certificatesserve not only as the foundation for ensuring key social, economic and political rights for citizens, butalso as the basis for social inclusion and a common national identity’ (Upadhaya, 2019). The woman as an individual members of the society have been excluded in decision making role in the family, society and state level. Antias argues that 'the fundamental rights of citizenship continue to elude women.
Women generally, are seen as the biological and cultural reproduces of the ‘nation.’ As such they have been provided with some rights regarding protection of their socially approved roles as mothers and educated gendered subjects who will be called upon to educate their children in the national projects (Cited by Evangelia Tastsoglou, Alexandra Z Dobrowolsky, P 13)'. The family and society approves certain roles and confines within that work such as family and household work.
According to Marshal (1992 (1950)) civil dimensions of citizenship include ‘the rights necessary for individual freedom – liberty of the person, freedom of speech, thought and faith, the right to own property and to conclude valid contracts, and the right to justice (p.8), and individual economic freedom’ (p.11). As already noted, economic citizenship will be treated separately because of its importance. Freedom from discrimination could be considered as an additional civil right (cited by Evangelia Tastsoglou, Alexandra Z Dobrowolsky, P .45 and 46).
Citizenship is a pre-requisite of person to enter to the social and economic life. However, there are still number of Nepali citizens who are deprived of citizenship certificate. In lack of citizenship, people have been facing various problems especially in education, employment, property holding.
The denial of citizenship for any reason is indeed the denial of status, recognition and opportunities to the people.
Foundational assumptions of feminism are that women are disadvantaged relative to men in societies and that therefore political action to eliminate this advantage should be identified and undertaken. The nature of this disadvantage and appropriate remedial measures vary with the feminist framework adopted. What then, is the core that would allow women to exercise the full and equal social political participation within a community that citizenship entails? (like men, women would have to be defined as individuals (not for instance, as someone’s spouse or mother), and they would have to has as an individual right – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity/or social class – the realistic possibility of both enjoying access to the right and fulfilling the obligations that would allow them to exit in a situation relative individual autonomy within the community (cited by Evangelia Tastsoglou, Alexandra Z Dobrowolsky, P.40).
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The women's struggle to achieve the equality before the law and in society is continuous process.
The process of social transformation and change in terms of recognition and acceptance of women's agency in the context of Nepal. The women are still struggling to access the public services in an equal basis and no meaningful participation in the social and political sphere. The women have to struggle and watch all the laws to make them equal. It shows that the process of law making / policy making are still dominant business of male or patriarchal legacies. In the next section, the writer hasdiscussed d about the national and international legal framework in terms legal identity documents (citizenship) for women.
Section -3: Barriers and Impact of Statelessness
The vital registration (birth, marriage, death and migration) is depends on the citizenship certificates.
It is almost impossible to get register the vital registration without getting the citizenship documents.
The other documents like social security related services like getting the disability rights allowances and scholarship for the children of the marginalized community. The rage of documents can be obtained with the physical presence of the citizenship documents. In this context the women and children are highly impacted due to lack of citizenship documents. I will be discussing of the impact of the statelessness such as a) work and employment b) accessing public services: Education, Health, Social Security allowances, accessing the means of communications (new technology), c) exercising voting rights and participation in elections, d)ownership of land and property.
In my field visit, I have met number of women remain stateless for years. The whole family has to remain in discrimination and in a social limbo due lack of citizenship. The case of the Badi women X have clearly shows the complexities of the problems entails.
Dil Bahadur Badi, 28 years from Gauriganga Metropolitan City of Kailali, represents Baadi Community – highly marginalized community. There are 6 members in his family, (his wife, 2daughters, one son and his brother who is a person with disability. All of the 6 members of the familyare stateless. They do not have citizenship card because their father is not unidentified. In the past, the woman was professionally engaged as the sex workers and they used to migrate one place to another in the Badi community. They did not have their own land. Many Baadi women who had children who have unidentified father. They could not get marriage certificates and their children could not get the birth certificate because their fathers are unidentified. Dilbahadur’s Mother is died now. They are struggling to get the
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citizenship certificate and other vital documents such as birth certificate, disability card, senior citizen card, dalit identity card but still not able to access it because of lack of citizenship. They are deprived of getting Dalit nutritious allowance, scholarship for Dalit children, disability allowances. They are very poor, and landless. They are not able to join the formal work and are relied on informal daily wage work. They are statelessness by generation because they do not have any legal documents to prove their father. Their future generation are also going to be stateless in their own country.
The above case clearly show the complexities created by not having citizenship. The family remains in extreme poverty and the lack of the documents have further marginalized. The mother was not recognized and considered as citizen. The generation and generation are living in condition of not being a citizen. This clearly shows the state's discretion who to considered as a citizen and whom to deny. It is easy to deny citizenship for the women and marginalized community whose voices are not heard.
The case of Ms. Sobhakumari Shah clearly shows the level of violence imposed on women due to lack of the legal identity documents.
Sobhakumari Shah age 28 is from Siraha, Dhangadhimai Municipality has three members in her family, mother and brother. Her father was died when she was 8 years old. They lost their bread winner who was running a small shop. After her father’s death, her mother, she and brother were evicted from home from their father’s extended family, in laws. She had no way to go, she went to Kuwait, for the foreign employment by leaving her children to her parental home. After she earned money she returned back to Nepal and made her daughter marry to a man from the same district. After marriage, Sita was regularly abused, beaten and threaten by her husband because there was not enough dowry given by Sita’s mother They kicked off Sita from their home and her husband married to another woman without giving her divorce legally. With the support of paralegals when Sita approached to the administration office for her citizenship to proceed divorce and claim the property of her husband, the local government denied to grant citizenship to Sita from her mother’s name.
Her husband’s presence and recommendation was mandatory for them to grant the citizenship to Sita. But her husband was not ready to recommend / confer citizenship to her.
Being a daughter of Nepali citizen mother who holds Nepali citizenship, Sita is is still
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stateless. She is now deprived of accessing many other rights; socio economic rights and civil political rights like right to property, right to vote. She is compelled to endure violence and discrimination because of her status of statelessness. (Dowry, violence, citizenship)
The case has explicitly shows the how the women's individual agency has been undermined and forced the women to live in a pathetic situation of violence. The ill practices of dowry and related violence further makes the lives difficult. The women are barred to receive the support provided like the single women's allowances.
Rita Sharma, a 20 years old women got married with. Mr. Shyam in 2070. After the few months of her marriage, her husband went for the foreign employment in Malaysia. After a year, Rita gave birth to a son. When it was a time to admit her son in school, the school asked for the birth certificate. When she went to the local government’s birth certification department, they required the citizenship of both the mother and father. The son’s father was absent, but Rita did not have citizenship. She tried to make the citizenship from her mother’s name but the government denied to make it. They required marriage certificate and husband’s presence for her citizenship. It gave her immense mental pressure. She was not able to continue her son’s education formally nor she was able to open the bank account to receive her husband’s money sent by Malaysia. The total financial control was by her in laws because she was statelessness.
The above case shows that the complete dependency of women with the husband in terms of conferring legal identity. There a large number of migrant workers who are facing challenges. Most of the migrant workers leave their home prior to getting the marriage registration of providing citizenship to their spouses.
The case below also shows how the women's role has not been recognized and not able to confer the citizenship to her children. In this case the government is very firmed of not granting the documents.
Indra Gurung,42 years old, a Nepalese citizen is from Dhangadhi Phulbari. She has her citizenship granted from her father and mother. She got married with the Indian citizen and her husband is living with her in Nepal after the marriage. They have two children (sons).
Both of them are now eligible for getting citizenship by age. They tried to make the citizenship for their son, but the administration denied to make it because her husband was
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foreigner. Because of the depression, her husband committed suicide. Indra Gurung tried very hard to grant the citizenship to her sons but she failed because the government denied it to grant from the name of mother. Still her two sons are stateless in their own country, whose mother has Nepalese citizenship. The young minds are jobless, they are not able to go to foreigncountry, not able to do the formal jobs. They feel themselves unfortunate to be born in Nepal and being stateless Nepalese. They are forced to migrate to India to find the informal job.
It is also imperative to have a citizenship card to apply for the formal jobs. The government recently introduced Permanent Account Number (PAN) card to work even in the inforrmal work. The citizenship is also mandatory to get the PAN card. This clearly shows how the people faces challenges in getting employed and earning livelihood. The people are forced to seek the very informal sector where there are no documents required and they cannot bargain for the wages.
Thus, they can be employed in low wages and the menial work.
The people sought the solution through the legal action in the courts. The courts decisions are comparatively progressive in terms of granting verdicts in favour of litigants. There are several court verdicts to grant the citizenship in the name of mother. However, each individual has to file the case er in the court. The administrative authorities like Ministry of Home Affairs have not issued the directive orders to its district administrators – Chief District Officers who issues the citizenship certificates. The issued legal identity documents like citizenship and birth registration certificate mentioned that the 'father Unknown'5 which dehumanized the children among their peers.
4. Conclusion
The historic marginalization of women in Nepal continues at present. Nepal’s commitment to International human rights law; ICCPR, CEDAW, CRC, UN convention on Refugees has become a falls commitment that does not apply to the national laws and practices for women’s right to nationality, their access to citizenship. The 2015 constitution of Nepal, which is regarded as most progressive constitution in terms of addressing the rights of marginalized groups, has failed to accept women’s independent identity, protect women’s rights. The constitution has institutionalized the discrimination on women on their ability to confer citizenship to their foreign spouse independently as equal as to men. The discrimination is further institutionalized through citizenship
5 See https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/sc-orders-citizenship-through-mother-for-gurung-sisters/
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law that bars women to confer citizenship independently to their children as equal to men. This has violated the constitutional fundamental rights; right to equality and nondiscrimination, and right to nationality. This has also violated Nepal’s commitment on international human rights principles.
Nepal has gone through various socio-political reform phases for example; the people’s movement for democracy on 1951,1990, Maoist insurgency from 1991 to 2005, and people’s movement 2006.
All the movements and political reform has major slogan of establishing democracy by ending socio- political and economic discrimination and marginalization. However, coming to 2022, establishing Nepal as democratic republic country in 2015, the state has failed to protect women’sposition on socio-economic and political arenathrough its discrimination on women’s access to citizenship. The state itself has treated women as subordinate of male. This creates question over women’s independent identity in Nepal. The legal and social discrimination on women for their access to citizenship has resulted many women of being a stateless in their own country.
The status of statelessness has impacted on their entire lives restricting them to exercise their socio- economic and political rights. The basic fundamental rights for example, right to property, right get remedy from the discrimination/ violence, right to vote, right to employment, right to land, right to mobility house, right to economic activities are not accessible for women because of their status of statelessness. These conditions have added vulnerability and hardship theirdailylives, their children are also suffering from this. Women are more forced to endure domestic violence and social discrimination because of their lack citizenship. They excluded from the formal social and political process though their contribution is significant on social and political movement. The administrative hurdles and discriminatory administrative procedure on delivering citizenship to married women, has promoted patriarchal values and male dominancy in society. The gender discriminatory administrative process of citizenship delivery, has socially institutionalized male domination and control over women’s autonomy and identity. Thus it needs a realization and political commitment from the politicians and parliamentarians to end the discrimination on women through law to prevent Nepalese women of becoming statelessness.
Nepal’s commitment to SDG, economic prosperity, the equality and nondiscrimination needs to be transformed into reality. The law makers and the government of Nepal must be accountable to address the citizenship issue of women by amending the constitution and the citizenship law, and should guarantee that no one will be left behind without citizenship and legal identity documents.
The vision of making Nepal prosperous, make every citizen equal and non-discriminated to achieve
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the sustainable development goals, to fulfill international human rights principles. Women as an independent citizen has every rights to exercise their human rights independently. Women’s dignity, independent identity and free from nondiscrimination should be the due priority for state to reform the legal discrimination and remove the administrate barriers to prevent women of becoming statelessness.
References:
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Evangelia Tastsoglou, Alexandra Z Dobrowolsky, ed., Women, migration, and citizenship: making local, national, and transnational connections (Aldershot, Hants, England; Burlington, VT:
Ashgate, 2006). P. 15
Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD). 2014. at URL https://fwld.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/Acquisition-of-Citizenship-Certificate-in-Nepal-Understanding- Trends-Barriers-and-Impacts.pdf
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