Legal Provisions Biased Against Women: Study

Women lawmakers and lawyers said on Sunday that women in the country have been suffering due to a number of legal provisions that discriminate against women.Though some laws have been promulgated after Jana Andolan-II to address discrimination, a number of discriminatory legal provisions are still in place, they said.According to a study conducted by the Forum for Women, Law and Development, 94 provisions of 88 Acts are discriminatory."Though we have promulgated Acts to make the way for issuance of citizenship certificates in the name of mothers, guarantee 33 per cent representation of women in public posts and abolish violence against women, we are yet to tackle several challenges," CPN-UML lawmaker Urmila Aryal said.NC lawmaker Kamala Panta Acharya, however, said the patriarchal mindset prevalent in the society is hindering efforts aimed at bringing about gender equality. Political fronts, bureaucracy and social and economic sectors are biased against women.Advocate Sapana Pradhan Malla said that after Jana Andolan-II, women have been getting equal opportunity in many sectors, including employment and education. She also stressed the need to fight against existing biased provisions.President of the Nepal Bar Association, Bishwokanta Mainali, called the women leaders and lawyers not to create an environment to divide houses as some of their agendas have been creating such a situation. He stressed the need to "adhere to our own culture."