Preserving Patriarchy: Birthright, Citizenship and Gender in Nepal

Abstract

Birth and birthright, in relation to citizenship, are entangled in a complex politics of power and patriarchy as well as past and present notions of cultural and national identity in Nepal. The debates highlight how gender inequality intersects historically with social inequality in a highly stratified society based on religion, caste and ethnicity. The constitutional discussion that has been ongoing in Nepal since the end of the 10-year long civil war in 2004 highlights the need for a critical feminist approach that looks at the multi-faceted and intersecting relationship between citizenship, gender, political projects of imagined communities, social inequality and access to political power. Women have become responsible for the containment of attributes, values and identity within nation-state, regional boundaries, and communities or collectivities. They are constituted as both an asset and a threat to the nation-state should there be fluidity in borders or boundaries. With the struggle to produce and promulgate a new constitution in Nepal, we see how women’s interests and equality can be sacrificed in the name of protecting idealized social and political values as well as preserving the nation-state itself.

Citation

Allison, J. (2017), "Preserving Patriarchy: Birthright, Citizenship and Gender in Nepal", Bonifacio, G.T. (Ed.) Global Currents in Gender and Feminisms, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 67-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78714-483-520171008