GANDAKI, Jan 22 : Women’s participation as candidates remains notably low in Gandaki Province for the upcoming House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5.
Gandaki Province has 11 districts and 18 constituencies that span from Manang and Mustang in the Himalayas to Nawalpur in the southern plain. Yet, female candidates account for only a small fraction across the province.
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In Kaski district, which has three constituencies, only one woman is contesting in Constituency No. 1 out of 17 candidates. Constituency No. 2 also has one female candidate among 17, while Constituency No. 3 has three women out of 15 candidates.
In Syangja, which has two constituencies, none of the 13 and 15 candidates in Constituencies No. 1 and 2, respectively, are women. In Nawalpur, Constituencies No. 1 and 2 feature 18 candidates each, with two and five women contesting, respectively.
In Gorkha, constituency no. 1 has two women among 13 candidates, and Constituency No. 2 has just one woman among 14 candidates. In Tanahun, Constituencies No. 1 and 2 have three and one female candidates, respectively, among 16 and 12 contestants. Baglung sees one woman candidate in each of its two constituencies (10 and 12 candidates).
Among districts with a single constituency, Parbat has seven women out of 17 candidates, Lamjung has one woman among 12 candidates, Manang has one woman among five, and Mustang has one woman among eight candidates. Notably, Magdi has 13 candidates, but no women have filed to contest.
The figures highlight the ongoing gender imbalance in political participation within Gandaki, emphasizing the need for stronger measures to encourage and support women candidates in provincial and national elections.
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