Issue no.: 1 | September 2008

Through gendered Lens

Exploring CA Election: Women, Representation and Violence

The Constituent Assembly Election was an anticipated dream of the Nepalese to fulfill their aspirations for creating a new Inclusive Nepal. The encouraging participation of the citizens was evident from the high turn out which was nearly around 60%. Observers (national and international) were fascinated by enthusiastic participation of women voters in all the polling booths. The election was relatively peaceful despite the country's transition phase.

The Interim Constitution of Nepal has adopted a mixed system for the Constituent Assembly Election: the First Past the Post (FPTP) and Proportionate Representation (PR). As per the election results, it can be inferred that the FPTP System was more favoring to the male candidates Whereas the PR System was more effective in ensuring the representation of women belonging to different communities. Presently, there are 191 women members in the Constituent Assembly of Nepal which is 33% of the total assembly members.

Women candidates participating in the electoral process are vulnerable to political violence because the process is very sensitive and it affects the outcomes. Political violence against women participating in politics is prevalent and is considered natural in politics. The insistently rising violence in politics has largely gone unchecked. Its direct impact has been the low level of representation of women politicians in the political arena. There are large numbers of female politicians who have suffered due to ongoing violence in the political sphere. Despite the culture of concealing appalling stories of violence against women in politics, the study conducted to explore violence faced by women politicians during the Constituent Assembly Election showed that 26 percent of women candidates faced violence during the electoral process of the CA election of Nepal.

It was found that highly experienced and educated women faced more violent incidents. Similarly, women candidates belonging to Brahmin and Madhesi classes were highly prone to violence during election. It was surprising to note that there were relatively few women candidates who were aware of the incidents of violence against other women candidates. There were also relatively less number of voters who were aware about the violence faced by women in politics. It clearly indicated that incidences of violence faced by women candidates are highly camouflaged in society.

Threats and coercion are more common forms of violence followed by physical and psychological violence. There is an interesting trend in the nature of violence based on the political tenure and education of women candidates. It was revealed that the frequency of physical violence decreases with the increase in the political tenure and education.

On the contrary, there is an increase in psychological violence, threats and coercion with an increase in the political tenure and education of the women candidates. It shows that the nature of violence is inter-related with the profile of women candidates. Voters were also victims of violence during the electoral process. It was found that there was a difference in the nature of violence faced by male and female voters. Female voters were more prone to sexual violence, threats and coercion where as male voters were highly affected by physical and psychological violence. The voters from Terai region were highly affected by violence. It depicts the insecure scenario of Terai region during the election.

A critical analysis of some selected incidents of violence as well as interviews with women candidates showed that violence peaked before the election especially during the campaigning process. The major perpetrators of violence were cadres of political parties, male members of the society and security officials. It clearly indicated fragile security provisions during the electoral process.

 

Table 1 : Perpetrators of violence against women in politics

Nature of Violence	Perpetrators
	Total	Family	Political parties	State & security	Men in society	Media
Physical	14	1	8	2	3
Psychological	13	2	6	2	3
Threats and coercion	21	1	16	1	3	1
Total	48	4	30	5	9	1
	100%	8%	63%	10%	19%	2%

 

Women candidates stated that they were aware of the presence of formal mechanisms for addressing violence. Despite the fact, most of them adopted informal mechanism for dealing with violence faced. It was found that the adoption of these handling mechanisms increased with the increase in the political tenure and education of women candidates. Women candidates stated that formal mechanisms were the best means to address violence but they were not affordable and accessible to women candidates. They have emphasized the need for an improvement of the formal mechanism for reducing violence during the electoral process.

Women candidates as well as voters were of the opinion that the government and political parties should be held accountable for combating issues of violence. It also matches with the scenario that the major perpetrators of violence belong both to political parties and security officials. Strong political commitment from these stakeholders is essential to ensure zero tolerance towards violence against women in politics. A decrease in political violence will ensure a safe and secure space for women that will ultimately support increased qualitative participation of women in politics.