KATHMANDU: Campaigners are also concerned the draft will be misused to restrict a woman’s right to abortion which was legalised in 2002 in the socially conservative country.

The charter bans sex-selective abortions, but activists say the provision is unnecessary since the practice is already illegal. They fear the charter will be used as a powerful tool to deny women abortions, by falsely accusing them of trying to abort girls in a country where boys are preferred.

“This issue should not be dealt with in the constitution,” said Sonali Regmi, Asia regional manager for the Centre for Reproductive Rights. “We fear that the clause can be misused to limit a woman’s right to safe abortion, a key reason for the decrease in Nepal’s maternal mortality rate

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