Kathmandu, June 19 :

UML lawmaker and president of the All Nepal Women’s Association, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, today rapped leaders of the seven-party alliance and the Maoists for not including any woman in the six-member panel framing an interim statute.

She demanded that the panel be immediately scrapped and another one formed with women’s representation. Addressing a programme jointly organised by the ANWA and the South Asian Forum for Poverty Alleviation, Bhandari lamented that no women was included in the panel despite the fact that the House of Representatives on May 30 passed a resolution giving women 33 per cent representation in all affairs.

She said that the exclusion of women in the statute drafting committee showed the feudal mindset of the parties’ leaders.

Bhandari further said the government and the Maoists, who both claim to be fighting for equality, did not include women even in the peace talks.

Presenting a paper on Women’s Participation on State Restructuring, women activists Shanti Adhikari and Sharmila Karki said the UN Resolution 1325 stresses the need to include women in peace building processes at local and international levels. The resolution states that women’s role is decisive in preventing conflict and building peace. The resolution also lays emphasis on providing adequate training to women.