Kathmandu, April 3, 2007

Speakers from various walks of life today criticised the capitalist market that “exploits and uses the participants of the beauty pageants to sell their products in the market”.

Addressing an interaction organised by the Beauty Pageant Protest Committee-2063, litterateur Dr Jagdish Chandra Bhandari said: “The capitalists have used the contestants as an object to gain profit by promoting their beauty products.”

He claimed that the beauty pageants have harmed local cultures. “These contests have marginalised the inner ability of the contestants; they have encouraged the development of autocratic culture,” he said. Bhandari opined that the qualities of a person are acknowledged through the activities performed by the person not through such pageants.

Ishwar Chandra Gyawali, a representative of the All Nepal Jana Sanskritik Mahasangh, said: “Beauty can be defined a quality of a person who can contribute something to the society and the nation.” He said that the capitalist society uses the women as object to gain profit by selling products through them.

He called the participants to raise their voices against the capitalists “who are creating social evils to gain profit”. Shashi Shrestha, central committee member of the Janamorcha Nepal, said: “It is necessary to know the actual motive behind organising beauty pageants though such contests are necessary to bring out hidden talents of individuals.”

30 parties seek info on registration process

At least 30 parties are planning to register themselves at the Election Commission to participate in the constituent assembly elections. The parties are seeking registration as per the rules of the Political Party Registraion Regulation 2063 (PPRR).

The EC had on Friday called on the political parties to register with the commission.

Among those seeking information on the procedures and documents needed to register the party were, CPN-Maoist, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, CPN-ML and CPN-UM. Representatives of some pro-monarchy parties like the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, Nepal Green Party, Save the Nation Party, Nepal Samata Party and Nepal Conservative Party visited the EC to seek information on the registration procedures.

A representative of the Madheshi Janaadhikar Forum also visited the EC to seek information on the registration process. The Political Party Registration Regulation 2063 has prohibited registration of a political party formed on the basis of religion, caste, ethnicity, language and gender. Three of the 30 parties were Dalit-based ones.

An officer at the EC said: “Representatives from several political parties visited the EC office and consulted with the officers concerned to begin the process of party registration. One among them is the Nepali Hindu Party.”