This story first appeared in GorakhaPatra
Married women coming into Nepal, apart from entering a new country, often also enter the household of their husbands, to start their marital lives. It is very important to make sure that her stay inside the country she moves into and the household she gets married into are violence-free. It is very important that the State provides this security so that her human dignity and rights are ensured.
The Citizenship Act, 2006 (First Amendment) Bill is once more in controversy in Nepal. The Constitution has provision that all Nepali citizens are equal. Instead of looking into this very important provision, the amendment of the Citizenship Bill has been politicised to an extent it contradicts the constitutional provision. The politicians have been using the Citizenship Bill as per their political calculation at different times.
The Bill was endorsed by the House of Representatives (HoR) on July 22, 2022. However it was returned back to the Parliament by President Bidya Devi Bhandary with questions raised to clarify a few issues. However, it was again endorsed by the HoR without addressing the questions raised by the President. The National Assembly has now sent it to a Parliamentary Committee for further discussion.
Controversy
This Bill has been in controversy for the last two years. There have been several debates regarding the issues of gender and social inclusion that has not been addressed fully. The Interim Constitution 2006 (BS 2063) allows foreign women married to Nepali men to get naturalised citizenship of Nepal. However, in the Amendment Bill, endorsed by State Affairs and Good Governance Committee in June 2020, had a “cooling-off period’ of seven years. Foreign women married to Nepali men now need to wait for seven years before getting the naturalized citizenship. There is also a provision that if foreign men marry a Nepali woman they will have to live in Nepal for 15 years before they are eligible for naturalised citizenship in the country.
This discriminatory provision in the Bill goes against the philosophy of the democratic constitutional values of Nepal. Rules should not be separate for men and women based on their sex. Neither should there be laws that have separate rules for people based on their caste, class, religion, geographical location, ethnicity or anything else. Laws and regulations should be same for all citizens of the country. While there is voice raised against the Gender Based discrimination related to the Bill, there are also voices raised by legal experts, among others, opining that if foreign women are given Nepali citizenship and political rights including the voting rights upon marriage it will have long term impacts on national politics. This argument again goes against the basic values that a republic country vouches for the citizens.
There is one positive point in the current amendment. It has provision for about five million non-resident Nepalis to have a citizenship that will authorise them to use economic, social and cultural rights in Nepal. This provision does not allow them political rights like contesting elections, voting and getting appointed in public posts. The fact that the Citizenship Bill has been brought just as the federal and provincial elections are knocking round the corner, has sparked more reactions as there is a feeling that this has been done as a vote pulling mechanism.
The Citizenship Bill has become more controversial because of the open border and social cultural relationship between Nepal and India. There has been marital relationship across the border for centuries and will continue. As Nepal has become a federal republic country, the relationship between the two countries has become a very sensitive issue that becomes very volatile and sparks off controversies more easily. Marriage between Nepali and Indian citizens is very common. That too, there are more Nepali men marrying Indian women and the latter moving into the country to start her marital family life. Although there are cases of other nationals marrying and coming into the country, the frequency of Indian women coming to live in Nepal as daughters-in-law is more frequent and part of the social cultural life along the southern border of Nepal.
Cooling-off period
Those in support of the “cooling-off period” of seven years for foreign women entering Nepal as a bride say that in India too, the provision is same. So if a Nepali woman gets married to an Indian citizen she has to wait for the same period. However, it must be noted here that the provision is same for men married to Indian women too. There is no discrimination between men and women. Another important point to be noted here is that once a foreign citizen gets married to an Indian man or woman they get access to Adhar cards. Although this is not a citizenship certificate it helps these daughters-in-law and sons-in-law to get the basic facilities that the Indian government gives it citizens.
As a result, the people marrying Indians and coming to live in foreign land get the moral and mental support that will lead towards their wellbeing and happiness. Wrong practices like dowry and forced marriage should be eradicated. However, after marriage happens, particularly as a long term social, cultural and economic tradition between two countries it is important to make sure that there is no discrimination against anyone. It is important to ensure human rights and social security by adhering to the democratic values and norms.