Democracy For Nepal: Chitralekha Yadav: Speaker

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Chitralekha Yadav: Speaker

I think this is of a great symbolic value. She earned her way to the top. She was a student leader when she was a student. Now she is Speaker. She is a Madhesi. She is a woman. She is a Yadav, which not exactly a Dalit, but it is not traditionally high caste.

Chitralekha Yadav is proof democracy is a wonderful thing.

This is a good start for the revived parliament.

On The Web

Ranabhat resigns; Chitralekha Yadav to take over as Speaker in Nepal
Chitralekha Yadav to take over as Speaker in Nepal
People's Review:July 01-July 08, 1999:Chitralekha Yadav elected un ... UML general secretary Madhab Kumar Nepal had demanded to provide the post of deputy speaker to the opposition party in the Parliament for the betterment of enhancing democratic exercise and balance in the Parliament. But, the NC didn't listen to Nepal.
NEWS FLASH ARCHIVE 49 Mrs Yadav was elected to the House of Representatives from Siraha-2 constituency. .....
Front Pagers May 31st, 1999 / Jestha 17, 2056 Awake Weekly ...
Nepal Home Page Results of Parliamentary elections held on November 15th, 1994 Siraha 2. UML Mr.Narendraraj Pokhrel Ms.Chitralekha Yadav, Congress
Metro The diploma engineers accorded a reception to the deputy speaker of the Nepal parliament, Chitralekha Yadav, at the Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh in Dhaka on Tuesday. Since the formation of the SAARC Diploma Engineers Forum in 1990s, Nepal parliament deputy speaker Chitralekha Yadav, also a human rights activist, helped the forum a lot, said the organisation’s secretary general. The biggest challenge of South Asia is poverty, said Chitralekha Yadav. By ensuring economic justice, poverty can be eradicated, she said. The general secretary, Kazi Nazrul Islam, handed over a crest to Chitralekha.
Tin tuc va su kien
Women and Armed Conflict: Reaching Towards Focused Solutions The guests on the occasion were Honorable Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Ms. Chitralekha Yadav, Mr. Yog Prasad Upadhyay, former home minister and Ambassador to the United States of America, and Mr. Dev Raj Dahal, Country Representative, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Ms. Chitralekha Yadav, Deputy Chairperson, House of Representatives and Chief Guest on the occasion after expressing her thanks to the organizers mentioned that the topic of the interaction is very relevant to our times. She mentioned that today the nation and particularly its women are facing a critical problem as a victim. The war widows of the current insurgency are from all sectors- be it Maoist, Police, Army or the civilian masses. These women are under immense pressure in a particularly traditional society like ours. Relating her personal experience while interacting with these women she mentioned that the husband's family attributes the death of their son to the bad omen brought by the son's widow....... ...... According to her reasoning the qualifying factors for the current conflict is the lack of education, poverty, lack of decentralization and need for structural change. In the years of democratic rule in Nepal she points out that neither organizations, which strengthen democracy, were developed nor could the existing organizations be really democratized. This is a particular failure of democratic politics. She mentioned that war widows specially their children face a difficult and bleak future. The challenge and need before us is to mould and implement our policies and programs to face these emerging problem areas. She mentioned a lack of political commitment in policy formulation and a few self-centered politicians as having held the country at ransom for their own personal stakes. The current dilemma is a result of self-centered and profit centered politics at the expense of people centered politics, which is the core of democratic value......... Women in particular have been deprived of opportunities for full participation even though wherever they have reached important positions; they have been able to perform efficiently and optimally. She further mentioned that participation is necessary to women's development. In this context she provided an illustration of the lack of such participation right at the top- in the Cabinet. There is a quota system in cabinet, which is applicable in the case of Women, Madhesi (People of tarai), Scheduled caste (Dalits) and scheduled tribes (Janjatis) community. She questioned the appropriateness of the same in the context of limitless seats for the other general communities regardless of their qualification. This is an unjust situation and a big question mark on social justice. She felt that if such a situation persists in the membership of the cabinet who themselves are supposed to be precursors of change; the situation is unimaginable in the rest of Nepal.......... Ms. Yadav differentiated between the conflicts of 20th and 21st century by pointing that while the former was mostly external the latter, particularly in the case of Nepal is absolutely internal. In such internal strifes and conflicts a common man faces difficulty in differentiating between what is right and wrong and who is right or wrong. She mentioned that external voices like UN can only speak and advise us but the onus lies in the hand of Nepalese who have to deal with this problem. She lamented that in this era of information and knowledge, we Nepalese have both but lack virtuousness and are caught in self-centered thinking. She feels that at the root of present conflict is lack of social, political and economic justice. She stressed the importance of economic justice and economic development, which should move simultaneously. She mentioned that imbalance between village and cities, caste, ethnic and gender based discrimination results in loss of opportunities of various kinds like in job and education sector. As one of the solutions she advocated that only when a nation invests in women that things can change, citing the quote, " Invest in women and invest in change". She mentioned that conflict results when nation's people and particular sections get disillusioned, dissatisfied and irritated due to lack of justice. This is a typical stimulus response situation, which if not addressed adequately will only further the reasons for conflict. Therefore she called upon all women and men to come together to uproot this problem by finding out avenues and opportunities. She pointed out though, the need for us to be clear about our mission and vision and work in a determined manner to achieve our goal of a just and peaceful society. She also pointed out to the need of fine-tuning national policy and program to the needs arisen out of the conflict. She expressed confidence in the ability of ordinary people to do extraordinary work, once they are exposed to ideas and knowledge the bottom line being involvement of all parties (related to conflict) to chalk out workable solutions.
New Signature
Present Composition of Parliament of Nepal
Terai Dalit Women - Violation of Political Rights Chitralekha Yadav (Nepali Congress), one of the women MP’s from Siraha district in Terai was elected Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives. Renu Yadav (RPP) was appointed Minister in the Government formed under the premiership of Surya Bahadur Thapa. Although both the women were not Dalits, the election of two women from the Terai and their appointment to important posts is a significant development....... No Terai Dalit woman was ever nominated by any major political party for any seat in Parliament. Terai Dalit women have remained unrepresented in Parliament since restoration of multi-party democracy in Nepal in 1990. Although some Dalits have been nominated as members of upper house of Parliament (Rashtriya Sabha), these have not included Terai Dalit women.
Table of Contents for the report of the Asia-Pacific Women ...
Highlights from Plenary1 of the Asia-Pacific Women ...
Trang web tỉnh Đồng Nai - Delegates from Nepalese Parliament visit ... On April 11, Nepalese delegation headed by Chitralekha Yadav, Deputy Chairperson of Lower House of Nepalese Parliament, has paid a visit to Dong Nai.
NDF QUOTES - Nepali Times “Heaven is what it is because three women are in charge of three important ministries: Mahalaxmi manages money, Mahasaraswati is in charge of education and Mahakali looks after defence. We can also turn Nepal into heaven, why not?” - Chitralekha Yadav, Deputy Speaker
The Hindu : International : Nepal's Deputy Speaker, two others ... Deputy Speaker of Nepal's Parliament Chitralekha Yadav and two other women activists were on Saturday stopped by security personnel at the Tribhuvan International Airport here from boarding a flight to Delhi, where they were going to participate in a conference. ...... ``This was the third time that I was prevented to fly abroad since the February one power grab by King Gyanendra,'' Ms. Yadav, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, said.
Bao Dong Nai Recently, Nepalese delegation headed by Chitralekha Yadav, Deputy Speaker of Lower House of Nepalese Parliament has paid a visit to Dong Nai.
South Asia Monitor
Militarisation and WTO are key challenges in the fight against HIV ...
Trade union activists call to fuel the fight against HIV/AIDS
News Archive - Millennium Campaign
Non-Resident Nepali Association
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - World
[PDF] Summary of the Proceeding of Workshop on Decentralization, Local ...
[PDF] NTPEPC 79#.p65
Financial Express Chitralekha Yadav, Deputy Speaker of Lower House of Nepalese Parliament, told Vice State President Truong My Hoa during their meeting in Hanoi that she was impressed by Viet Nam's socio- economic achievements as well as its progress in legal reform.
Onlypunjab.com News
Viet Nam News
BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Nepal women win abortion rights The former Deputy Speaker, Chitralekha Yadav, says the legislation has now been given royal assent and is on the statute books.
Democracy For Nepal (DFN): Peace First, Then Democracy, Democracy ...
Democracy For Nepal (DFN): Three Years: Too Long A Wait
Hội liên hiệp Phụ nữ - Việt nam
South Asian Media Net Among the elected ones, Prakash Man Singh won the largest number of votes (1192). Other outstanding winners were Pradip Giri with 1040 votes, Umakanta Chaudhari with 1036, Chitralekha Yadav with 991, Gopal Man Shrestha with 969 votes and Bimalendra Nidhi with 929 votes.
People's Review:July 01-July 08,1999: Table of Contents
A third of Maoist guerrillas are women: report
South Asia Partnership - South Asia: The Canadian delegation in ...
.:: THE BANGLADESH OBSERVER - Net Edition ::. “Without ensuring and increasing participation of women at various levels of the government, a better society cannot be built,” Chitralekha Yadav, Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Representatives of Nepal, told reporters at a news conference.
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - World
eKantipur.com - Nepal's No.1 News Portal He also suggested the parties oust Speaker Tara Nath Ranabhat for his lack of commitment to the movement for democracy. "We should elect Deputy Speaker Chitralekha Yadav in his place," Sherchan said.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Mock parliament meets in Nepal The deputy speaker of the dissolved parliament, Chitralekha Yadav, took the role of chairing the meeting which was held in a public square in Kathmandu

In The News

New Nepal commits to Maoist talks
Calcutta Telegraph, India - 21 hours ago
... Deputy speaker Chitralekha Yadav was in the chair as Speaker Taranath Rana Bhat had been forced to resign for not joining the democratic movement. ...
Koirala to be sworn-in as Nepal PM tomorrow
Hindu, India - 16 hours ago
... During Friday's meeting of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker Chitralekha Yadav tabled a motion, on behalf of Koirala, proposing a ceasefire with the ...
Yechury in Nepal democracy pantheon
Calcutta Telegraph, India - 18 hours ago
... parliament, it was left to former foreign minister and a good friend of India, Chakra Prasad Bastola, to send a note to deputy speaker Chitralekha Yadav. ...
Parliament meets in Nepal
Hindu, India - Apr 28, 2006
DEMOCRACY ENTHRONED: Speaker of the Nepalese Parliament Chitralekha Yadav addresses the House at the first session of the reinstated Parliament in Kathmandu on ...
Nepal Parliament meets after four years
NewKerala.com, India - Apr 28, 2006
... The House of Representatives session was today presided over by the deputy speaker, Chitralekha Yadav. Taranath Ranabhatt, the previous ...
After four years, more delay for Nepal's parliament
NewKerala.com, India - Apr 28, 2006
... Meanwhile, the seven parties expected to form the government met at the chamber of deputy Speaker Chitralekha Yadav to discuss the changed modalities. ...
Nepal seeks to learn from Viet Nam's development experience
Viet Nam News Agency, Vietnam - Apr 4, 2006
Chitralekha Yadav, Deputy Speaker of Lower House of Nepalese Parliament, told Vice State President Truong My Hoa during their meeting in Ha Noi that she was ...

KP Oli likely to be deputy PM; Cabinet strength not to exceed 21

Arjun Bhandari

Kathmandu, April 29:
The seven-party alliance is learnt to have finalised the list of ministers for the all-party government led by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.
Koirala is scheduled to swear in tomorrow morning at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace before the parliament debates his proposal for an election to a constituent assembly. The proposal to hold the election to the constituent assembly for drafting a new constitution was tabled in yesterday’s session of the 205-member revived House of Representatives.
Alliance source said the number of ministers would not exceed 21. Sources said at least six ministers each will be drawn from the NC and the CPN-UML, three from the Nepali Congress (Democratic), one from the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandi) and two from civil society.
The Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party and Janamorcha Nepal are learnt to have decided to stay away from joining the all-party government. Sources said they want to join an interim government of which the Maoists are also a part.
The sources said NC general secretary Ramchandra Poudel may be asked to look after either Physical Planning and Works or Local Development, joint general secretary Dr Ram Sharan Mahat Finance, Chakra Prasad Bastola Foreign Affairs, Mahesh Archarya Defence, Mahantha Thakur Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, while Tirtha Ram Dangol was likely to be appointed Health and Population minister.
UML standing committee member K P Sharma Oli may become deputy-prime minister in addition to holding Home portfolio, Pradip Nepal may be given either Information and Communication or Water Resources ministry, Rajendra Pandey Local Development, Pradip Gyawali Civil Aviation, Tourism and Culture, Urmila Aryal Women, Children and Social Welfare, while Prof Mangal Siddhi Manandhar may be given the charge of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ministry.
NC-D general secretaries Prakash Man Singh and Bimalendra Nidhi may be given the charge of Labour and Transport Management and Education and Sport, respectively, while Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat is likely to be Environment, Science and Technology Minister. NSP general secretary Hridayesh Tripathi is likely to take the responsibility of Forest and Soil Conservation ministry.
Two ministerial berths for civil society were yet to be finalised. Sources said alliance is considering former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana, Dr Devenrda Raj Pandey, senior journalist Kanak Mani Dixit and Dr Sundar Mani Dixit for the remaining portfolios.