The making of a constitution

Trying to put the importance of the present political situation of having an interim constitution into context. In time of writing Nepal is still in a bit of a limbo, having extended the deadline for the constitution writing until May 27 2011. If no constitution is produced before then, the country has been without a constitution for 5 years.

In 1990 Nepal adopted its fifth – and first fully democratic – constitution. Although
there were many good features about that constitution, it failed to satisfy the demandsof many Nepali people. There was also a sense that the 1990 Constitution had limitedinvolvement of the people in its making, and that it came formally into being not asan act of the people’s sovereignty but as a gift of the King. Among the shortcomingsof the Constitution in the eyes of many were the insistence that Nepal is a Hindukingdom; the inclusion of many important economic and social rights as “directiveprinciples” only, which means they were not able to be used as the basis for legalclaims; inadequate provisions for civilian control of the army; excessive power givento the King; and provisions that were not clear enough about the King’s powers, thus making it possible for those powers to be abused.

To the faults of the constitution itself, and insufficient royal commitment to democracy, must be added grave failures of leadership, failure of political parties to make any serious effort to be representative of the nation as a whole, excessive domination of many sectors of national life by a minority of the community, and excessive concentration of powers in the hands of the Kathmandu authorities. All these were compounded by the ten-year Maoist insurgency. Matters were brought to a head by the King’s seizure of all power in 2005.

The actions of the King finally led to a people’s movement, jana andolan, in April
2006, and the King ultimately recalled the parliament originally elected in 1999. By
then the Maoists had begun negotiations with the major political parties, in which
the Maoists' main demands were republicanism and the convening of a Constituent
Assembly to draft a new constitution. But the hundred of thousands who came out
on the streets were demanding more than a restoration of democracy; they demanded
greater inclusion of the various sectors of society marginalized in the past, including Dalits, Janajatis (ethnic groups), Madhesis (from the terai) and women

After a 10-year armed struggle, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) won the largest number of assembly seats and in 2007 led the formation of the Coalition Government of Nepal. Its victory ended the 238-year-old Shaha dynasty of the world's last Hindu kingdom.Nepal proclaimed its commitment to democracy, secularism and inclusive development. That same year, lawmakers promulgated an interim constitution and interim parliament. Each made a far-reaching commitment to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and ensured one-third representation of women in every state mechanism.

It is questonable if "The fall of the monarchy and consequent ushering in of a representative democratic process has intensified people's efforts to build a more inclusive state" as Jael Silliman put it but that there are efforts per se to construct a constitution that represents your people, ethnic groups, sexual orientation, gender is not in doubt. Over 5000 submissions have been sent to to the Interim Constitution Drafting Committee from various civil society groups.


Many political promises have been made, but what does a consitution really do? Let's look at what it doesn't. Using the consitution of the United States of America as an example.

What the Constitution Does Not Do

The Constitution does not give you rights. The founders considered your rights to be "God-given" or "natural rights" — you are born with all your rights. The constitution does, however, protect your rights by:

* Limiting the powers of government by granting to it only those specific powers that are listed in the Constitution; (This has not proven to be effective of late.)
* Enumerating certain, specific rights which you retain. These are listed in the Bill of Rights.

The rights deemed most important by the founders are specifically listed in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights also says that, even though a particular right is not listed in the Bill of Rights, you still retain that right. Any powers not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government are retained by the states and the people (you).

So, without the Constitution, the states and the people have all the rights and there is no federal government. With the Constitution, the states and the people keep any rights not specifically delegated to the federal government by the Constitution.

A quick look at the actual phrasing of the interim constitution of Nepal as it stands today. The Legislature Parliament used to be called just “Parliament”. It
is the body that makes law. The Constitution says who are the members – it is unusual
because it says that the existing members (elected in 1999) remain members, and that
the parties were to choose some extra members, from civil society and the grassroots.
Also the Maoist party members were not to be elected but chosen by the party. It says
that business of the house must be conducted on the basis of “political consensus” –
but also says that in case a decision has to be made this must usually be by a simple
majority of the members who vote.

It also says that once the Constituent Assembly comes into existence it will do the work of parliament and the current parliament will cease to exist. The Constituent Assembly has the task of making a new constitution for Nepal. It says members will be elected – some from constituencies with one member each and some in party lists. The parties must be “inclusive” in choosing candidates for the constituencies, and ensure proportionate representation of women, Dalits, indigenous tribes, people from backward regions, Madhesi and other groups in their lists for the second election. And overall at least one-third candidates must be women.

A few words on the National Human Rights Commission. The Commission has existed for some time but this is the first time it has been mentioned in the Constitution.
There must be a chairman (who must be a retired Chief Justice or Supreme Court
Judges) and 4 other members. The other members must have experience in human
rights work or social work. Members must come from a wide range of backgrounds –
including women. They are appointed by the Prime Minister – on the
recommendation of the Constitutional Council. The work of the Human Rights
Commission is to investigate accusations of human rights violations, to make
recommendations to authorities to take action, including punishment of people who
have violated human rights, to suggest taking action in court for human rights
violations, and to publicise human rights – working with civil society. It is also
supposed to study the laws of Nepal to see whether they meet human rights standards.
They are to give advice to the country on becoming a party to human rights treaties.
And they are to monitor how the government complies with human rights treaties
and make proposal for improving the country’s human rights performance. The
Commission is given some special powers to do its work. It can call people to give it
information. It can enter premises to find evidence. It can order compensation to
people who have suffered because of human rights violations. It is supposed not to
inquire into anything that is dealt with the Army Act – which deals with the
administration and disciple of the Army. But on the other hand, this does not apply
if there is a violation of human rights (or humanitarian law).

Six new mothers, a murderer and a resigned PM

Some people are campaigning for constitutional monarchy and the revival of the 1990 constitution of Nepal. Here's a statement issued by a group of people who believe that the 1990 constitution had the provision of constitutional monarchy and should be reactivated should the constituent assembly fail to bring out a constitution on time that is acceptable to all Nepali people.





New dead line for the constitution writing, another year of suspence. Not a big surprise that the political parties(or whomever we should hold responsible)did not meet the dead line of the interim constitution writing on May 28. The rumour though is that four days after Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal tendered his resignation(which was last week), the outgoing prime minister´s move came after a secret agreement with Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on the basic principles of the new constitution and the peace process. What this might entail is yet to be seen. UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal is a named candidate as a future PM. As is Maoist Vice Chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai. And Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the chairman of the largest party in the Constituent Assembly. Or anybody else really. Which is what seems to be the only consensus around here. In Nepali politics, anything can happen type of thing.

Still trying to wrap my head around that I am in a develping country and that things are done differently here. Nepal has for instance, not yet managed to buy the passport reading machines that are required these days according to international security standards. The hand written passports can still be found but today it seems that the bidding is at least back on track.

KATHMANDU, July 5: An initial evaluation by the committee formed to judge bids for a multi-million dollar machine-readable passport (MRP) project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has found three out of four bidders meeting all criteria set in bidding documents.
Altogether four international bidders -- De La Rue, Oberthur Technologies, PERUM PERURI and 3M Technologies -- are in the race for the project. But the evaluation committee headed by Chief of Protocol Mukti Nath Bhatta has found 3M Technologies not meeting the set criteria.

Not sure if hand written passports would go down well if used to travel overseas. Somebody need to make a decision so international travels can happen smoothly for the local population over here.

Some good news: ANFA awarded Rs 50,000 and a 21-inch Samsung color television set to each member of the Nepali women´s football team. A tv? Sure, why not? This news was followed by the this snippet of news though:

Coca-Cola, the official sponsor of the World Cup, has also been providing support to the All Nepal Football Association, says Saumindra Bhattacharya, managing director of BNL. “Football is a core passion in Nepal. It is progressing in multiple dimensions,” he said, and added, “This year we have also sponsored football for girls in Nepal.”


Ah, this is where the tv comes in! Progress.

And finally, I don't know what to make of this piece of journalistic work, but this is what from todays Republica newspaper:

CHITWAN, July 3: Two hundred and eighty-one Maoist combatants, including six new mothers and murderer of businessman Ram Hari Shrestha Govinda Prasad Batala, from Shaktikhor cantonments have passed this year´s SLC exams.

Six new mothers and a murderer? Eh........

Discipline dilemma-to beat or not to beat children

Having a well needed weekend off, I am leafing though VOW(Voice of Women)a Nepali magazine and I read:

Discipline is an uncomfortable element that exist between parents and children. When your children through a tantrum, when they don't listen to you, you might as well want to give them a slap or two because the belief that 'beating children for behaving badly is normal' is entrenched in our culture. News that students have been severely beaten for the violation of rules at school continues to make headlines.

The article then proceeds by offering some effective disciplinary actions(not beating)and give reasons for not beating such as the child will learn violence is an accepted way to solve problems..

I don't know how to react to this. On one hand I think it is positive that this is being talked about in a feature article but the major part of me just feel sad that in(I imagine)"modern" magazine for women this is not a subject from the past. At lest they are discussing it.

*I continue leafing through the magazine*

I am amazed at the number of ads marketing a whitening product. Whitening as in making your skin whiter. And not only to make you face "five shades whiter" but also your tan line from your t-shirt or you legs or whatever part of your body that has been exposed to the sun. There are even product to whiten your armpits(as in your deodorant)! AND there is a feature story about a competition sponsored by the company Fair and Lovely and the winner do indeed long fair and lovely. Maybe I react so much to this because I am of a pale/pink constitution myself. A fair skinned Sweden ends up in a country filled with amazingly beautiful women who i can not for my life understand why they would like to change it but maybe it is equally strange to understand the tanning industry back home.

The articles on Urticaria(hives),Why Men Want Taken Women, Breast Power exercises, self defense against somebody trying to choke you from behind, Love and Sex in the time of pornography could have been found in any magazine back home but then I come across a question from an anonymous women. She needs marital advice as she has had three daughters and her husband is very angry at her for not producing a son. She has just given birth and he is blaming her. She feels very weak and don't think her body can take another birth. They live(very commonly)with his family and she writes that her in laws are supportive of her. The answer comes: look after yourself and your little one and please note that the inability to produce a son lies mostly in the male chromosomes. He wont probably listen to that though. We are happy you have a supportive family, best of luck.

So, I am again learning that just when I think I understand a bit of this culture I realize there is so much to learn. And maybe also accepting that there are things I actually do not like. At all.

The walking Blood Bank

Gopi Lai is a 53 year old fire fighter from Nepalganj Fire Brigade who faced a dilemma 25 years ago. His brother, Banney Khans wife was giving birth at home and she needed blood. Gobi Lai was scared, never had he given blood but he also realized that if he didn't help the baby and the mother would die. Only a young man in his late teens he decided to donate blood, the family was saved and Gopi was hooked on donating. In face he has devoted his entire life to giving blood and is known in his hometown simply as the Blood bank. On February 18th 2010 he gave his blood for the 123d time!

Once in a while my path is crossed by somebody that makes me stop and think about the umpteen ways of spending our short time here on earth. Gobi says in Republica that he sometimes travel across the border to India to donate, has never taken any money for his services and will continue donating blood every three months when his body is producing new blood cells. And maybe life is very simple sometimes. Gopi Lai realized he could do something good, didn't need the money so he simply did it.

Being a gay man in Nepal Act I

Sometimes I forget how hard the gay community fought(and is still fighting)to get their civil rights in the so-called developed world.

Blue Diamond Society in Nepal just entered the barricades and describes themselves as follows:

Blue Diamond Society (BDS) was founded in 2001 in an effort to address the needs of MSMs (an umbrella term to include both men who have sex with men whom identify as gay and those men who have sex with men whom identify as heterosexual because they are the "penetrator") in Nepal. It is Nepal's only organization for and by gay men.

...and this is what they do:

Since its inception, BDS' efforts have focused on HIV/AIDS/STI prevention and outreach education. At present, BDS conducts the only HIV/AIDS/STI prevention program in Nepal that targets the MSM community. In addition to a weekly clinic that offers free HIV/AIDS/STI check-ups and treatment, BDS provides a weekly social support group, a weekly training on safe-sex practices, a weekly queer or safe-sex film show, and a 24-hour drop-in center. BDS organizes and participates in many local community events to raise awareness and discussion of MSMs, sexualities, genders and sexual health practices in Nepal.


A former volunteer for the Blue Diamond Society writes, "When Nepalis ask me where I volunteer, I tell them I work with an organization for and by gay Nepali men. The response to my answer is uniform. Their eyes widen as their face takes on various looks of shock, amusement and curiosity. The standard reply is, "Gay men in Nepal? I didn't know there were any.""

This vignette is representative of the struggle gay Nepali males face. Many Nepalis deny the existence of homosexuals in their community, often claiming it is a "western import." This denial, compounded with a refusal to discuss sexualities, genders and safe-sex health practices, creates enormous psychological consequences for gay men and health consquences for the entire Nepali community. Gay Nepali men are often pressured into a heterosexual marriage by their families. Many lead double lives in order to be true to their sexuality and selves. Because there are no "safe" spaces for these men, the double life of a gay Nepali man often includes having sex with MSMs in dangerous, unsanitary conditions. MSMs, forced to have sex in hidden locations where the use of contraceptives is not convenient, are likely to go unprotected (the use of condoms in Nepal is rare across sexualities).

A land without constitution

Our little town is most certainly not the most cosmopolitan town in the world but rather a sleepy, dusty if quite charming place. Buffalo's and goats venture into the neighbors garden on occasion and are chased out by the older didi(sister). I see her coming running out sometimes holding onto her frilly umbrella, the usual protection from the sun over here. White bulls, cows are also usual sights in the streets and thus men and beast live together in a seemingly orderly but slightly anarchistic manner.

So when there is a biggish Maoist rally here, as is the situation in time of writing, it breaks the usual calmness and I am always amazed at the number of people that participate in a rally. The Maoists organize themselves (even here) according to a militant structure and their manifestation and rallies are therefor an unfamiliar sight to me, them using the whole street and walking in formation.

As far as the political situation goes, this is what the local news report: The Maoists have taken to the streets, rallied on May 1st all over the country and proclaimed an indefinite strike coming into affect today. The negotiations with the ruling parties(see below)were unfruitful. The agenda included trying to resolve different views of the constitution writing, the progression of the peace process and how power sharing should look. Not an easy task.

The interim constitution expires on May 28 and what happens then is anybody's guess.

The media call it a political crisis. Maoist Vice Chairman Dr Baburam Battarai is quoted in Republica saying that "there will not be any agreement till the prime minister resigns" but adds that talks are still possible despite the party's proclaimed aim not to end the strike until the government is toppled. PM Kumar Nepal went on records saying that he wouldn't step down and that the government could only be changed though due constitutional and parliamentary process.

What the future will bring nobody knows. All I know for now is that a political rally is taking place outside my window and something in me is really thankful for the passion that makes people take to the street in the name in change. But needless to say, my wishes for this war torn country is of course a peaceful solution to all the strife and confusion that even a foreigner like myself is sensing right now.

Ok. Still with me? You can stop reading now or follow me on a little walk through the ruling parties of present day Nepal.

One of the ruling parties is the National Congress, or NC.
I call them socialist and they are indeed part of a bigger international socialist network(as is the Swedish Social democratic party). At least they are left, this I know. NC rule together with the communist party CPN-UML, united Marxist-Leninist and smaller parties in a coalition but they are the two main political power bears here in the former kingdom of Nepal.

Nepal has altogether 43 ministers, honorable Ministers and State Ministers including the Prime Minister. Some of them have interesting sounding fields of responsibility(and there is even according to the governments homepage one minister without a portfolio) such as minister of Tourism and civil aviation, Peace and Reconstruction, General Administration(Minister of bureaucracy? I am not being ironic, I would really like to know). There is also the department of Women, Children and Social Welfare that we have come in contact with even though I feel I need more knowledge of what they actually do.

I can hear the speeches continue in the local chowk(market)down the road and I wish I could understand. Quite peaceful affair by the sounds of it, some authority present but no clashes just people demonstrating for something they believe in.

Don't rain on my parade, the Maoist said

Coming back from Surkhet yesterday, in our old beat up jeep, we met bus after bus filled with people waving the Maoist flag. Not only buses actually, but also motorcycles with big red flags attached to the front more often than not with two youngish men on their way to execersice their democratic rights to demonstrate on Labour day, May 1st.

125,000 people attended the massgathering in Kathmandu alone yesterday, vowing to stay on the streets until the government is toppled.