Minister Dr Rana calls for feminist foreign policy for equality

KATHMANDU: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Arzu Rana Deuba has stressed the need for a feminist foreign policy to ensure equality and the rights of all minority groups.

Addressing a panel on LGBTQI+ in Feminist Foreign Policy at the Equal Rights Coalition Conference in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday, she highlighted the transformative potential of such a policy to ensure inclusivity, justice and reconciliation.

"A feminist foreign policy works to challenge patriarchal structures based on hierarchy and exclusion. This policy prioritises the principles of inclusion, empathy and equality and, overall, advances the broader concept of human security, treating everyone equally in diplomacy”, stated Minister Dr Rana.

She described feminist foreign policy as a framework that emphasises reconciliation, equality and inclusivity like other policies of equality, emphasizing its role in protecting the rights and interests of minority groups, including the sexual and gender community based on mutual understanding and equality.

"We need to revive a feminist foreign policy while respecting the sensitivities of sexual and gender minorities. This will prove helpful in building a society based on justice and equality." Stating that superficial changes alone are not enough to resolve discrimination and injustice, the minister called for equality in policies to transform social values and norms.

The Foreign Minister also lauded Nepal for setting an example in the world in ensuring and protecting the SGM rights.

Similarly, in another panel discussion on ‘Pathways to LGBTQI+ inclusion in national laws and policies’ in Berlin on Tuesday, she highlighted Nepal's significant achievements in ensuring inclusion and the rights of the LGBTQI+ community.

Nepal made these achievements through progressive laws and their effective implementation, she noted.

She underscored that the 2007 verdict of Supreme Court legally recognised the SGM community and directed the amendment of discriminatory laws, adding the ruling also paved the way for legally recognising same-sex marriage, making Nepal the first country in South Asia to do so.