Women’s participation needs to be increased, say Nepali Congress leaders

Leaders of Nepali Congress have said participation of women needs to be increased at all levels within the party. They said more women need to be represented from the ward to the central level of the party.

The leaders said so during a virtual interaction programme on ‘Women and Youth Leadership in the 14th General Convention: Possibilities and Challenges’ organised by the Democratic Awareness Campaign today.

On the occasion, Sujata Koirala, central committee member of the party, said that women’s participation needs to be increased from the ward to the central level in the Nepali Congress. She rued the fact that though women are capable there has been no support for women leaders within the party. However, participation of women at the local level has been gradually rising, she added.

Similarly, another central committee member, Dr Shekhar Koirala, pointed out that the party statute had some discrepancies regarding appointing women to positions of office bearers of the party. He shared that women and youth should be prioritised for the posts of office bearers during the upcoming general convention.

Meanwhile, Gagan Kumar Thapa opined that participation of women in the party’s higher positions was low because of the failure to run the party as per its statute. The party should be governed as per the party statute and rule of law, however it is being done so as per the wishes of individuals, he stated. Thapa added the party should be made inclusive from the grassroots level.

During the virtual interaction, another party leader Sita Gurung mentioned it was a bitter fact that no woman had received the opportunity to lead the party.