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Woman denied right to citizenship
BHADRAPUR, NOV 13 - Dhanmaya Sitaula, an elderly woman presently residing in Dangibari-7 of Jhapa, despite being a genuine Nepali national, has not been able to acquire her citizenship certificate in spite of her attempts for the past two years.
Born in Niguradin VDC of Taplejung district into a Sitaula family, she had come to Jhapa with her second husband. After Sitaula bore him two children, her husband abandoned her and died after a few years.
Staying in a makeshift lodging on a two-kattha state land, Sitaula has been desperately trying to obtain a citizenship certificate for two years but to no avail, according to her.
"Having been born in Nepal and never having left Nepal do I become a foreigner? What crime have I committed to be denied a citizenship certificate?" questions an irritated Sitaula. "Perhaps the authorities need some money to issue me a citizenship certificate. How can I get the money for a bribe when just making ends meet is a major problem?"
Bhakti Prasad Sitaula, a relative of Dhanmaya, tried his best to procure her citizenship certificate. He approached the District Administration Office (DAO) volunteering to be an identifier in Dhanmaya’s case but that yielded no results, according to him.
Though the laws of the kingdom rules out any discrimination in terms of gender, many a woman in Nepal share Dhanmaya’s fate, observed intellectuals stating that the problem persists because procedures in issuing citizenship is still governed by the Citizenship Act-1955, which is against the spirit of the constitution.
"The Citizenship Act-1995 stipulates that a woman is entitled to a citizenship certificate either from the name of her father or husband. Unless the Act is revised such problems will continue to surface," remarked Laxmi Prasad Mainali, an advocate.Posted on: 2003-11-12 08:33
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