‘Nepal is becoming Afghanistan’: activists hit out at plan requiring women to get male assent for foreign travel

The planned law is intended to ‘combat’ incidents of women being exploited abroad as forced labour, according to the Nepalese government

But critics say it reflects a patriarchal mindset that ignores women’s rights – and repeats earlier restrictions that did little to end human trafficking

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A Nepali activist takes part in a protest in Kathmandu on February 12 calling for the scrapping of a proposed law that would restrict travel for many women. Photo: AP

Published: 4:12pm, 18 Feb 2021Updated: 7:46pm, 18 Feb 2021

To the Nepalese government, a proposed law requiring women under the age of 40 to get permission from a male guardian before travelling alone to the Gulf states and Africa for the first time is a means of protecting them.

But to hundreds of Nepali women who have taken to the streets this past week in protest, the law smacks of a regressive, patriarchal attitude they say reflects poor gender equality in the Hindu-majority country of 29 million. Nepal’s women are less literate, have less access to health care and have limited representation in public life compared with men, according to UN statistics.

Some activists rallying against the law on social media have pointed to how even Saudi Arabia – known for its poor track record on women’s rights – is seemingly more progressive than Nepal, having recently lifted a long-time ban on women driving their own cars and travelling without a male guardian.

Activist Prakriti Bhattarai Basnet, chair of the non-profit group Political Literacy for Women, tweeted that the Nepalese government was becoming like the Taliban “and Nepal is becoming Afghanistan”, in reference to the militant Islamic fundamentalists who ruled the latter country for several years and are known for severely limiting women’s freedom of movement.

Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against the proposed new law and violence against women in Kathmandu on February 12. Photo: AFP

The director of Nepal’s immigration department, Teknarayan Paudel, told local media that the new law – which would also require any Nepali woman under 40 to get permission from her local government ward office before travelling to the Gulf states and Africa for the first time – could “combat” incidents of women being exploited abroad as forced labour.

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