Women Participation in Politics. A Study of Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitian City

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement

ABSTRACT

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

ABBREVIATION

CHAPTER- I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Context
1.2 Statement of Problem
1.3 Research Rationale
1.4 Research Objectives
1.5 Research Questions
1.6 Scope and Limitation of Research
1.7. Operational Definition

CHAPTER-II
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Women’s political participation
2.1.1 Historical Background of Women's Participation in Politics in Nepal
2.1.2. Legal Provisions for increasing Women’s Political Participation in Nepal

CHAPTER III

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 Study Area
4.2 Research Design
4.3 Nature and Sources of Data
4.4 Population of the Study
4.5 Sample Size and Sampling Procedure
4.6 Methods of Data Collection
4.6.1 Primary data collection
4.7 Analytical Framework
4.8 Reliability and Validity of Tool

CHAPTER V
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPETATION
5.1 Women Participation in Politics: An Overview of Local Election, 2017 in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City
5.1.1 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per their Achievement
5.1.2 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Designation
5.1.3 Status of Winners in Local Election as per the Designation
5.1.4 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Wards
5.1.5 Status of Winners in Local Election as per the Wards
5.1.6 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Political Parties
5.1.7 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Political Parties
5.2 Primary Data: Political Awareness among the Women Leaders: An Overview of Local Election, 2017 in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City
5.2.1 Caste and Ethnicity of the Respondents
5.2.2 Education Level of the Respondents
5.2.3 Income Generator and household in the family
5.2.4 Sources of Income in the family
5.2.5 Entry Year in Politics by the Respondents
5.2.6 Political Parties of the Respondents
5.2.7 Source of Motivation to the Respondents to be in Politics
5.2.8 Priority of Politics of the Respondents
5.2.9 Participation of the Respondents in Different of Political Movements
5.2.10 Information of the Respondents about Local Politics
5.2.11 Respondents’ View on Women’s Reservation in Local Politics
5.2.12 Respondents’ Priority in Local Politics
5.2.13 Problems faced by women leaders in Local Politics
5.2.14 Use of Email/Social Media by women leaders
5.2.15 Level of Satisfaction of the Respondents
5.3 social works, economic contribution, development works and training attended by women leaders
5.4 Case Study
5.4.1 Manju Devi Gurung, Deputy Mayor
5.4.2 Sarada Kumari Parajuli, Ward Chairperson, Ward No
5.4.3 Buddhi Maya Rijal, Ward Member, Ward No
5.4.4 Sangita Pun, Candidate, Ward Chairperson, Ward No
5.4.5 Sita Baral Poudel Candidate, Member, Ward No

CHAPTER: VI
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
6.1 Findings
6.2 Discussion

CHAPTER:VII
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 Summary
7.2 Conclusion
7.3 Recommendations

References

Appendix-I

Appendix-II

Appendix-III

Acknowledgement

It is my pleasure to get this opportunity to conduct the dissertation on ‘ Women Participation in Politics: A Study of Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City ’. Firstly, I am very thankful to my dissertation supervisor Pro. Dr. Indra Prasad Tiwari, Dean of our faculty for his guidance, support, suggestion and co-operation throughout the completion of this research. I am also grateful to all the lecturers for kind support during the research.

Special thanks to my parents Mr. Surya Bahadur Parajuli and Mrs. Sita Devi Parajuli for always supporting me and my work. I must not forget Mr. Surya Bahadur Adhikari, my husband, for his every time support. I want to express my gratitude for my dear sister Maan Kumari Parajuli and Mr. Baburam Giri, Former President, Lekhnath Industries and Commerce for their helping and motivating me to complete this study.

I would also like to thank Surendra Tiwari, Coordinator, School of Development and Social Engineering, Pokhara University and all the faculties including Dr. Ajay Thapa, Dr. Ananta Dhungana, Ramji Adhikari, Mr. Badri Aryal and Mr. Yuvray Tripathi for their invaluable and regular feedbacks.

Sincere gratitude goes to all those who have contributed in one way or another to the successful completion of this work. Their assistance, advice, encouragement and moral support are appreciated. At last, but not the least I would like to acknowledge all the people who helped me directly or indirectly to accomplish the task as a student researcher.

June, 2018

Januka Parajuli

ABSTRACT

Politics is viewed as the centre of concern in every sector. When talking about women empowerment, their political empowerment is key. This study was carried out to identify the status of political participation of women in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City, Kaski district, Nepal. The findings presented in this dissertation is based on information collected through scheduled questionnaires with the candidates of the last local election using purposive sampling method of sampling. Also a Key Informant Interview (KII) and Case Study was also done in the process.

Social, economic and educational level of respondent along with their challenges in politics has been analyzed collecting information through primary and secondary sources. Lack of educational qualification, intra party discrimination of women, family barrier, and lack of will power seems some of the factors causing underrepresentation in politics despite attractive provision in constitution. From the finding of the study it is suggested that women should be given educational opportunities, freedom from household work, support from partner, strengthening women organization to louder their voice and proper implementation of formulated plan and polices are the some ways that can increase the qualitative and quantitative aspects of women political participation.

This study was carried out to identify the status of political participation of women in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City, Kaski district, Nepal.

Key words: Women, Inclusion, Participation, Empowerment, Discrimination

LIST OF TABLES

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

LIST OF FIGURES

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

ABBREVIATION

ADB Asian Development bank

CEDAW Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

CPN (MC) Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)

CPN (ML) Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist Leninist)

CPN (UML) Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist)

INGO International Non-Governmental Organizations

KII Key Informant Interview

MS Microsoft

NPRSLP Nepal Purva Rastra Sevak Loktantric Party

NC Nepali Congress

NDI National Democratic Institute

NGO Non-Governmental Organizations

SPSS Statistic Package for Social Science

TOT Training of Trainers

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

VDC Village Development Committee

CHAPTER- I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Context

The human being is a social creature that can live only within a group. This human group, which is called society, needs to manage the affairs of its members and to assign authorities. Hence, politics arises as a tool and a human requirement in order to continue living as an organized community.

The word Politics has been defined in many ways from past up to the present time. Ancient philosophers in Greek, which is said to be the origin of politics treat politics as management of the state affairs. Later, it became the modern nation-state and because politics begins with city community. The original Greek word polis, which means city, emphasizes the French and English derivation of the word politics (Mazkor, 1975).

Ian Adams said that “politics refers to the process of decision-making for human associations. But there is a need for some kind of formal organization or constitution which members can recognize. Otherwise, decisions will have no authority.” (Adams, 1998). Talking about political participation, Patrick J. Conge noticed that “Political participation may be defined as individual or collective action at the national or local level that supports or opposes state structures, authorities, and /or decisions regarding allocation of Public good” (Conge, 1988).

Herbert McClosky refers to political participation as “those voluntary activities by which members of a society share in the selection of rulers and, directly or indirectly, in the formation of public policy. These activities typically include voting, seeking information, discussing and proselytizing, attending meetings, contributing financially, and communicating with representatives. The more of ‘active’ forms of participation include formal enrollment in a party, canvassing and registering voters, speech writing and making, working on campaigns, and competing for public and party office.” (McClosky, 2013).

Political participation is defined as the extent to which citizens use their rights, such as the right to protest, the right of free speech, the right to vote, to influence or to get involved in political activity (Munroe, 2002).

Based on the above discussion, it can be concluded that political participation is a means of gaining access to the power structure where decisions for resource allocation and other issues of community concerns are made. Women’s participation is necessary element of empowerment which is considered essential for two main reasons. Firstly, it indicates the status of women in society. Secondly, it is a means to enable women to improve their status and make meaningful contributions of national development.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, more than 95 countries in the world have granted women two fundamental democratic rights: the right to vote and to contest elections as candidate for public office. New Zealand was the first country in the world to grant women the voting right as early as 1893 (NDI, 2010). Now after quarter past one century, women participation in politics is viewed as necessary prerequisites of national and local political life round the globe.

1.2 Statement of Problem

The women have substantial contribution both as labor and mentor in the household and outside, but their role is often underestimated and not counted as economic activity. Moreover, they suffer from social, cultural and political basis. Traditionally, women’s role are confined to household chores and farming activities, which in general engage them for a longer hours than men (14-16 hours) compared to men’s (7-9 hours) a day (UNDP, 2004 & ADB, 1999). Compared to male counterparts women have limited access to education. Status of women is high in the developed countries whereas the situation is quite different in the developing countries. It has been found that women’s socio-economic status is improving in the developing countries as well despite the situation may differ from country to country. However in terms of decision making, women’s status is below satisfactory level. (Bhattarai & Paudel, 2011).

There has been a growing concern about the women’s underrepresentation in political and decision-making areas. In relation to this issue, the country has been putting a number of policies into place in order to increase the women’s representation in the political and governmental organization particularly through the policy of reservation. As a result, a significant progress can be observed at the central level (Bhattarai, 2011). The existing composition of the parliament is an example where about 30 percent of the members are women.

The new Constitution makes provision to reserve 33 per cent of parliamentary seats under Article 84(8) and positions in employments. Article 86 (2)(a) stipulates that three seats in the 59-member national assembly are to be reserved for women, whereas eight members are to be elected from each of the seven provinces. A-86(2)(b) further stipulates that three members, at least one of them a woman, are to be nominated by the President in the Upper House, according to the recommendation of the Government. On the implementation of the same, Mrs. Bidhya Devi Bhandari has been elected as President of the country.

Local Self Governance Act 1998 has reserved 20 percent seats for women in ward level committees to increase their representation in local government institutions. Moreover, Local Level Election Act, 2017 has increased the level to at least 40 percent. Under Article 6 (2) out of 5 ward committee, seats of 2 ward members are reserved for women in which one has been reserved for Dalit women.

Similarly on Article 17(4) of the same act, it has been clearly mentioned that when giving nomination of the candidate, each political party has to make sure that out of major posts in local level such as Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson of Municipality, Rural Municipality as well as District Coordination Committee, fifty present should be female. This opened the way for female either in Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson in every level. But in practice, it has been observed that most of the female have got candidate in Vice-Chairperson post.

The possibility for all citizens to participate in the management of public affairs is at the very heart of democracy. But women has been lacking in participation due to various reasons. Kassa (2013) gives different casual factors such as; economic, religious, social and cultural factors contributed to women’s poor political participation. Furthermore the researcher explains patriarchy, family work and time-constraints as major other reasons behind these.

Talking about the less political participation of women in local level, ODIHR (2014) explains two major reasons as mentioned: perceived hostile political culture, lack of willingness of candidates as well as family given more priority by the women. Anyways, women’s representation in political and social activities at the local level is still lacking. In fact, this is an under-researched area. In this context, this study attempts to deal with these problems related to women political participation in local level.

1.3 Research Rationale

The issue of women participation has been a central issue in Nepalese arena after People’s Movement II in Nepal. Women participation has been identified as most essential component in every level and sector. Many plans, policies and projects have been formulated to achieve the same objective. Many researchers have also studied about women’s health, knowledge and discrimination etc. but only a few researchers have studied women’s political participation in community level.

On the same background, it is hoped that the proposed study would prove to be a great asset in the studying about the vivid aspects of women’s participation in politics, their formation empowerment and role to be played in formation of the new democratic environment. The political leaders, planners and the activists would also get valuable insights from the result of this study. Since this suggests for the solution of women’s problems, it would also help in developing awareness and consciousness among the women in Nepal in the micro level.

1.4 Research Objectives

The general objective of the study was to analyze the level of political participation of women at the local level in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitian City.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of the study are as follows:

1. To describe the level of political participation of women in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City.
2. To find out the hindrances of women participation in politics.
3. To explore the responsive indicators that help increase women participation in politics.
4. To analyze the awareness, knowledge and capability of women for effective, efficient and qualitative participation in politics at local level.

1.5 Research Questions

The following research questions are formulated to accomplish the above mentioned objectives.

1. What is the state of political participation of women in the Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City?
2. How is the women participation in the Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City going on?
3. What may be the reason of such trend of women participation in the local level?
4. What are the hindrances of women participation in politics?
5. What are the level awareness, knowledge and capability of women for effective, efficient and qualitative participation in politics at local level?
6. What are the steps to be taken in order to increase the level of women participation in politics in local level?

1.6 Scope and Limitation of Research

This study was significant to explore the situation, identify the participation and examine the relation with various factors. It is helpful to disclose the situation of political participation of women and recommend for policy makers and every stake holders. In this study, an attempt was made to explore the situation of Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City in Kaski district.

The finding of the present study suffers the following limitations:

a) The study area has been confined to Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City of Kaski District. Thus the results of the study may be applicable to similar kind of situation analysis.
b) The study result may not be valid for over a longer period of time due to fast changing socio-economic setting in this study area.
c) The study was on micro basis, The result drawn from this study, therefore may have limited application i.e. the result of study on single city, cannot be assumed to provide information, capable of generalization of a region and have regional biasness but surely the broad similarities may provide come insight.

1.7. Operational Definition

Operational definition of level of political participation of women: Political participation is the involvement of women in decision making process, implementation, evaluation and benefit sharing. Here in this research level of political participation is mainly understood through the analysis of the women's involvement in different political parties and their wings as well as their achievement in local election 2074 from nomination to election result in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City.

CHAPTER-II

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Women’s political participation

Women constitute slightly more than half of the world population. Their contribution to the social and economic development of societies is also more than half as compared to that of men by virtue of their dual roles in the productive and reproductive spheres. Yet women’s participation in formal political structures and processes, where decisions regarding the use of societal resources generated by both men and women are made, remains insignificant. Presently, women’s representation in legislatures around the world is 15 percent. Despite the pronounced commitment of the international community to gender equality and to the bridging the gender gap in the formal political arena, reinforced by the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform of Action, there are only twelve countries where women hold 33% or more seats in the parliaments (UNDP Report, 2004).

Hence, women right moment which is burgee ongoing all over the world which aims at the reassertion and development process have to be viewed from the perspective of the marginalization and disempowerment of women while searching for and independent identity and ‘space’ for themselves. Women have seriously questioned and challenged the existing structures, mechanisms and value system in perspective of inequality and discrimination. Such efforts by women to reverse the situation have brought them into a situation of direct confrontation with forces of conservation and reaction. (Manandhar and Bhattachan; 2001)

Women constitute more than half of the electorate in almost all countries, where democratic elections are held and have demonstrated leadership and a distinctive approach to decision making. None the less both judicial and legislative branches of government remain dominated by man. Worldwide, man make-up the majority of individuals who pass, interpret and enforce laws. Many of these laws such as those related to violence against women, rights to own or inherit property, to divorce, to engage in commercial transactions and to numerous other issues are key to women’s empowerment (Rokkas & Dhungel: 2007).

At the dawn of 21st century, more than 90 percentage countries have granted women two fundamental democratic rights: the right to vote and to contest elections as candidates for public office. New Zealand was the first country in the world to grant women the voting rights as early as 1893. In 1906, New Zealand also became the first country to formalize these two rights as fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution of the state. Now women's participation in parliament is viewed as a necessary prerequisite of national political life the world over (NDI, 2010).

Political participation is the process of any voluntary action, successful or unsuccessful, organize or unorganized, intended to influence the choice of political leaders at any level of government, local or national. Political participation can be in formal politics or informal politics or, in case of women, in what can be designated as 'everyday' politics. There is little agreement on a common definition of political participation of women. In the course of time and space, the political participation of women has taken different forms that helped to shape political culture. For the purpose of this study, politics is understood in terms of allocation and distribution of power.

In general, structural factors of patriarchy have restricted and continue to restrict the full exercise of citizen rights by women. Patriarchy and exclusion persists as the bases of societal arrangement in which, values are gauged through macho and resist socio-cultural standards that discriminate against women's participation. This negative model and norm also perpetuates itself in the family and in inter personal relations. The high level of illiteracy and women's disadvantageous situation in terms of human development constitute a serious limitation to women's excess to politics. A group of women organized around gender issues is very small compared to the total number of women, (Montenegro, 2002). This may be the result of pressure in women not only from their unsupportive families but also the suppressive role of society.

Women's participation in local level politics is also shaped by various structural factors, such as the gendered division of domestic labor, marriage practices, lower educational opportunities for girl children, women's positioning in the waged economy, and gendered boundaries of mobility. As women take prime responsibility for domestic affairs, and increasingly take on agricultural work and side-line activities, they have been less time to participate in local governance processes. The gendered division of domestic life makes it easier for men to participate in local public affairs. As domestic work does not have neat boundaries of time, it can be difficult for women to participate in village election meetings that are held at lunch-time or in the evening, when the children need attending to and food preparation is underway. The absence of child care facilities during village assemblies or village election again militates against women's participation. The centering of women's lives around the household in turn contributes to a perception amongst village leaders, many villagers and government officials that they are less concerned with the outside world, and therefore less capable of understanding public affairs.

Howell (2006) argues that the role and participation of women in the society is bound to the families, and their motivations, interests, and values have been reduced due to the suppressive state apparatus and patriarchal domination. To engage in politics a woman must have a secure economic base, which present laws deny her. Moreover, she can be disinherited by her affinal household on grounds of infidelity, imagined or real. Engagement in politics requires mobility, and mobility entails association with people of one's own sex and the opposite sex. Such association always provides potential grounds for charges of infidelity.

2.1.1 Historical Background of Women's Participation in Politics in Nepal

The 'Women's Committee (Nari Samiti)' had conducted a campaign in the name of 'women's education' against Rana regime at Siraha in 1971. This was the first endeavor for women's advancement in Nepal. This Committee was formed in the initiation of women leaders Yog Maya Devi and Divya Devi Koirala (RSN,2009).

There was an active participation of women during the labour movement of Biratnagar in 1947. Many were arrested by the then Rana regime at that time. (Majupuria, 2007)Nepal Women's Association was formed in 1947 to work for women rights and freedom by women leaders close to different political parties. Mangala Devi Singh, Kamaksha Devi, Shreemaya Devi, Rajani Champa, Sahana Pradhan and Sadhana Pradhan were members of the first executive committee of the Association. Afterwards, women leaders affiliated to various political parties formed and conducted their own women organizations (Majupuria, 2007).

Moti Devi Shrestha was one of the five founding members of Nepal Communist Party established in 1949.Sadhana Adhikari was elected the member of Kathmandu Municipality in 1952 representing the Nepal Women's Association. In the election of 1958 at the national level, Dwarika Devi Thakurani was elected to the House of Representatives and became Assistant Minister. Similarly, Kamal Rana was nominated in the Upper House and became Vice-Chairperson of the same (Majupuria, 2007). The pace of campaign of women's political participation was interrupted due to the establishment of unitary Panchayati System by the then King Mahendra in 1960. This time, the parliamentary system was revoked and the popular government lead by B.P. Koirala was toppled by the King. During the 12 years period after success of popular movement of 1990, advocacy on women's issues continued at the national level. In this connection, voice was raised for gender equality and public consent was developed in favour of social, economic and political reformation (Majupuria, 2007).

Bhadra, C (2016) states that in the beginning of 1990s; various women's groups came together to advocate for women's rights. She further added that these groups specially worked for women's inheritance right, reproductive right, nationality and citizenship right, violence against women and most importantly women's political representation focusing on 1999 general election through the demand of increasing minimum candidacy from 5 percent to 10 percent. That resulted in the increment of women's political representation from 3.41 percent (in 1991 and 1994 general elections) to 5.9 percent (in 1999 general election).

There was significant participation of women in the street agitation against the King's action of 4th October 2002. The endorsement of inclusive democracy is seen in the Detailed Peace Accord between seven political parties and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2063. This is the recognition of women's contribution in the democratic movements (RSN, 2009)

Reported in Bhadra, C (2016) the representation of women in the Constituent Assembly 2008 was 33.2 percent likewise it was 29.5 percent in 2013. It was achieved due to the mandatory provision of 33 percent women's representation in the First Past the Post System and 50 percent in Proportional Representation in the Election Act 2007.

After the implementation of the Constitution of Nepal 2072, the issues of women participation in politics has been even more forwarded in the legal arena making about 30 percent of women representation in parliament as well as about 40 percent of women representation in local levels (Majupuria, 2007). The system enabling adequate representation of women by initiating to develop equitable society through the democracy of inclusive and participatory nature has been approved by all spheres. Women leaders have collectively addressed the need that all the responsible political parties should be serious for democratization of political changes.

2.1.2. Legal Provisions for increasing Women’s Political Participation in Nepal

Despite constitutional provisions and the participation of women in the 1990 movement for democracy, they have not been able to increase their political representation at various levels. Neither they have been able to increase their access to positions of power and decision making. The proportion of women in Parliament in 1996 was actually smaller than in the 1989 Panchayat Parliament. Similarly, the representation of women at VDC and district levels had not changed much until 1996 (Pradhan, 2006).

Legal provision was made in 1998 for reservation of women's seat in each Ward of the Village Development Committee or Municipality by amending the laws relating to the local body elections. After this, about 100,000 women participated in the local elections of 1998 and about 36,000 women were elected as VDC Members. However, very few women could be elected in the executive posts; for example: no women were elected in Mayor, Deputy Mayor and DDC Chairperson and only 289 Ward Chairpersons from a total of 35,217 Wards from 3913 VDCs (Killing, 2058). In 1998 elections of VDC, Municipality and DDC, 7.7 percentage, 6.7percentage and 19.5percentage women were elected in these bodies respectively (Election Commission 2001).

The new Constitution makes provision to reserve 33 per cent of government positions for women, and 33 per cent of parliamentary seats under Article 84(8). Article 86 (2)(a) stipulates that three seats in the 59-member national assembly are to be reserved for women, out of eight members to be elected from each of the seven provinces. A-86(2)(b) further stipulates that three members, at least one of them a woman, are to be nominated by the President in the Upper House, according to the recommendation of the Government(Constitution of Nepal, 2015) .

Similarly, Article 70 has provision that President and Vice-President of Nepal is to be from different sex or community whereas Article-91(2) has another provision that out of Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, one is reserved for woman. On the same way, in Article-92(2) there is next provision that out of Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly, one is reserved for woman and on Article 182(2), it is mentioned that Out of State Speaker and the Deputy State Speaker of the State Assembly, one is reserved for woman. Similarly, Article 252 has the provision of National Women Commission for the overall coordination of the women’s issues as a constitutional commission (Constitution of Nepal, 2015).

Moreover, on the same ground of the implementation of the constitution, Local Level Election Act, 2017 has increased the level to at least 40 percent. Under Article 6 (2) out of 5 ward committee, seats of 2 ward members are reserved for women in which one has been reserved for dalit women. Similarly, on Article 17(4) of the same act, it has been clearly mentioned that when giving nomination of the candidate, each political party has to make sure that out of major posts in local level such as Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson of Municipality, Rural Municipality as well as District Coordination Committee, fifty percent should be female (Local Body Election Act 2072).

Thus, in conclusion we can get the result that women participation is needed in every level for equal development of the country and Nepal is progressing in the field of political participation. But the research on women’s political participation in local level has hardly been carried on. Although we can observe positive statistics in the higher level and some bigger cities, the level in local level seems to be impressive. This work is carried on as none of the research has been carried to make an assessment of political participation of women in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City. Thus, on the basis of the above discussed literatures, the study has explored the role and participation of women local level politics of Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitian City.

CHAPTER III

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

On the basis literature review as well as observations, we can find that first stage for political participation starts from political awareness and ends on political decision making. This phenomenon is affected by different other socio-economic involvements of women such as age, caste/ethnicity, marital status and qualification etc. Also since every political party has their different ideologies and agendas also have their own interests. Thus these two variables are also considered as the independent variables. The association differs from setting to setting. Hence, on the basis of review of the existing literature, following conceptual framework has been drawn for the study of women’s political participation in the local level.

Figure 3.1 Schematic Diagram of Theoretical Conceptual Framework

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Study Area

For the empirical data for this study, the Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City of Kaski district has been selected. It is almost overlapping the Pokhara Valley. It is connected to Madi and Rupa Rural Municipality in the east and Annapurna Rural Municipality in the west. On the north lies Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality whereas on the south Syangja and Tanahun districts are located. The map of study area is presented below:

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: The Commission to Determine the Number and Border of the Village Bodies, Municipalities, and Special, Protected and Autonomous Areas (2016)

Pokhara was declared as Sub-Metropolitan city on 18th Magh 2052 with the area of 225.65 square km. After mixing with Lekhnath Municipality as well as some other Village Development Committees in various times, it was declared as the ​​Pokhara-Lekhnath Metropolitan City on of 27th of Falgun, 2073 with the area of 464.24 square km. The total population of this metropolitan is 4, 02, and 995. The center of Metropolitan Municipality is located at the then Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan Office, The total population of this metropolitan is 402,995 residing in 105, 630 households. Out of these population, percentage of them are female whereas percentage of them are only males. The data can be as presented below:

Table 4.1 Sex -ratio of Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan Annual Progress Report, 2017

The PLMC is divided into 33 wards which is the lowest political and administrative unit in the three level structure of the administration system.

4.2 Research Design

The study was an explorative as well as descriptive approach to achieve the objectives. The descriptive design was implied as to show the clear picture of political participation of women in study area. It was also designed to explore the various factors regarding political participation of women. So the research was both explorative and descriptive types.

4.3 Nature and Sources of Data

The main source of data was primary. The primary data was collected using both qualitative as well as quantitative methods but mainly qualitative one. Primary data has been collected via the field study and questionnaire survey. Other participatory means viz. Key Informant Interview, Scheduled Interview, and Observation etc. while the secondary data has been collected from journals, articles, internet sources and other published sources.

4.4 Population of the Study

The study area consists of 33 Wards of Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City. In the local election, in all the total number of candidates taking part as the candidates of Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ward Chairperson & Ward Members of 33 wards as well as Municipal Executive was 343. Only 74 of them were elected in various posts from two political parties CPN (UML) and Nepali Congress. Thus, for our study, all the candidates in the election ie. 343, was our total population. The details of our population is as given below.

Table 4.2 Status of Female Candidates in Local Election as per Gender

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: Election Commission, Kaski, 2017

4.5 Sample Size and Sampling Procedure

The sample size is calculated by using' Raosoft' (Available online: http: //www.raosoft .com/ samplesize.html) in which the population is 343;margin of error is 10percent;confidence level is 90 percent and response distribution is 50 percent ,with this the sample size required for the study is 57. In term of the numbers we selected above, the sample size n and the margin of error E are given by:

X = Z(C/100)[2]r(100-r)

N = Nx/((N-1)E[2]+x)

E = Squart[(N-n)x/n(N-1) ]

Where, N is population size, r is the fraction of responses that we need and Z(c/100) is the critical value for the confident level c. The calculated sample size was 57. However while tabulating the data collected from questionnaire survey total of 50 valid responses have been established and analyzed. Seven responses were not valid for analysis.

Table 4.3: Sampling Framework

Following table show the sampling framework for the research.

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

4.6 Methods of Data Collection

4.6.1 Primary data collection

Primary data has been collected using the following tools. The following sorts of the methods have been used for it.

4.6.1.1 Questionnaire Survey

Interviewer-administered questionnaire survey with standardized questionnaires has been done to elicit information from the respondent. The questionnaire to be used in this process is as presented in Appendix I.

4.6.1.2 Key Informant Interview (KII)

In order to collect a variety of information and ideas regarding the study, KII has been focused on the trend of political participation of women, its patterns and its determinants. During discussion Deputy Mayor and Ward Chairperson elected in the local level election has been participated and KII has been conducted as per the checklist presented in Appendix III.

4.6.2 Secondary Data Collection

Secondary data has been collected from various published and unpublished materials, websites, Municipality profiles, etc.

The qualitative and quantitative data collected from the study has been analyzed using statistical packages SPSS, MS Excel, for qualitative analysis, the information collected from self-observation, discussion with user group members and data obtained from the household survey has been compared and analyzed with descriptive methods.

4.7 Analytical Framework

The primary data collected from the study has been analyzed and presented using statistical software such as SPSS version 20.0 and MS Excel program. The findings of the data has been presented and interpreted by using simple statistical tools such as charts, tables, figures, pie charts and bar. For qualitative analysis, the information collected from self-observation, discussion with user group members and data obtained from the household survey has been compared and analyzed with descriptive methods.

4.8 Reliability and Validity of Tool

The reliability of the data depended primarily upon the respondents. To overcome the limitation of the interview the clarity of the purpose and implication of the study was unveiled. The clear and short questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire was prepared under the rigorous supervision of supervisor. The questionnaire was translated into Nepali version re-translated to English version by independent experts. The final version was compared with old version and necessary correction had made. Still the data from samples and secondary sources were verified by various methods of crosschecking and triangulation to each other.

CHAPTER V

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPETATION

This chapter gives account to the results found after the data has been analyzed. This chapter is divided into two major sections. The first section discusses the secondary data extracted from Election Commission. It is based on the Detail Report of Local Election 2017 published by Election Commission; Kaski after the election was finished. Similarly, the second section is based on the primary data evolved by the primary data collection method using the Structured Questionnaire as well as Key Informant Interviews. In this part, the analysis of the socio-demographic factors, economic factors and political leadership related factors were done.

5.1 Women Participation in Politics: An Overview of Local Election, 2017 in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City

The Local Election, 2017 was the matter of pride from the perspective of women participation. It was the election to achieve the highest representation of women at the local level all over the nation and thus in Kaski district as well as in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City too. The participation of female was higher from the candidacy up to the winners too. These can be as presented below.

5.1.1 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per their Achievement

In the election there were total of 859 candidates for different posts. In all of those candidates, 343 (39.9percent) of them were female as well as 516 (60.1percent) were male. Out of these numbers, 101 (57.7percent) males were elected whereas only 74 (42.3pecent) females were elected in various posts. This shows that although there were less proportion of female candidates in ground, but due to reservation quotas assured by the Local Election Act 2017, the proportion of female increased in the elected list. The details of the overview of the status of the candidates in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City is as given below on the table.

Table 5.1. Status of Candidates in Local Election as per their Achievement

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: Election Commission, Kaski, 2017

Out of 516 male who filled candidacy, 101 were elected i.e. 19.57 percent only, while 343 women filled the candidacy among them 74 were elected i.e. 21.57 percent. The ratio of women elected to the ration of women filling candidacy is higher than the ration of male elected to the male filling candidacy.

5.1.2 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Designation

In the election there were total of 859 candidates in different posts/designations. Majorly the designations of the candidates are Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ward Chairperson in every ward, 4 Ward Members in every Wards and 8 Municipal Executives. Out of these 4 ward members, 2 are open where as 2 are reservation for female; 1 for female open and the next female Dalits. In 8 Municipal Executives also, 5 are reserved for female whereas 3 for Dalits and minority community. In the pattern of the candidacy, we can find that in the major posts where there is no female reservation, very few female candidates have given their candidacy, for example only 2 female candidates were candidates of Mayor in which all of them were from very less powerful political parties and also got nominal votes. Similarly, in Ward Chairperson also only 10 (5.1percent) of total candidates in that post were female. On the other hand, on the post of Ward Member Open, only 14 (4.3percent) of the total candidates in that post were female. This shows that if there was no provision of reservation quotas assured by Local Election Act 2017, the proportion of female was not expected to be increased in this level. The details of the overview of the status of the candidates as per designation in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City is as given below on the table.

Table 5.2: Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Designation (filling candidacy)

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

Table 5.3: Status of Candidates in Local Election as per their Designation (elected)

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: Election Commission, Kaski, 2017

5.1.3 Status of Winners in Local Election as per the Designation

In the election 859 candidates were in the election ground for total 175 total seats in different posts/designations. Nearly above 40percent of the seats were reserved for females from the Local Election Act 2017. It was observed that in this election, beyond these reserved seats only two female got victories and all the other were elected on those reserved seats. Thus, although reservation was of 40.57 percentages but 42.3 percentage of female were elected in different wards. Two female leaders got victory in Ward Chairperson and the next in Ward Member Open. All other leaders were selected on the women reservations. The details of the status of winners in this election as per their designation as well as their gender is as given below in the table.

5.1.4 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Wards

When we go through the status of the female candidacy in various wards, we can get that most of them have given candidacy in female reservation seats. The number of female candidates were in the highest number in Ward No. 14, where 17 candidates were in the field out of total 35 total candidates in that ward. Similarly, talking about the percentage proportion of female, Ward No. 30 is the ward having female candidates more than males and also the highest proportion of female in the election ground. It is the same ward where Pokhara University is located too. In this ward out of 23 total candidates, 12 (52.2percent) were females. The detail of the status of candidates as per wards is given in the Appendix IV.

Note: Table 5.4 is in appendix IV.

5.1.5 Status of Winners in Local Election as per the Wards

The major factor of increasing the Women Participation in this local election was the provision made in the Local Election Act 2017. As per the act slightly above 40% of the seats were reserved for women. This was almost double that the provision of local election of last time held on 1997. But the trend was observed that most of the females were candidates in those reserved seats only and thus the result was also similar that female won only in those seats only. When we go through the status of the female winners in various wards, we can get only 2 female candidates won in the open seats and rests of all were elected in female reservation seats. Ward Chairperson of Ward No. 1 and Ward Member Open in Ward No. 17 were the two posts won by females in open seats. The detail of the status of winners as per wards is given on the table below.

Table 5.4 Winners of Local Election as per Ward

Abbildung in dieser leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: Election Commission, Kaski, 2017

5.1.6 Status of Candidates in Local Election as per the Political Parties

When we go through the status of the female candidacy as per political parties, we can observe that most of the political parties has balanced the proportion above 33 percent in overall. Major political parties CPN (UML), Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party has given candidacy more than 40 percentage of seats for female leaders as candidates from these parties. Nepali Congress is the party having highest number of female candidate in this local election which had 75 candidates followed by CPN (UML) 74 out of 175 total candidates. Proportionately, Nepal Pariwar Dal had the highest proportion of female candidates 50 percentage but the fact behind is that it had only 4 candidates out of which 2 were females.

[...]