Nepal Elected Its Second President Ever, And She’s A Woman!

Credit: BBC
Credit: BBC


History has been made in Nepal!  Under the new constitution adopted by the South Asian country last month, the Nepalese Parliament is required to elect a woman to the office of president or vice president and to reserve one-third of parliamentary seats for women.

The newly adopted constitution contributed to a bit of political upheaval but was followed through with just last week. In keeping with the outlined requirement, the country elected its first female president, Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

President Bhandari, a member of the Unified Marxist-Leninist Communist party, is the country’s second president ever! Before her, Nepal was ruled by a monarch.

NDTV reports that: 

“Ms Bhandari, a rare female face in Nepal’s parliament, took up politics in her teens, seeking to overturn the absolute monarchy and later marrying a fellow communist, Madan Bhandari.

But it was after her husband’s death in a vehicle accident in 1993 that the mother of two became a prominent voice, riding a wave of sympathy to win a seat in parliament.

Ms Bhandari, 54, is the second woman to be elected to a senior position since then, after Ms Magar became the country’s first female Speaker of the parliament.”

The female president definitely has her work cut out for her, but many are confident in her abilities and are sure she will benefit Nepal’s women population and minorities – if she can convince them she’s on their side.

Credit: YahooNews
Credit: YahooNews

She will also be tasked with handling the aftermath of a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake which rocked the country in April of this year.

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