The Brief: Sumina Rai Karki on Gendered Election Processes

Ep. Br#002 The 2017 elections were lauded for their cognizance of the historically bleak presence of women in the political sphere of Nepal, to overcome this, the State mandated a Quota reserve of 40.4% of all nominee seats for women. The policy affirmed the presence and participation of Nepali women in politics, as approximately 14,000 women were elected into different positions in the Nepali Government. In this episode of The Brief: PEI colleague Khushi Hang sits with Sumina Rai Karki to discuss the latest paper she co-authored, “Beyond Capacity”. As the tenure of the first set of elected officials in this particular inclusion quota comes to an end, Sumina Rai Karki et al. gauge the effectiveness of the affirmative action policies for women against the backdrop of Nepali patriarchal psycho-social contexts in their paper “Beyond Capacity”. The two explore what gendered implications exist in the informal or unofficial aspects of Nepali elections that hinder women’s chances at merit-based political opportunities during candidacy and their agency once they assume office. Sumina shares their findings on the challenges that limit the supply of politically ambitious women and signals the need for smarter policy interventions from the State and Development Partners that address the barriers that prevent women from fulfilling the space and responsibilities of the quota. Sumina Karki is a development professional and researcher with ten years of experience in gender equity, social inclusion, governance, and peacebuilding. Currently, she is the Assistant Director of Social Development Programs at the Asia Foundation Nepal office. She is a founding member of Chaukath, a feminist collective that organized the Vote for Women Campaign and several feminist reading sessions along with March as Women in collaboration with Martin Chautari.