In this opinion, Rita Manchanda takes a look at progress made in the representation of Nepali women in politics and in the recognition of their rights, since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006. She also examines how the country’s current political crisis threatens to unravel recent progress in this matter.

This opinion is the third in a series of five commissioned in 2010 to leading practitioners and analysts in the fields of mediation and peacemaking, gender relations, international security and peace processes. This series seeks to mark the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for more involvement of women in conflict resolution and greater consideration of gender issues in peace processes. It is produced as part of the HD Centre’s project, ‘Women at the Table: Asia Pacific’, which brings together high-level women active in peacemaking across the Asia-Pacific region to identify and employ strategies for improving the contribution of women to, and participation in, peace processes.