October 28
Blog post
Bidhya Devi Bhandari, the deputy leader of Nepal’s national communist party has been elected president by Nepal’s parliament. Bhandari, a Marxist/Leninist, has been known to focus on women’s rights, and vows to add sex and gender equality to Nepal’s constitution. Winning by a landslide vote of 327-214 in parliament, she since has led a coalition on the old laws in the country, geared against women.
This article is interesting; it hits me in two different places: first of all pride in the change Nepal has gone through in the last 10 years. The change is amazing. It is fantastic that women are being treated better given better opportunities and are still experiencing beneficial changes. On the other hand it is also interesting to see parliament elects a Marxist woman of a communist party. It seems like every American conservatives nightmare. Fifty years ago this action could have even called for war or sanctions during the red scare.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/nepalese-parliament-first-female-president-bidhya-devi-bhandari