Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Friday formed a 15-member Cabinet that includes five women ministers, marking 33 per cent female representation.
The newly appointed ministers took the oath of office and secrecy on Friday, administered by President Ram Chandra Paudel.
Nisha Mehta with the Health Ministry portfolio, Pratibha Rawal with the Federal Affairs General Administration and Cooperatives Ministry, Sobita Gautam with the Law and Justice portfolio, and Sita Badi with the Women and Children portfolio are the five women ministers inducted into the Balen cabinet.
This is probably the highest in number in the political history of Nepal.
There is a provision in the constitution that requires 33 per cent seat reservation for women in every state organisation, including the Parliament and the Cabinet. However, the provision was never implemented.
In the past, there were usually 1 or 2 women in the Cabinet. In this situation, the Balen Cabinet is highly inclusive, say observers.
This is for the first time in the political history of Nepal that such a large representation of women has been made in the Cabinet, which is a positive aspect of the Balen government, remarked Dinesh Tripathi, senior advocate and constitutional expert.
Although there is a provision that every state organ should have 33 per cent women representation, it has never been implemented, he pointed out.
"This makes the cabinet a highly inclusive one, and this is very much appreciable."
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