Kathmandu, Feb. 1 -- Late in December, a Facebook user uploaded a photo showing Ranju Darshana, a leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, placing her hand on her pregnant belly. The caption read, ''I decided to stay in the proportional representation list due to my health condition: Ranju Darshana.'' The comments the post received were far from encouraging. "If she is pregnant, I don't think she will be able to work," one user declared. "It would have been better if she stayed at home rather than on the PR list," another wrote. A majority of the over 500 comments under the post were critical about Darshana's decision, with some of them verging on the abusive.

The implication was that a pregnant woman cannot take up leadership roles and t...