Kathmandu, Jan. 15 -- An ongoing impasse over the Speaker at the House of Representatives has once more brought to the fore the power struggle within the ruling Nepal Community Party between an ailing prime minister and a prime minister-in-waiting. And in this battle of the alpha males of Nepali politics, it is the appointment of women in decision-making positions that is the casualty.
The post of the Speaker has been vacant since the former speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara was arrested on charges of rape of a parliamentary colleague in September. Nepal's Constitution requires that the Speaker and deputy must be of different parties and different genders.
Current deputy speaker Shivamaya Tumbahangphe is from the former UML component of the ...