Dipika Soni of Nepalgunj-8 in Banke district regularly visits the High Court in Tulasipur and District Administration Office (DAO) seeking citizenship in her mother’s name for the past one year.  She is trying to get a citizenship certificate through her mother’s name since her father does not have a citizenship certificate. After all her attempts she has drawn a blank.

“The High Court has already notified the DAO to issue citizenship by descent in my mother’s name within a month on May 31, 2017, but the DAO officials insist on my for father’s citizenship,” said Dipika. 

She is trying to get the citizenship certificate on the basis of her mother Purnima Soni’s citizenship.

The Citizenship Act 2006 was amended to allow women the right to pass on citizenship to their children.

Like Dipika, eight people of Banke and Bardiya districts are facing difficulties to get citizenship through their mother’s name. Ganesh BK of Khajurakhurda in Janaki Rural Municipality, Banke said that the DAO has denied him citizenship for a long time though the court ordered the DAO to issue the citizenship based on his mother’s name. Govinda’s father, who went to India in search of a job, is out of contact for a long time. 

Sweta Shreebastab of Gulariya Municipality-6 in Bardiya, who is a nursing graduate, said she needs Nepali Citizenship to do a job. “The High Court ordered the DAO to provide the citizenship from my mother’s name on February 27, 2016. The Apex Court upheld the case, but, Bardiya administration is not implementing the decision,” said Shreebastab. 

“The local administration should respect the court orders. The officials do not implement the order under various pretexts,” said advocate Sunil Shrestha, who has been providing legal assistance to the people. 

Banke Chief District Officer Ramesh KC said they are facing difficulties to issue the citizenship by descent in the mother’s name as the new constitutional provision and the Citizenship Act 2006 contradict themselves.

“The details of three generations should be made available to issue citizenship by descent. Though the Court has ordered to issue citizenship from mother’s name, people who are trying to acquire citizenship through mother’s name could not disclose nationality of their fathers,” said CDO KC, informing that those people are not willing to take naturalized citizenship certificates.