Nepali and foreign experts have called for the formulation of women-centric policies and urged the government to prepare the framework to guarantee more inclusive and equitable representation and examine how the feminist approach can enhance Nepal’s presence in international forums.

Speaking at an event organised by the Centre for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy (CESIF) on ‘Shaping Nepal’s Future: Prospect and Roadmap for Feminist Foreign Policy’, the experts dwelt on various aspects of integrating feminist foreign policy (FFP) principles into Nepal’s foreign policy framework to make it more inclusive and equitable.

Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal said that feminist foreign policy is slowly gaining ground in countries like Nepal. Outlining Nepal’s national and international commitments to gender equality, she noted, “We are gradually improving women’s representation in Nepal’s executive, legislative, and judicial bodies, as well as in the civil service… following continuous advocacy from gender activists and organisations.”

Stating that Nepal has achieved gender-based milestones in several areas, she said the country still has a long way to go to attain gender parity and ensure that its foreign policy incorporates feminist principles.

Anjan Shakya, a member of the National Assembly, emphasised international mechanisms and Nepal’s constitutional provisions promoting women’s participation but highlighted the persistent lack of women in high-level positions. “The legal provisions instil great hope among women and girls at the grassroots level, inspiring them to become tomorrow’s leaders,” she said.

Presenting a paper, Niha Pandey, a PhD Candidate at Gender Peace and Security Centre of Monash University, delved into Nepal’s unique position and potential in integrating feminist foreign policy principles and examined how Nepal’s geopolitical realities, history of women’s movements, and experiences of multiple crises converge to shape its foreign policy landscape.

“Nepal, as a peripheral state experiencing multiple crises, can pursue a feminist foreign policy based on gender equality … and a progressive vision of non-alignment, peace, equality and justice,” she said.

Simi Mehta, CEO and editorial director of the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi, explored the evolution of feminist foreign policy in South Asia, highlighting challenges rooted in patriarchal attitudes, advancements made by feminist movements, and the necessity to re-envision gender structures in foreign policy. “Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP), relegated to the margins for decades, now seems to be gaining firm roots,” she noted.

Victoria Scheyer, executive director of the German Association for Peace and Conflict Studies, discussed lessons from Germany’s implementation pathways and challenges, and emphasised feminist foreign policy’s significance in centering global gender equality and addressing invisible power structures, highlighting FFP as a tool for analysis and justice commitment. While doing so, “we should be realistic about what these FFP concepts mean because different actors have diverse perspectives and agenda, which may not readily coincide with those from grassroots activists and community leaders.”

Citing examples of activists such as Yog Maya, Mangala Devi, and Sahana Pradhan, former deputy speaker Pampha Bhusal argued that the feminist movement in Nepal started decades ago. However, “despite the advancement of the activism’s rights-based approach, several implementation challenges persist.”

Scheyer pointed out youth participation, political will, and appropriate resource allocation as crucial factors that helped the feminist foreign policy agenda in Germany.

Former member of the National Human Rights Commission Mohna Ansari said that Nepal has been unable to translate its constitutional and international commitments on gender equality as regards foreign policy issues.

Rojee Kattel shared her experience working at the US Embassy, highlighting some of its initiatives such as outreach and diversity internship programmes, targeted to marginalised populations.

During another panel discussion session, Felicity Volk, the Australian ambassador to Nepal, said: “In everything I do as a diplomat here in Nepal, I use a gender equality lens … which helps me navigate the personal and the political.”

UNDP Resident Representative Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labe said: “A part of my job is also to make sure that it is not a one-woman show because that is how we make an impact.” Patricia Fernandez-Pacheco, the UN Women Country Representative, outlined three qualities of women leaders as responsibilities and accountability, their desire for peaceful resolution of conflict in society, and supporting each other's achievement.

She also commended Nepal’s progressive legal framework and advanced civic space that can be leveraged to implement a feminist foreign policy.

Academician Meena Poudel said that Nepal’s economy is largely funded by remittance from labour migration. “However, we lack a foreign employment act and women’s inclusion in it.”

Bringing in her experience in education, Neeti Aryal Khanal said there has always been a huge backlash against gender studies as an academic discipline, almost everywhere in the world, and Nepal is no exception. Sucheta Pyakurel from the IIDS talked about how international relations heavily borrow a masculine perspective. “When the state itself is masculine, representation of women is questionable in the present context, and thus, the policy-making process suffers when we lack real women representation,” she said.

Drawing from his long experience as a Nepali bureaucrat working on climate change issues, Batu Krishna Upreti stated that most climate policies and adaptation plans after 2010 accommodate feminist perspectives but there is a gap in their implementation.