KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress central committee member and head of the party’s Professional and Intellectuals Department, Dr. Dila Sangraula, has strongly objected to the government’s proposal to amend the law in a way that could grant legal recognition to polygamy.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Sangraula, a former president of the Nepal Women’s Association, said polygamy remains a criminal offence under Nepal’s Penal Code and any attempt to amend this provision would be unacceptable.
“Polygamy is a criminal act,” her statement read. “This proposed amendment runs counter to Nepal’s social, cultural, and moral foundations. At a time when the country faces numerous pressing issues, it is unclear why the government has chosen to ‘play an untimely flute’ by raising this matter now.”
Sangraula argued that polygamy violates the principles of gender equality and human rights, undermines women’s dignity and self-respect, and deepens inequality and division between men and women. She also contended that the proposed legal change would insult women at large.
Rejecting the claim that polygamy could offer women security, Sangraula called such reasoning patriarchal thinking that, under the guise of protecting one woman, would harm the dignity and rights of another.
She warned that legalising polygamy would exacerbate violence against women, domestic conflict, sexual exploitation, and inequality, all in violation of Nepal’s Constitution, past rulings of the Supreme Court, and the country’s international commitments. She urged the government to withdraw the draft before it is tabled in Parliament.
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