Kathmandu celebrated an early Deepawali this year as inhabitants took to the streets on September 20th to welcome the new constitution. Celebrations were definitely in order - after all, this was a constitution that abolished the death penalty, secured the rights of the LGBTI community, conferred equal property rights on Nepal's sons and daughters, and most importantly, reinstated the country's secular democratic credentials, despite much pressure from certain sections of Indian society. Why then were Nepali women still unhappy? Why did thousands of them come out on the streets in the run up to September 20th? What were those die-ins and week-long fasts all about?
A sleep-in protest held in capital city Kathmandu. Photo: Badri Pun.
