Women, Peace and Security in Review

The text introduces a research volume reviewing women's political empowerment in post-war Nepal. It situates the Nepali experience within the global United Nations Women, Peace and Security (WPS) framework, specifically UNSCR 1325. The authors highlight Nepal's milestones, such as the election of its first female President and Speaker, and the adoption of a National Action Plan on WPS. However, they note a gap in scholarly research regarding the political agency of female ex-combatants, who made up a significant portion of the Maoist People's Liberation Army. The volume aims to analyze whether increased female participation in governance and activism has led to genuine social transformation and gender equality.

• Nepal has achieved several landmarks in women's political representation following its civil war, including a 33 per cent share of women in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election and the election of the country's first female President, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, and first female Speaker, Onsari Gharti Magar.
• In 2011, Nepal became the first country in South Asia to adopt a National Action Plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820.
• Female combatants represented a significant portion of the Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA), comprising one-third of the force in some districts and up to 50 per cent in highly mobilized areas; the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) verified that 19.63 per cent (3,846 out of 19,602) of total PLA ex-combatants were women.
• Despite their numbers, the political agency of female ex-combatants is largely ignored in Nepal's National Action Plan, which treats them primarily as recipients of social rehabilitation or humanitarian aid.
• Global implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda remains insufficient; as of March 2017, 63 UN member states had adopted National Action Plans, but women remain severely under-represented in peace processes, making up only 2 per cent of chief mediators, 4 per cent of witnesses or signatories, and 9 per cent of negotiators in a study of 31 major processes.
• Research indicates that the actual influence women exert on a peace process is more critical for the successful reaching and implementation of peace agreements than the mere numerical count of women included.

APA

Kolås, Å., & Tryggestad, T. L. (n.d.). Women, Peace and Security in Review. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3c5f0425-77d2-44a5-a798-776d06b4394c/INTRODUCTION Women Peace and Security in Nepal.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Kolås, Åshild, and Torunn L. Tryggestad. Women, Peace and Security in Review. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3c5f0425-77d2-44a5-a798-776d06b4394c/INTRODUCTION Women Peace and Security in Nepal.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kolås |first1=Åshild |last2=Tryggestad |first2=Torunn L. |title=Women, Peace and Security in Review |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3c5f0425-77d2-44a5-a798-776d06b4394c/INTRODUCTION Women Peace and Security in Nepal.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kolsndwomen, author = {Kolås, Åshild and Tryggestad, Torunn L.}, title = {{Women, Peace and Security in Review}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3c5f0425-77d2-44a5-a798-776d06b4394c/INTRODUCTION Women Peace and Security in Nepal.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }