Nepal’s Supreme Court Rules on Citizenship for Women Married to Foreigners

Nepal’s Supreme Court has ruled that a Nepali woman who marries a foreigner is still entitled to citizenship by descent, despite the country’s laws previously suggesting otherwise.

The court’s decision was made in response to a petition filed by Sukumaya Lama, a Nepali woman who married a foreigner and was subsequently denied citizenship by descent for her children.

According to Nepal’s constitution, a person is entitled to citizenship by descent if their father or mother is a Nepali citizen at the time of their birth. However, the country’s citizenship laws had previously stated that a Nepali woman who marries a foreigner is not entitled to citizenship by descent.

The Supreme Court’s decision has clarified that a Nepali woman’s marriage to a foreigner does not affect her right to citizenship by descent. The court ruled that Lama, who had been denied citizenship by descent for her children, was entitled to citizenship by descent and ordered the relevant authorities to issue her a citizenship certificate.

The court’s decision is seen as a significant victory for women’s rights in Nepal, where women have long faced discrimination in terms of citizenship and inheritance.

Lama, who had been living in Nepal with her two daughters, had been fighting for citizenship by descent for over a decade. She had been denied citizenship by the district administration office, which had cited the country’s laws as the reason for the denial.

The Supreme Court’s decision has paved the way for other Nepali women who have married foreigners to apply for citizenship by descent. The court’s ruling is also expected to have implications for the country’s laws and policies related to citizenship and women’s rights.