SINHAS Vol 30 No 2 Chihiro Kawaguchi
Gendered Statelessness and Prospects for Reform: Analyzing Barriers to Obtaining Nepali Citizenship Certificates
Chihiro Kawaguchi
Abstract
This article examines the remaining barriers to women and their children obtaining citizenship certificates in Nepal, despite the promulgation of the 2015 Constitution and the 2023 amendment to the Nepal Citizenship Act. Through ethnographic fieldwork and critical analysis of legal texts conducted in Kathmandu and Kapilvastu from 2023 to 2025, this study unveils how children of single mothers in Nepal remain at risk of statelessness due to discriminatory clauses in the Act, misinterpretations of the law, bureaucratic discretion, and deeply entrenched patriarchal norms. This article also highlights that, while the current citizenship regime has its roots in Panchayat nationalism initiated in the name of “modernization,” it has produced outcomes fundamentally incompatible with a modern state—most notably by exposing children of Nepali single mothers to the risk of statelessness. The study further finds that grassroots activism has played a role in addressing similar situations. In Kapilvastu, local women’s networks have emerged as significant actors in the acquisition of citizenship certificates, engaging in bureaucratic negotiation and community organizing. Their efforts exemplify Arjun Appadurai’s concept of “deep democracy” and suggest alternative pathways to support the acquisition of citizenship certificates through women’s solidarity and intersectional collaboration. This grassroots practice may offer new perspectives for Nepali society that can challenge the static argument of patriarchal nationalism lingering to this day.
Keywords: Statelessness, citizenship, single mothers, grassroots solidarity, state patriarchy
Gendered Statelessness and Prospects for Reform: Analyzing Barriers to Obtaining Nepali Citizenship Certificates
Chihiro Kawaguchi
Abstract
This article examines the remaining barriers to women and their children obtaining citizenship certificates in Nepal, despite the promulgation of the 2015 Constitution and the 2023 amendment to the Nepal Citizenship Act. Through ethnographic fieldwork and critical analysis of legal texts conducted in Kathmandu and Kapilvastu from 2023 to 2025, this study unveils how children of single mothers in Nepal remain at risk of statelessness due to discriminatory clauses in the Act, misinterpretations of the law, bureaucratic discretion, and deeply entrenched patriarchal norms. This article also highlights that, while the current citizenship regime has its roots in Panchayat nationalism initiated in the name of “modernization,” it has produced outcomes fundamentally incompatible with a modern state—most notably by exposing children of Nepali single mothers to the risk of statelessness. The study further finds that grassroots activism has played a role in addressing similar situations. In Kapilvastu, local women’s networks have emerged as significant actors in the acquisition of citizenship certificates, engaging in bureaucratic negotiation and community organizing. Their efforts exemplify Arjun Appadurai’s concept of “deep democracy” and suggest alternative pathways to support the acquisition of citizenship certificates through women’s solidarity and intersectional collaboration. This grassroots practice may offer new perspectives for Nepali society that can challenge the static argument of patriarchal nationalism lingering to this day.
Keywords: Statelessness, citizenship, single mothers, grassroots solidarity, state patriarchy