Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has announced plans to amend the Nepal Citizenship Act to ensure the right to obtain citizenship through the mother’s name.
Speaking at the National Assembly’s Legislative Management Committee meeting during discussions on the Nepal Citizenship (Second Amendment) Bill, he emphasized provisions allowing citizenship through the mother’s name if the father is deceased, uncooperative in granting citizenship during his lifetime, or if he has remarried.
Lekhak clarified that there is no obligation to recognize a father as such if he has not shown parental care or affection. He also noted that the bill is being advanced following a directive from the Supreme Court urging the government to facilitate citizenship through the mother’s name.
The bill allows citizenship based on the mother’s self-declaration. This provision aims to protect the rights of children born abroad or whose mothers return to Nepal during pregnancy but cannot trace the father.
“We have simplified the process for obtaining citizenship through the mother’s name. If the father has died or has not cooperated despite being alive, citizenship can be granted through the mother’s name. If the father is missing or has remarried, the child can get citizenship from the mother. The Supreme Court has also issued directives to the government regarding this,” Minister Lekhak stated.
He further explained that the bill ensures citizenship even if the child refuses to take the father’s name when obtaining citizenship through the mother’s name. The government’s intention is to uphold women’s rights in line with the spirit of the constitution.
This amendment responds to situations where mothers travel abroad and give birth or return to Nepal during pregnancy without knowing the father’s whereabouts. If the child has not acquired foreign citizenship, citizenship can be granted to both mother and child based on the mother’s self-declaration, securing their rights.
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