Five women in Balen’s 15-member cabinet

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has appointed five women lawmakers as ministers in his cabinet.

Out of 15 members in the new Council of Ministers, five are women. This means women have 33% representation in the new cabinet.

Three of these ministers hold two portfolios each. Nisha Mehta has taken charge of two ministries—the Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Water Supply. Similarly, Pratibha Rawal is overseeing two ministries—the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation. Geeta Chaudhary has assumed office of two ministries—the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the Ministry of Forests and Environment

Similarly, Sobita Gautam has been appointed as Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and Sita Badi as Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens.

Of these five lawmakers, only one, Sobita Gautam, was elected under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. The remaining four were elected under the proportional representation (PR) system. Except for Sobita, all were elected to the House of Representatives for the first time.