I know, I know. It is impossible for women to become King. They can only become queen. Well, let me tell you the story and then it is up to you to decide whether I am right or wrong. To the best of my knowledge, Nepal did not have any female monarch in its history. The present royal family has a male only succession system. The ruling Shah dynasty is ruling Nepal since the middle of the 18th century. Now, all that is going to change. The Nepalese cabinet headed by Koirala apprived a bill to put into the parliament that would change the male only succession system for the monarchy.
After the legislation is approved by the Parliament, there will be no obstacle for the female members of the royal family to be the head of the country as the queen. It's not that the monarch will be a female immediately but for a country like Nepal, it is a revolutionary change. Nepalese royal family has become very unpopular after the pro-democratic movement of April 2006. After King Gyanendra, Crown Prince Paras is in line to become the King. Paras has two children. The eldest is Purnika, a 6 year-old girl and then Hridayandra who is a 5-year-old boy. According to the new legislature or rather amendment of the existing succession law, being a female will not go against Purnika to become the head of the country.
Now, let me address the original question of women becoming King. For the last 50 years or more, political parties in Nepal have repeatedly tried to establish democracy but one after another King of Shah Dynasty maintained to continue their absolute grip on power. By doing this, the royal family has only made it more unpopular over the years. The royal family could hold onto the power by successfully exploiting the rivalry among the political parties. So, Nepal really needs some male Kings or female queens in the coming days that will be soft and tender like women. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that after coming to power, female monarchs would not act similar to their male predecessors. So, from this point of view, women can become kings too and destroy the national economy.
Don’t you agree?
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My hometown is Darjeeling (though I am at New Delhi now) and being a native of north Bengal makes me closer to Nepal. In the last few years, especially after the murder of King Virendra, the Nepalese people lost all kinds of emotions towards the Palace. Not that Virendra was a very popular leader, but changing with his subjects moods, he ensured that he was still respected.
The move to allow women becoming the monarch is nothing regarding giving both the sexes equal opportunities, but to actually show contempt towards the royal family.
My numerous visits in the kingdom to meet my friends has given me enough of this feeling.
Posted by: Jonty | August 2, 2006 6:39 AM | Permalink to Comment