Over 3,600 Indian women get Nepalese citizenship

More than 3,600 Indian women married to Nepalese men since the promulgation of the new Constitution in September last year have acquired naturalised citizenship of Nepal, a home ministry official said today, dismissing allegations that the statute was "discriminatory".
As many as 3,672 foreign women, mostly Indians, acquired naturalised citizenship of the country, acting home secretary Binod K C said.
A few of them are of other nationalities.
The issue of citizenship to Indians married to Nepalese nationals was a major issue during the six-month-long Terai/Madhes agitation launched after the promulgation of new Constitution.
The distribution of citizenship certificate to the Indian women shows that the new Constitution is not discriminatory, he said.

"It proves that the constitution is an inclusive one, and there was misinformation about it being discriminatory," he added.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Sawraj had on September 7 last year said in parliament that Indian girls married in Nepal were granted naturalised citizenship through matrimony.
"But the new Constitution has erased the provision of naturalised citizenship through matrimony," she had added.
According to the official, Indian girls married to Nepali citizens from 20 districts of the Terai/Madhes region were among the top recipients of naturalised citizenship.
"The new Constitution does not discriminate against any foreign woman married to a Nepali," he added.

Article 11(6) of the new Constitution has a provision that says: "A foreign woman married to a Nepali man can acquire naturalised citizenship in line with the federal law, if she so desires.