Fewer female voters in remote hilly districts of far west province

Dhangadhi: In the hilly districts of Far West Province, many villages are becoming predominantly male due to employment-related migration, resulting in fewer female voters in these areas.

While the total number of female voters in the province surpasses that of males, the remote hilly districts of Bajura, Bajhang, Baitadi, Darchula, and Dadeldhura have fewer female voters than male voters. According to the Provincial Election Office, Far West Province has a total of 1,716,660 registered voters, including 18 others, with 852,219 males and 864,423 females—12,204 more women than men overall.

In Bajura, of 87,861 voters, 42,431 are female and 45,428 are male. Bajhang has 62,289 female voters and 64,614 male voters out of 126,903 total, showing 2,326 fewer women than men. Baitadi’s 156,372 voters include 77,383 women and 78,987 men, a difference of 1,604 fewer female voters. Darchula has 45,193 female voters and 47,755 male voters out of 92,948 voters, while Dadeldhura has 46,446 female voters compared to 46,957 male voters, 511 fewer women than men.

Information Officer Rajesh Chaudhary of the Provincial Election Office highlighted the discrepancy, noting that many men migrate to India for employment, leaving villages male-dominated only during festivals.

Conversely, districts such as Kailali, Kanchanpur, Doti, and Achham have more female voters than male voters. In Kailali, out of 551,052 voters, 280,243 are women and 279,798 are men. Kanchanpur has 160,316 female voters and 154,068 male voters out of 313,385 total voters. Achham also reports more female than male voters.

Women’s human rights activist Goma Acharya emphasized that the low number of female voters in remote districts is a serious concern. She suggested that lack of citizenship or non-registration in voter lists could be the main reasons behind this disparity, noting that deprivation of citizenship may directly impact women’s voting rights.