Ms Bhandari was defence minister from 2009 to 2011. A longtime advocate for the rights of women, Bhandari was elected to parliament after her late husband “was killed in a mysterious auto crash”. The new prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, was also picked earlier this month. She is the second president ever since Nepal’s king left the throne in 2006.
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Bidhya Devi Bhandari of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist received 327 votes against her opponent’s 214 in parliament on Wednesday.
She will replace Ram Baran Yadav, who was the country’s first elected president in 2008 after Nepal abolished its monarchy.
The vice chair of the Communist Party of Nepal has had a strong influence in bringing women into the political fold in the young republic and has pledged to continue the fight in her new high-profile position. One of her promises is that she will champion women’s and minority rights as president.
She has always been a political activist in what is largely a male-dominated society.
Noting that her election came at a critical juncture, Mukherjee exuded confidence that Nepal would move towards peace, stability and development by accommodating the aspirations of all the people under her guidance.
“Some have questioned her feminist credentials, as she supports citizenship laws they say are anti-women”.
The document says one-third of the members in parliament have to be women and either the president or vice president must be a woman. However, her largely ceremonial role will probably restrict her from indulging in too much politics.
Bhandari has long campaigned for women’s rights and was among the politicians who pushed for ensuring women’s rights in the new constitution adopted last month.
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But it has instead sparked deadly violence.
