Nepal's multi-party government has finalised draft legislation that would allow women to succeed to the throne amid growing debate about the future of monarchy, a government minister said on Tuesday.
Under centuries-old royal tradition and present law, only a male can ascend the Himalayan kingdom's throne and the king has the sole authority to name his successor.
If the plan becomes law, the king's first child - of either sex - will succeed the monarch, and in the absence of a natural heir the successor will be decided by a panel headed by the prime minister.
The move comes after violent pro-democracy protests in April led to the king being reduced to a figurehead.
"This will allow even a woman to ascend the throne if she is the first child," Tourism Minister Pradip Gyanwali told Reuters.
"The move is designed to end discrimination in deciding the successor on the basis of sex," he said. "It also ends the king's power to decide who will succeed him."
For centuries, Nepal saw the king as a reincarnation of the Hindu god, Vishnu.
That image was shattered after the palace massacre in 2001 when Crown Prince Dipendra reportedly killed his parents and most royal family members before turning the gun on himself.
The reputation of King Gyanendra, who succeeded to the throne, has also been battered after he took total power in February last year and by the wave of protests that followed.
"Down with monarchy" was the war cry of tens of thousands of democracy protesters in April, a call that would have been considered blasphemous even a few years ago.
"The draft will be presented to the parliament soon and is expected to be passed easily because there is growing demand for curtailing the king's role," Gyanwali said.
The legislation would also eliminate state allowances for minor members of the royal family, limiting them to the king or queen, their consort, the crown prince or princess and the queen mother.
Parliament recently took away the king's control over the army, stripped him of his legislative roles and turned the world's only Hindu kingdom into a secular state. The king is also subject to taxes.
The government and Maoist rebels are preparing for elections to a special assembly to prepare a new constitution to decide the future of monarchy.
While some political parties want the monarchy abolished, others prefer to keep the king in a ceremonial role.
"The planned law shows that as of now the present government accepts the monarchy in its ceremonial role," said Lok Raj Baral, executive chairman of Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies, a private think-tank.
The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to set up a communist state in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people.
Under centuries-old royal tradition and present law, only a male can ascend the Himalayan kingdom's throne and the king has the sole authority to name his successor.
If the plan becomes law, the king's first child - of either sex - will succeed the monarch, and in the absence of a natural heir the successor will be decided by a panel headed by the prime minister.
The move comes after violent pro-democracy protests in April led to the king being reduced to a figurehead.
"This will allow even a woman to ascend the throne if she is the first child," Tourism Minister Pradip Gyanwali told Reuters.
"The move is designed to end discrimination in deciding the successor on the basis of sex," he said. "It also ends the king's power to decide who will succeed him."
For centuries, Nepal saw the king as a reincarnation of the Hindu god, Vishnu.
That image was shattered after the palace massacre in 2001 when Crown Prince Dipendra reportedly killed his parents and most royal family members before turning the gun on himself.
The reputation of King Gyanendra, who succeeded to the throne, has also been battered after he took total power in February last year and by the wave of protests that followed.
"Down with monarchy" was the war cry of tens of thousands of democracy protesters in April, a call that would have been considered blasphemous even a few years ago.
"The draft will be presented to the parliament soon and is expected to be passed easily because there is growing demand for curtailing the king's role," Gyanwali said.
The legislation would also eliminate state allowances for minor members of the royal family, limiting them to the king or queen, their consort, the crown prince or princess and the queen mother.
Parliament recently took away the king's control over the army, stripped him of his legislative roles and turned the world's only Hindu kingdom into a secular state. The king is also subject to taxes.
The government and Maoist rebels are preparing for elections to a special assembly to prepare a new constitution to decide the future of monarchy.
While some political parties want the monarchy abolished, others prefer to keep the king in a ceremonial role.
"The planned law shows that as of now the present government accepts the monarchy in its ceremonial role," said Lok Raj Baral, executive chairman of Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies, a private think-tank.
The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to set up a communist state in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people.
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