Nepal is going through a period that is crucial to its future. After two years of a long and not always easy peace process, important reforms are beginning in an attempt to lay the basis of a new society, tackling some of the structural causes that led to the outbreak of the armed conflict. Nepali women have been deeply affected by this armed conflict, and, as with many other conflicts, its origin and course have had a notable gender dimension. Various factors provide evidence of this dimension, such as the use of gender violence or the large number of women combatants in the Maoist ranks, as well as the fact that the negotiation process which has led to the signing of the peace agreement largely excluded women. The purpose of this paper is to offer an analysis of the armed conflict and peace process Nepal is going through from a gender standpoint, analysing this situation from a feminist point of view. With this intention, the armed conflict that took
place between 1996 and 2006 in Nepal is analysed from a gender perspective, paying particular attention to the consequences of the war and women’s active involvement in it. Secondly, the peace process that put an end to the armed conflict is analysed, concerning the negotiations and the involvement of civil society and the international community from a gender standpoint. Finally, some of the most important challenges to be faced so that the post-war rehabilitation process takes place in the most inclusive and least discriminatory way possible, giving room for broad transformations in order to put an end to the exclusion of Nepali women, are noted.
