By Indira Aryal

Kathmandu, Dec. 31: A young boy from Gokarneshwor in Kathmandu is denied citizenship certificate only because he is brought up only by his mother.
Aabesh Adhikari, 20, said he was not getting citizenship certificate as whereabouts of his father was not known. His father left his mother before he was born. He got the birth registration certificate from his mother’s name from the ward office, but when he applied for the citizenship certificate, he was asked about his father.
Adhikari said he did not know who his father was and all he knew was her mother was struggling alone for his education and basic needs.
“The Chief District Office (CDO) always asks my father as an eyewitness to issue citizenship in my name,” he said.
Kalpana Pariyar of Saibu, Bhaisepati, in Lalitpur has also a similar tale to share. She said that she was deprived of all facilities provided by the state as she had denied her citizenship certificate.
“It has been three years since we have been trying to get the citizenship certificate, but the CDO Office in Lalitpur does not provide citizenship to my family members showing different causes at different times,” she said.
Her husband Shiva Ram Pariyar left the house in tension after failing to get the certificate. She asked her in-laws for eye-witnesses, but they were not available at the CDO office with fearing that they had to divide property if she was granted the certificate, Pariyar informed.
Uma Tamang of Maiti Nepal said that many Nepalese children, living with their mothers, had been denied the certificate.
Suman Bhusal from Panauti of Kavre district has the similar story. He even denied birth certificate. Her mother has citizenship certificates from her maternal house. Bhusal’s father left his mother soon after his birth, so he could not remember his father. All he remembers is his mother has been taking care of him.
“But when I sought the birth certificate, they asked about my father?” he said.
Bhusal said his mother had land and land ownership certificates but he was always asked about his father whenever he went to make the certificate.
Similarly, Ambika Nepali from Balaju said that she could not get the citizenship certificate for her children. “I am depressed with the authorities and concerned ward offices,” she said.
Her husband left them for another wife and he would never be available for any legal procedure for them. But the Ward and the CDO offices asked her to bring either death certificate or

divorce certificate, however, she had neither of them.
While making a citizenship certificate to her daughter two years back, police in the area arrested her husband just to make an eye-witness to issue a citizenship certificate for her daughter.
But now it has been one year since she has been trying to have citizenship certificate for her 20-year-old son. She said she was unable to find her husband as an eye-witness again.
When asked, Human Rights Commission Chairman Anuparaj Sharma said that the Home Ministry should form a guideline for issuing citizenship in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.
Addressing an interaction programme organized by the National Women’s Commission on Monday in the capital, Chairman Sharma stated that no Nepali citizen would be deprived of citizenship certificate as per a provision of the Constitution of Nepal.
He said the Home Ministry should issue a directive until a citizenship bill gets passed from the parliament, Sharma informed.
CDO Bhagirtah Pande of Lalitpur district said that they had a provision to issue the citizenship on the basis of descent.
“Every citizen should follow the government procedure to get the legal documents,” he added.