We have been speculating that Nepal will need to go a long way to achieve political stability and place a predictable government in power. The recent incident of Rajbiraj when death of Three political workers of Madhesh centric parties will likely to spark new round of agitation. The current political deadlock shows no sign of easing to install political stability and predictable government in place. Although the government has announced the date of elections for the local bodies, nobody can be sure about the elections being held without hitches or held at all. With strong opposition from the Madhes-based parties and their call to boycott elections as they are proposed at the moment, merely holding the elections to satisfy the three political parties, which are holding their sway in the country, has no meaning. Such elections will raise the question of legitimacy of the existing constitution. At a time when the three main parties are determined to hold the elections even as the Madhesh-based and janjati parties are calling for obstructions in the way, more bloody confrontations are likely in the coming day.

Leaving politics where it is, we have decided to cover the state of women in Nepal as our cover story to coincide with the International Women's Day on March 8, which is an historic day for women. In the last two decades, Nepalese women have made many achievements in politics, health, education and other sectors. Following the promulgation of the new constitution, three women are now leading the nation's top jobs in the Executive, Judicial and Legislative bodies. This is a historic situation for the world to emulate as no other country has achieved a similar success. Sadly, however, many Nepalese women are still languishing in dire living situation. Women are still denied equal rights in citizenship. They witness high maternal mortality rate, domestic violence and cultural and social discrimination. With a large number of women marching ahead on the path of progress, Nepalese women will be able to bring about changes for themselves and the society. New Spotlight wishes a happy International Women's Day!