Women in the party

Women have been prominent in the recruiting profile. Available reports indicate that one-fifth to one-third of the cadre and the combatants during the Nepalese Civil War may be women. Reportedly, every village under Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) control had a revolutionary women’s organization. According to a Jane’s Intelligence Review report of October 2001, there were usually two women in each unit of 35-40 men, and they were used to gather intelligence and act as couriers. Baburam Bhattarai was quoted as saying in Spacetime on April 18, 2003, that fifty percent of cadres at the lower level, thirty percent of soldiers and ten percent of members of central committee of the outfit were women. Durgha Pokhrel, then Chairman of National Women’s Commission, who visited more than 25 Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) controlled districts, stated on July 3, 2003, during a talk delivered at the Nepal Council of World Affairs that percentage of women cadres could be as high as forty. A women’s group, the All Nepal Women's Association (Revolutionary), is alleged to be a front outfit of the CPN-M.