Nepal's New PM Balen Shah Acts on Gen-Z Protest Report, Forms Women-Led Cabinet

The meeting of the Council of Ministers also decided to form a study committee to look into matters related to security personnel, based on the recommendations of the Karki Commission.

The Cabinet has decided to form a separate investigation committee to examine the role of security agencies, and it will be implemented immediately in cases involving political leaders and others.

The newly formed government has publicised the decisions taken at its first Cabinet meeting held on Friday.

Apart from that, the first meeting of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah also took four major decisions, including the implementation of the report of the commission formed to investigate the suppression of the Gen-Z movement.

The Cabinet decided to express respect and pay tribute to all known and unknown martyrs of the Gen-Z movement on September 8 and 9, 2025, as well as to the martyrs of earlier movements. It also appointed Sasmit Pokharel, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, as the official spokesperson of the Government of Nepal.

In addition, the Cabinet approved the government's reform agenda, which is set to be published tomorrow. The meeting also resolved to implement the report submitted by the commission led by Gauri Bahadur Karki, which investigated the incidents that occurred during the demonstrations on September 8 and 9, 2025.

The new government, formed within a month of the March 5 polls held after six months of the September Gen-Z protest, gave a nearly two-thirds majority to the Balen-associated Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).

Balen, on Friday afternoon, took the oath of office at a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Kathmandu. He has also formed a 15-member Cabinet under his prime ministership, which consists of five women MPs.

Despite state guarantees, previous federal Cabinets had never achieved 33 percent female representation. With this new Cabinet, Prime Minister Shah has ensured that the constitutional provision of one-third women's participation is met for the first time.

Women ministers have been appointed from both proportional and direct election categories. Sita Badi has been appointed Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens; Sobita Gautam is the Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs; Pratibha Rawal has taken charge as Minister for General Administration; Nisha Mehta has been named Minister for Health and Population; and Geeta Chaudhary leads the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to Article 38(4) of the Constitution, the state must ensure women's participation in all organs on the basis of proportional and inclusive principles, making 33 percent participation mandatory. Similarly, Article 84(2) guarantees at least one-third female representation in the House of Representatives, while Article 176 requires 33 percent women's representation in provincial assemblies. Previous practices, however, had failed to fully implement these constitutional provisions at the federal level until now.

- ANI