A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE would be a step forward. One way to make such education easily accessible to women would be through a door-todoor voter campaign. Although the 2022 initiative to design posters on filing complaints was a positive step, this outreach was not sufficient. The ECN could partner with a women’s organization and train women throughout Nepal on relevant election information. The women could take the information to their communities via door-to-door campaigns to share voter information. Because men often answer the door at home but may not share information with women members of the household, voter educators should be trained to ask that all eligible voters be present to receive voter information. In addition, voter education should be conducted at times when women are likely to be at home or should be conducted in places that they often frequent, such as markets. Many of the findings from this case study point to cultural barriers for women trying to access electoral justice and seeking fair resolution to electoral disputes. It is challenging to shift pervasive cultural norms. For this reason, it is important for educators and activists to advocate for school curricula, awareness-raising programs, and voter and broader civic education to address some of the cultural barriers that keep women from reporting violations or deprive them of resources to do so. Ensure that ECN gender focal points in each district office are trained to respond sensitively to electoral complaints that women bring forward. A decentralized structure within the ECN ensures that election officials are present and available to voters closer to their communities. However, the gender focal points in district offices have little training and support. They should receive relevant training to enable them to support women voters, candidates, and activists to file electoral complaints, especially on sensitive topics. These may include violence or harassment against women during the electoral process or because of their roles in the elections. Provide better training and capacity building for ECN officials on resolving electoral complaints. According to ECN headquarters staff, ECN officials at polling stations, provincial offices, and district offices are empowered to resolve complaints. However, those who work outside of headquarters are not well trained to do so and often forward the complaints to the headquarters office. This additional work can overwhelm ECN staff at the federal level. For ECN staff at the local level to resolve disputes, they need appropriate capacity building to enable them to do so in a fair and legal way. The trainings should include a significant gender component that prepares officials to handle electoral violations that affect women and to understand how gender norms and cultural considerations may affect the ways women report and talk about violations that affected them. Enhance the ECN’s role in monitoring violations of the Electoral Code of Conduct and take appropriate actions to protect women voters and candidates. While the Electoral Code of Conduct is a positive step, no violations of the clause barring hate speech against women were reported during the 2022 elections. Because women may be reticent to bring forward formal charges against their own parties or political opponents for fear of backlash, the ECN could be empowered to monitor and address violations of the Code of Conduct more proactively. For example, ECN staff could monitor candidates’ and parties’ social media for hate speech against women candidates (or minority groups); they could also monitor the media for reports of this type of violation. Sufficient financial resources should be allocated to the ECN for these monitoring and enforcement effort. 67