Introduced almost two decades ago, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) has become one of the central components of most projects, programs and policies of the government, development partners, NGOs/INGOs, etc. in Nepal. Though GESI looks transformative on paper, the application of the framework and its results are questionable. Increasingly, GESI has been criticised for being reduced to a standalone project-related intervention that adopts a tick-box approach of including women and marginalised groups. This paper argues that the current state of GESI, characterised by a marginalisation of the social inclusion agenda, a depoliticisation of both gender and social inclusion, and a heavy incorporation of the framework among development and government agencies is rooted in the way GESI was formulated. Hence, the paper shall explore in-depth the origin and evolution of the GESI framework in Nepal, including the historical, social and political context behind its construction. Methodologically, the paper draws from secondary sources including policy documents, reports and newspaper articles among others. Through this case study of GESI, the paper thus aims to i) contribute to the larger debates on the politics of construction of development ideas; and ii) stimulate a wider critical discussion on whether the multitude of identities and realities within a country can in fact be consolidated into one single framework.