Women of Nepal

Amrita Thapa Magar

Member of the Constituent Assembly (CA), Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Chairperson of the Natural Resources, Economic Rights and Revenue Sharing Committee of the CA
General Secretary of the All Nepal Women Association (Revolutionary)

Born in May, 1972 in Syangja district

Amrita Thapa Magar was among only a few women who had been fully involved in the Maoist People's War since its 1996 beginning. In the final stage of the ten year insurgency she served as a Brigade commissar of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). After the Maoists entered the peace process in 2006, she shifted her place of political activities to Parliament and is now serving to help draft the new constitution in the Constituent Assembly (CA).   

Thapa Magar was born in Syangja district village in 1972 and migrated to Pokhara after completing the third grade. "When I was in my village in Syangja I used to speak Magar language. We could not speak Nepali well and had a sentiment that only the people who belong to lower castes speak Magar. Besides that I had a feeling that women were discriminated against through various experiences. For example, a Brahman who came to my house to perform puja (Hindu ritual) used to put his religious book on a shelf so that women could not touch it." Thapa Magar's rebellious spirit grew through these experiences.

She took the examinations for the School Leaving Certificate in 1990 just as the People's Movement began to throw the party-less Panchayat system, watching her teachers actively participating in protest programs to re-establish a multi-party democracy in Nepal. This historical event, which elicited huge political change in the country, inspired her.

Thapa Magar's other source of inspiration was her father, a professor of Prithivi Narayan Campus in Pokhara. He leaned towards communist ideology and was involved in the students' movement against the Panchayat regime in 1979. She would listen to her father talk with his friends about politics and read his books as a child. Although society was against women in politics her father was supportive and helped her enter the field.

After the People's Movement proved victorious, Thapa Magar's belief in people's power to establish their rights deepened and she became a member of the All Nepal National Free Students Union (Sixth) when she was in her first year of Intermediate Level. She believed bringing a multi-party system would not be enough, but that her country should become a republic. Although political freedom was realized, discrimination still plagued Nepali society in terms of ethnic groups, Dalits and women. Thapa Magar said, "I entered into politics to solve such problems in our society."

Thapa Magar worked as a member of cultural team 'Gandaki Sanskritick Sangam' of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Center) during the general election of 1991. After coming to Kathmandu to study in Saraswati Campus she worked in student organization.  

In 1995 Thapa Magar had an inter-cast marriage with party comrade Hitman Shakya on the condition she would continue in politics after the union. Her father opposed her intention to marry a different caste but she rebelled and tied the knot with Shakya.

She and her husband decided to join Prachanda (aka Pushpa Kamal Dahal) when her party split on the issue of launching the People's War. Her party decided to change its name to the CPN (Maoist) in March 1995 and launched the People's War on 18 February, 1996. At the time she was studying her bachelor's course at Saraswati Campus. 

"On the first day of the People's War I was in Kathmandu. I was then in a student organization as well as in a women's organization. After the police came to my campus to find me six days after the Maoists launched the insurgency, I went underground," she remembered. She said that in the beginning of the war there were only 40 to 50 women working full-time in the party. On Women's Day (8 March, 1996) Maoist women's organizations openly held a seminar on the 'Working Direction of Women's Movement' in Kathmandu, coordinated by Thapa Magar. The women declared their support of the People's War. Police tried to detain them but they managed to escape. "We women were the first organization among various party fronts that had declared support of the People's War," she said.

Shortly after, Thapa Magar's party sent her to Biratnagar in eastern Nepal to expand its party organization. She worked in eastern districts such as Sunsari and Morang as a district committee member of the party. "For about a year I worked in Biratnagar. I changed my name and as a few people knew me it was not so difficult for me to stay there." She was then sent to Dharan, but later returned to her house in Pokhara to give birth to her daughter. Although her party allowed her to stay in Pokhara, Thapa Magar was demoted to a member of the area committee. "My party punished me by demoting me because I bore my child. So I struggled within my party, saying women could develop their position this way. Then I was appointed an area secretary of Pokhara. After that women were never demoted because of delivering a child," she said.   

Thapa Magar was then promoted to regional bureau member in 1999 and sent to New Delhi to organize Nepali women there. She worked there as an in-charge of the women's department for about two years. In November 2002 she returned to Nepal to work as an in-charge of Udayapur district committee. In 2004's central committee meeting, she was appointed one of 11 women central committee members of a total 93. She went on to work as party in-charge of various eastern Terai districts.

Thapa Magar lived separately from her family during the insurgency, leaving her daughter with her parents and visiting only once a year. Her father was arrested and jailed for a year where he was badly tortured as a direct result of her political activities.

In October 2005 Thapa Magar became a brigade commissar of the PLA, the highest position held by a woman in the Maoist armed forces. She participated in a series of military actions, mainly in eastern Nepal, including those in Ghodetar (Bhojpur district), Bandipur (Siraha district) and Dhankuta, receiving a bullet wound during the raid on Bhojpur.

When the second People's Movement began in April 2006 with seven political parties forming an alliance against King Gyanendra's government, Thapa Magar's brigade was deployed to the east-west highway to stop the movement of security forces in the Terai. "During the second People's Movement I was in Kakarbitta with my PLA forces to stop the security forces coming to suppress the mass," she said.

After the successful People's Movement, Thapa Magar was again given the responsibility to work in the party organization and sent to eastern Nepal as party in-charge of Terathum and Dhankuta districts. She returned to Kathmandu as a general secretary to work full-time for the party's women's organization, organizing the 5th general convention of the All Nepal Women Association (Revolutionary) in Kathmandu in 2007. She was appointed a member of the Interim Legislature by the party in January 2007 and elected a member of the CA for the seat of proportional representatives.

Thapa Magar said that although they suffered a lot during the insurgency her party never tired. She remembered walking all day and night without sleeping. During the time of major military actions they had to walk a long way with little food while carrying injured comrades. "When you have a certain aim and objective you don't feel tired. Although we had to work much harder than we do today we were happy. Bullets used to pass close to us but we were not afraid."

Women's involvement in the Maoist insurgency proved they possess the ability to work as men's equals. "We have faith that women can also sacrifice their life for social transformation. Women have been proven the most honest and faithful in the party."

Thapa Magar said although they succeeded in bringing about political change, they were yet to change society's perception towards women and discrimination in general. Reaching a logical conclusion to the peace process and constitution drafting to ensure people's rights within the stipulated time were yet to be accomplished. Similarly the issue of access to economic activities for economically backward people is yet to be finished.

She said Nepali women have many problems. For example, Dalit women are still considered 'untouchable' and Madheshi women face a spectrum of issues. Thapa Magar believes she has a lot left to do to help such women. "We are in a transition phase and working to introduce a new system in the country through the Constituent Assembly. But there are some people who are trying to conserve the old system. Due to them, unhealthy politics are going on," she said. "We should unveil such people who try to create hurdles and move ahead towards a logical conclusion to the peace process. There is no alternative to this."

Written by Kokila Khadka K.C.and Kiyoko Ogura