Women of Nepal

Radha Sharma

Professor of the Foundation of Education, Tribhuvan University

Born in 1950, Kathmandu

Radha Sharma was born in old town Naradevi, Kathmandu, in 1950, the third of four daughters. It was the same year the autocratic Rana regime was uprooted through revolution. "So I was born as a yoddha (fighter) of democracy," she said.

Sharma's childhood was far from smooth. Although she didn't face many constraints as she was born and raised in the capital city, she still had to live amid social suffocations. Her father died when she was only ten years of age. Society blamed her mother for the misfortune and would not let her live as an ordinary member of society. Sharma witnessed just how harsh society could be to a woman who had lost her husband. "At an early age, I could feel the depth of women's problems in our society, and I used to wonder why this happens to women," she said.

The death of Sharma's father shattered her dreams, but her mother still did everything possible to educate her daughters and open doorways of opportunities for them. Sharma's mother became her source of inspiration and her greatest support.

Sharma's family situation was not conducive to study. Her mother had no power, and as her father was dead, there was nobody to support Sharma when she expressed her desire to go to school. In 1961, she finally had the opportunity to join the fifth grade at Kanya Mandir School. It was her mother who taught her the alphabet. "Being a professor was beyond my dreams. I was in such a critical family situation. I still remember my mother being blamed by other family members even when my younger sister cried," she said.

After passing the School Leaving Certificate examinations, Sharma joined the College of Education in 1968. In those days, Tribhuvan University (TU) had no faculty of Education. There was instead a separate college in Kirtipur for students of Education, run by the Ministry of Education. The college offered a scholarship of Rs 55 per month. This was considered a large sum of money in those days so Sharma could afford to offer Rs 15 to her family, even after buying books and using the money on other expenses. To help her family meet its needs, she even taught in SOS Balgram in Sanothimi Bhaktapur for some time while she studied.

After completing a Master's in Education from TU, Sharma began teaching in the same subject at Butwal Campus shortly after, jumping into the profession in 1976. She was promoted to the post of professor in 2002 after 26 years of experience. It was a great opportunity to teach but she faced difficulties to leave the capital. She was not permitted to leave Kathmandu for any profession and had to defy her family to go to Butwal. Although she was allowed to study, working professionally presented Sharma with hard decisions.

"In my family, there was a restriction that women were not allowed to go out for a job despite the fact that we were poor. It was a challenge for me and I accepted it," she said, adding that the family did care for her later, sending someone to check secretly if she was doing well.

Sharma was first attracted to political activities as a student. Although a student union existed in her campus, holding elections for union members was prohibited. She joined the democratic student union in 1970 and became an executive committee member. But she was unaware she was working under the Nepali Congress (NC). Govinda Raj Joshi, now a central committee member of the NC, was one of her colleagues during that time.

"I later came to know I was in politics since 1968, even before I got membership of NC. When I took the party membership, I was more concerned with being politically-active than being with a particular party," she said.

After working for the NC her entire life, Sharma is not happy with the mentality of the majority of those in party leadership. She has come to the conclusion there is no proper evaluation of the contributions made by sincere workers and that nepotism is at its height in the party. "I started hating the games inside the party. When everything crossed the limit, I told Girija Babu (party president Girija Prasad Koirala) and other leaders that it is not possible to continue my life with the party," she said.

She believes that to be involved in politics, one need not carry a party's flag, and says that whatever she is doing today is a part of politics. In 1989 she was elected treasurer of Nepal University Teachers' Association, a body of democrats, and is now its member.

Apart from her long career as a university teacher, Sharma has remained dedicated to the quest for women's rights since resigning from active politics. She now leads a campaign to secure 33 per cent women's participation in all sectors of the state. Sharma even formed a network of women professors around three years ago, which she coordinates. The network is now demanding at least one of three key posts of a university - vice-chancellor, rector and registrar - should go to a woman. Sadly, the women's demands have yet to be met.

The network is now campaigning to change the orthodox mentality that men should always hold positions of leadership, and also to make the campuses under Tribhuvan University gender-sensitive.

"The mechanism of the university is such that it never lets a woman take a big responsibility. It nominates a retired male professor but never accepts a woman who has been in the profession for the last 30 years. We women are spared only to carry on career with chalk and duster," she complained.

The network holds meetings in different campuses within the Valley with campus chiefs, representatives of free student unions, women professors and girl students. It has also held similar meetings in districts outside the Valley. A policy is being drafted to ensure campuses are gender-sensitive and Sharma is providing her input in that draft. The network is planning to launch programs for women who have been denied their rights and the opportunity to have an education.

Sharma has traveled from the most remote districts of Nepal to various countries in Europe. "I felt more happiness in villages in my own country than in Europe. I saw that the women in villages are very active and organized, much more than I had imagined," she added.

Similarly, Sharma is an advisor to NGO 'Women for Human Rights' which works for the rights of single women. She started working for the organization after her marriage broke up. She is also the central general secretary of ABC Nepal and a member of the South Asia Core Committee.

She is of the opinion that women themselves should show their presence in protest programs as it is not possible to create enough pressure without physical involvement. She remembers coordinating a mass rally of 10,000 women during the 1990 People's Movement. Similarly, she was proud to stand on the frontline of the April 2006 demonstration which defied the curfew imposed by then King Gyanendra's government.

While Nepali society encourages marriage, not all can enjoy successful married lives and Sharma was one among them. Although several years of her marriage were cheerful, her relationship with her husband slowly disintegrated. She took the responsibility to care for her children. "It is deplorable I could not get support from my husband, but the departure had inspired me to live my own free and independent life. It hurts when somebody to whom you dedicated your life leaves you at the middle of the road," she said, adding, "Even crying is women's arms. Tears work as flames when they want to use it."

Sharma's daughter Anjana is currently studying in Australia and doing well. Anjana has carried on her mother's legacy and also works to organize single women. Sharma celebrates Single Woman's Day on June 23 every year and visited her daughter in Australia this year to take part in her campaign. She said that while men are often women's supporters she has met many women during the course of her campaign who have been tortured by men. "Ups and downs come in life. A woman's life is full of challenges and struggles. One should not be afraid of them and should help others also if they too are struggling," she concluded.

Written by Laxmi Basnet