Women of Nepal

Shashi Shrestha

Member of the Central Committee, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Former chairperson of the All Nepal Women's Association

Born in 1961 in Kabhre district

Shashi Shrestha is one of few Nepali women who have actively worked for a political party, even after getting married and having the additional responsibility of being a housewife. She is now a prominent women's rights activist, as well as a Central Committee member of Nepal's largest political party - the Unified CPN (Maoist)*.

Shrestha was born in January 1961, in the small hilly settlement of Mangaltar bazaar of Kabhre district in which her family lived and worked a small business. Though not educated, her father was a great lover of education and wanted to see his children study. He even went to great lengths to bring a teacher from India to have his children taught at home because local schools were far away from home.

Amid five brothers, Shrestha was the only daughter in her family. Few girls her age were lucky to have the love she did. Her father would carry and feed her even at the age of nine or ten. However, love is not the only thing a girl expects from her family. "From the very day I was born, I was granted immense love. But I could smell discrimination and I had to suffer being dominated, as much as any Nepali woman has to. You cannot measure love and freedom with the same unit," she said.

Shrestha was totally restricted from going outside to play in the neighborhood. Her brothers would remain absent for whole days and nobody cared, but problems arose within her family if she was out for even a short while. "Why is it only for me, for girls?" she used to ask her parents. This question took her to the position in which she stands today.

Similarly, inequality between rich and poor, high and low caste, men and women worried her since her childhood days, causing her to become rebellious in nature. She was only nine years old when she raised a knife at home in an attempt to stab her wealthy cousin after he accused her of felling him. Shrestha was punished for that.

To join sixth grade, Shrestha went to Sindhuli district, considered to be the 'fort of leftists'. Chandra Prasad Gajurel, who is now a central leader of the Unified CPN (Maoist), was one of her teachers. She was in contact with several left leaders and found herself impressed by Chinese literature. She came to know that Communism is a political system which nullifies class discrimination, provides good education and employment for youth, and honor for the elderly. For a girl coming from an apolitical family, these things were new to Shrestha, and she became involved in certain activities without guidance. "I was in mass gatherings and demonstrations against the Panchayat system and had experience in thrashing 'Mandale' or pro-Panchayati students even in those days, but I was not involved in politics as such," she said.

In 1977 she returned to her home village in Banepa and joined Ajad High School. There, she came into contact with Dil Sundar Shrestha and other politicians who influenced her to work for the communist party. It was during the time the CPN (Fourth Convention) was at its peak.

Reacting to her inclination towards politics, Shrestha's family tried to stop her education after the examinations of School Leaving Certificate (SLC) and instead requested she get married. But Shrestha defied all pressures successfully. She held a 'hunger strike' to get permission to sit the examinations, supported by one of her brothers. No one in her family had even passed the SLC, but through sheer determination Shrestha received a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts. She enrolled in a Master of Arts in Sociology, but could not complete the course due her involvement in the party.

The All Nepal Woman's Association (ANWA) was reformed in 1977 under Parijat's leadership. Shrestha was influenced by her ideas and commitment. She was an active member of the ANWA from the beginning. As political parties were banned in those days, political opinions could be expressed only through such organizations. She remained active in expanding ANWA. To come to the front under a guise, she even ran a tailor's shop in Kaldhara and kept in touch with local women. She taught the women about their significance in Nepal's tradition and encouraged them to play a role in bringing change in women's status. The groups were active in enlisting new women members, raising funds, working in brick kilns and harvesting. They had to play the role of workers, students and others, in an effort to unite women and prepare them to help threaten the government.

"I used to teach the local middle-class women that the comfort they enjoy at home is not the reality. I showed them the path to total freedom and inseminated idea of women's liberation in orthodox minds," she said.

Working as a political activist in the Panchayat period was much more difficult than it is today. Shrestha lead a national convention of students in 1980 at Thaiba of Lalitpur. The young and aggressive students decided to hold a rally at Badgaon. At night, they were under helicopter search and police hunted for them in the whole village. She made a desperate escape with the help of local farmers. A warrant was issued in her name and she had to remain underground for three months.

In addition, the All Nepal Youth Association was formed in 1980 under the leadership of Pushpa Kamal Dahal (alias Prachanda - present chairman of her party), with a vision to become a militant group, similar to the Young Communist League of China. Shrestha was a member of its Central Committee from the beginning, alongside other prominent leaders such as Dev Gurung, Sarbottam Dangol, and Kaman Singh Lama. "That association was in fact the foundation of the People's War," she said.

In 1981, the referendum took place and the government announced that the Panchayat system would be reformed. It was a great shock for political parties, but all were too afraid to protest. It was ANWA which went immediately to the streets and showed its unrest with the result. Right after police interrupted the program, Shrestha was arrested. "Symbolically, we proved that women's organizations in those days were more active than the parties themselves," she said.

Shrestha's arrest became a big issue for her family. They all were worried their daughter would not be 'fit for marriage' after being jailed. Regardless, they continued their search for a groom and she eventually decided to abandon her home. She talked about it in the party and a friend of hers, Ishwari, helped Shrestha as she failed to get any financial support from her brothers. "My father was helpless because he had divided the property among the sons. Still, he gave me 50 rupees which he had in his pocket at that time. It was an unforgettable gift for my life. It led me to a new life," she remembered.

Around 1980, in the course of her days as a prominent activist, Shrestha met Lilamani Pokharel and the two decided to get married. Family members from both sides were against the marriage. Shrestha's parents were worried their daughter would live a miserable existence if she continued her political life and married a political activist. The party helped them get married in 1985 in a small function at Parijat's home. Her father attended the function but none from Lilamani's family came.

Married life for the two politicians was full of struggle. Moreover, no help came from Lilamani's family. Shrestha asked her husband to maintain relations with his family, but no such response came in return. His family instead created hurdles in the social and political lives of both. All relatives and friends came to neglect Shrestha and refused to maintain any relationship. She said, "I don't want to remember those days. Political life is always full of struggles. And it is more difficult when you have a family and are under financial stress."

Today, Shrestha is proud to be one among a few women who remained politically active even after getting married and bearing the additional responsibilities of a family. However, regardless of how concerned and supportive a husband is, he is bound to maintain some restricted ideas for his wife. Even among communist leaders, traditional male-chauvinistic attitudes remain. "They want their wives to come to the front and work together. But at the same time they also want the wives to remain daughters-in-law or good housewives," she said.

Shrestha believes her husband has been helpful for the most part, but that she herself allowed him to stay away from responsibilities. "As far as Lilamani is concerned, he is supportive most of the time, but I prefer to be critical of him not taking responsibility at home," she said, and added that he became so because she herself did little to change his behavior so he remained out most of the time. "Maybe my arrogant way of thinking that I can do everything is to be blamed," she said.

Shrestha started teaching in 1989, both at Phulchoki High School and Ganesh Memorial High School in Lalitpur, to help support her family. But she could not continue as her responsibility to the party grew after restoration of the multi-party system in 1990.

Before 1990, women's movements were more political and women's issues were given less importance than political agendas. Women's organizations were purely wings of political parties. But, at the same time, they could not include those women not interested to party politics.

After 1990, women's movements were guided mostly by development workers. Those involved in the movements carried the agendas introduced by parties long before, and were involved more in trivial issues in an effort to please international donors than bring about any substantial change for Nepali women. Shrestha concluded, "The NGOs are working for equality, whereas equality has no meaning if it is not headed toward liberation."

She said that while her party is more open to women's positions, it retains the traditional male mentality and has a tendency to suppress women. "At times, male leaders have sidelined women, but they have not been able to ignore women's contribution to the party. Two reasons are there - women are making a strong voice for their issues, and a realization is working that women should given room in the party structure," she said.

Shrestha highlighted the contribution of women activists during the mass movement against the king's direct rule and the eventual transformation of the country into a republic state. She was also active in the inter-party structure during the transitional period.

As a reward for her outstanding performance during the king's direct rule and in the beginning of the peace process, Shrestha was appointed Minister of State for Health and Population on April 29, 2007. It could be seen to be the biggest achievement for a political activist, but the whole period was a 'bitter experience' for Shrestha. She refused to compromise with the corrupt bureaucracy, and raised her voice whenever she witnessed any irregularity. As a result, she faced a series of obstructions, protests and threats from ministry workers. "I prefer to be in low profile and work for the people and the party than going to the Ministry and be part of the mismanagement," she said.

Hopes remain that the situation for women and their leadership will improve after the new constitution is drafted. However, Shrestha believes women should never stop raising their voices, as apart from society, they have to tackle two hurdles - the whole political system and the ever-suppressing men in the system.

Written by Razen Manandhar