Member-only story
The Indomitable Women of Nepal
A heartfelt tribute to unwavering resilience and strength
The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it — Roseanne Barr
I am proud to the rim when I recall the many indomitable women I have met in Nepal over the last 35 years — bold, resilient, and strong souls.
It’s the kind of pride only women can feel for other women who have not given up, who carry on for a future that mulls in its past while shouldering their own fears and doubts.
Perhaps with grief or even bitterness at times.
But it is never without that indomitable spirit so distinct in Nepalese women.
Reeta
She belongs to the Dalit, the caste of the so-called untouchables. It is an unnegotiable position assigned by birth, right at the bottom of Nepal’s social ladder. Though this discriminatory system has since been abolished, it persists in the minds of many. Reason enough for Reeta to stand up and fight the prejudices directed at women like herself, her people, and everyone else who feels the grunt of an unjust society.
She’s over it and now challenges suffocating traditions in a way most Nepali women won’t yet dare.