 MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA |
The seventh of eight children, she was a disappointment to her parents, who would have preferred a boy. But she was able to go to school?a rare opportunity for a girl in her village in those days.
At school she dreamt of becoming an agricultural trainer. "I always wanted to become a JTA because that would be more helpful for me and my family," she recalls.
Nanda Kishore Pun 'Pasang' was one of several leftist teachers at her school, and she soon began to take part in political rallies and sing revolutionary songs. Slowly she learnt more about social injustice and discrimination based on caste and gender.
In the constituent assembly elections, she beat seven candidates, all of them men. "I don't hate men, but I never liked the way social custom in feudal society ranked males higher than females," she says. "My fight is for gender equality and social justice."
She joined the Maoists to try to dismantle the existing feudal structure and help create a more equal society. "We waged war for social well-being, risking our lives," she argues, and adds that she had to fight both within the party and against the state to end discrimination.
But the difficulties and hardship of guerrilla war never weakened her. Although she could not continue her studies after SLC, she gained the confidence to lead. She obtained party membership in 1990, became a central committee member in 1998 and since 2003 has headed the women's wing of the party. "This is definitely an achievement, but I have not forgotten where I come from," she says.
She married comrade Bibek, Kabiram KC, during the war, but he was killed in action in Rolpa the following year. "We were prepared to give or take lives," she says. She has a daughter, Nabina, who is studying in a government school in Palpa. "She was taken care by the janata ever since she was born and is happy with them," she says. "I cannot afford to bring her in Kathmandu to put her in some boarding school. She will study where the children of the people study."
Asked if she thinks the war was worth it, she nods. People are politically aware, one third of assembly members are women, and this wouldn't have been possible without the Maoist struggle, she says. But she is still not happy about the level of women's representation in the cabinet. "There has been a significant change already, but it is yet to be completed," says Gharti, whose name was making the rounds as a state minister, but seems to have been dropped.
Asked about her experience as a CA member, she says: "I would be doing physical work in the village, but this is a different kind of work. The struggle isn't over yet."
Dewan Rai
