I was just 14 when they got me married, I had my first baby one year later and dropped out of school. I had always dreamed of going to college, but I wasn’t about to give it up. I rejoined school and passed the SLC exams when my husband, Manab Sejuwal, was in jail in Kathmandu for taking part in the 1990 Democracy Movement. My husband was freed but became even more active in politics, rising to be the Jumla District President of the NC. He was away most of the time. I started teaching at a government school in Jumla while raising my baby. I became principal, and founded a non-profit to support underprivileged communities in the Karnali.
After my husband was killed in the Nepal Airlines plane crash in Arghakanchi in 2014, I quit teaching to be more active in politics. When I became Nepal’s first woman Mayor, it was not just because of my political credentials but because of my social work.
The people of Jumla know me as a hardworking single woman committed to transforming the image of the Karnali. They voted for me because they know I deliver what I promise.
I have already assumed office as Mayor of Chandannath Municipality and my first decision is to transform Jumla into a Smart City – this doesn’t mean highrise buildings and a metro it is to turn it into a clean and green city with adequate drinking water supply, 24-hour electricity and blacktopped roads.