Gender, diversity, equity and inclusion have deliberately been turned into slurs, as the world’s most powerful nation silences activists at home and abroad. It is therefore audacious and reassuring that an art exhibition titled Feminist Futures is being held in Kathmandu. Nepal is one of the few remaining safe spaces in South Asia for open-minded discussion on balancing the scales of social justice, and Taragaon Next has curated an exhibition with artists from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. South Asia is not safe for women, New Delhi has one of the highest numbers of sexual violence cases against women in the world. Horrific crimes against women frequently make it to the headlines in Nepal.&nbsp; Feminist Futures: Art, Activism, and South Asian Womanhood attempts to highlight this through the transformative power of art to express experiences and aspirations tied to womanhood and feminism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025020111024_fc6e1ebf5619487b41127782e1163abc4c77623c2a87657023d535e49ed7bba2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025020111024_fc6e1ebf5619487b41127782e1163abc4c77623c2a87657023d535e49ed7bba2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Of women, for women, by women NT"> </figure>  “We wanted to bring this region together for a common cause,” explains Namita Saraf of Taragaon Next. “We wanted to give visitors something to reflect on and be inspired by. Art expresses emotions, and its intensity is what can bring change.”&nbsp; The exhibition is spread over Taragaon Next’s tubular brick structures and includes paintings, photographs, installations and videos from artists Anita Dube, Anoli Perera, Ashmina Ranjit, Bidhata KC, Mithu Sen, Naiza Khan, Pushpamala N, Sheba Chhachhi, Tayeba Begum Lipi, and Uma Bista. It is curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala. Nepali artist Ashmina Ranjit at the launch event on 25 January performed Sita! An Ideal Wife depicting the difficulties and injustices women face when they get married (pictured, above).&nbsp; “Patriarchy treats women as objects and does not give women the rights of ‘ansa’ and ‘bansa’,” Ranjit tells Nepali Times, using the rhyming Nepali words for ‘inheritance’ and ‘ancestry’. Nepali activists have been struggling for equal inheritance rights and citizenship for the children of single mothers for decades, with little progress.&nbsp; While a seemingly subtle force, art has the potential to spread awareness and catalyse reform. However, the true power and impact of art lies in its ability to connect with the community. When art resonates deeply with people, inviting them to interpret, reflect, and react, it is transformed from being just personal expression into collective action.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025020111024_3bf7561e4abbf1331f35fb4ac42627c9dee279520b91000b72ee09881ad68228.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025020111024_3bf7561e4abbf1331f35fb4ac42627c9dee279520b91000b72ee09881ad68228" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Of women, for women, by women NT"> </figure>  “Being able to engage a large audience rather than a whole community and deliver an impactful message beyond boundaries is what an artist dreams of,” adds Tayeba Begum Lipi from Bangladesh. Anita Dube from India exhibits Sea Creature, a collection of eyes embedded in a hand. She explains, “The eyes are the eyes of God, but when they come together as people’s eyes, incredibly beautiful energy emerges.” Sri Lanka’s Anoli Perera’s I Let My Hair Loose represents the protest against the male gaze. Women are constantly uncomfortably stared upon by the opposite sex, so her portrayal of the faces of women covered in long hair shows that women represent strength and value equal to, if not more, than men. Nepali artist Bidhata KC says her work Being a Daughter, Being a Woman is aimed at changing mindsets across generations. She says: “The idea is to show the independent identity of women as equal human beings, not merely as girls or daughters.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025020111024_d0acf07611201d126841e1743756a5a5954566d3cc1ecac5646abb77d6ec1aac.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025020111024_d0acf07611201d126841e1743756a5a5954566d3cc1ecac5646abb77d6ec1aac" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Of women, for women, by women NT"> </figure>  Some pieces at the exhibition are stark and confrontational denouncements of violence against women, others are more subtle critiques on the invisibility of women’s labour. Both force viewers to introspect: when can the world truly become a place of equality and safety for women? Kathmandu, with its space for free speech and artistic expression, is the ideal &nbsp;venue for this and other exhibitions at a time when there are increasing threats around the region and the world constricting open expression.&nbsp; Says Bidhata KC, “Kathmandu is all about art, our temples, and religious shrines. Our very existence is defined by an artistic culture in which women have always been portrayed as powerful.” In a cultural setting where stories of women are often marginalised or stigmatised, the exhibition highlights the creativity and strength of South Asian women as they reclaim the narrative, and lead a growing wave of feminist activism.&nbsp; This goes beyond simply challenging oppression. It advocates a future where art, activism, and solidarity can uplift and empower women at a time when Trumpian regression threatens to trample social justice. &nbsp;&nbsp; Feminist Futures: Art, Activism and South Asian Womanhood Every day 10AM-5:30PM until mid-May Taragaon Next Hyatt Regency premises

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Of women, for women, by women

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj109RD1eFo&amp;feature=youtu.beThere is a debate in behavioural science about which plays a more significant part in determining gender roles: nature or nurture. Most children are raised with gender stereotypes, but are they born with some gender traits? What role does society play in defining what <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/feminity-to-masculinity,1952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">masculinity and femininity</a> mean?Despite being tied down by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/patriarchy-in-an-oligarchy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">patriarchal</a> traditions, education and exposure to the wider world are changing <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/leave-no-one-behind-gender-roles,858" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender perceptions and roles</a> in Nepal. Slowly, rule breakers are becoming the rule.<h2>Ram Kumar Rai, Dancer</h2><h2>"Art is for everyone irrespective of gender. It is about aesthetics.”</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3fae9c7e80680e04a5dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934"/><figcaption>Photo: SONAM CHOEKYI LAMA</figcaption></figure>Ram Kumar Rai is rare: he is a male kathak teacher. He teaches the classical Indian dance form to young boys and girls in schools across Kathmandu, one of them being Rhythm Dance Academy. Rai commutes in heavy traffic every morning twice a week to Basundhara. He loves teaching dance but enjoys dancing even more: “When I first performed, I believed I attained mokshya.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=25894&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Non-toxic, healthy masculinity</a>, Jessica Amity Born in a village in Bhojpur district in eastern Nepal, where the life's aim of most boys is to join the British or Indian Army, Rai was drawn to art as a child, sitting on his father’s lap while he read the holy books. His father also used to play the madal drum and his children all danced to its rhythm. Rai discovered that he enjoyed dancing, letting his body sway to the beat.He came to Kathmandu to study, and enrolled at Srijana College of Fine Arts. Rai did not have a male role model while growing up, and despite facing ridicule every step of the way, he pursued his dream to dance.<h2>Aagya Khanal, Stunt Rider</h2><h2>"As female riders, no one discriminates against us. If a man can do it, a woman can too.”</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3fb19c7e80680e04a5ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934">Aagya Khanal, 22, is a stunt rider, a rarity among her male peers. But she is only doing what came naturally to her — she has enjoyed riding motorcycles since childhood.Still, Khanal never thought she would become a professional until three years ago when she went to a motorbike race and saw women riders doing stunts. She immediately joined the team.“I was scared when I started. But I used to look at other lady stunt riders and in that way overcame my fear,” she says.An even bigger hurdle was her parents. “I was in a dilemma whether to tell my parents or not. When I confessed to my brother and sister, even they were concerned about the risks and did not support my choice,” Khanal recalls.Her parents soon found out what she was up to after seeing photos of their daughter performing stunts. They asked her to stop, but she continued. Eventually, they came around after finding out that people appreciated her skill.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/anita-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anita and the art of motorcycle maintenance</a>, Taylor Mason<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/women-conservationists-brave-discrimination-and-the-wild/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women conservationists brave discrimination, and the wild</a><h2>Diwakar Chhetri, Teacher</h2><h2>"I have never seen teaching as a gendered profession.”</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3fb49c7e80680e04a5dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>When Diwakar Chhetri became a Grade 8 class teacher at a school in Lalitpur, he did not realise he was the first male class teacher in the junior section. However, gender has never been a concern for Chhetri. He has heard fellow teachers say that men are more qualified to teach higher grades and women are more suited for primary school, but he knows that is an ill-informed stereotype. So is the belief that male teachers are better at science and maths instruction.Chhetri is passionate about his profession, and he thinks that drive is much more important than whether a teacher is a woman or man. “It is not my personal mission to break gender rules but our patriarchal society has notions about what jobs are for men and which for women.”Chhetri now teaches lower secondary grades, for students aged 9-13, and believes those are formative years for children because they need guidance, but also the freedom to explore. He says he became a teacher because his role model was his mother, a teacher as well. Some think Chhetri became a school teacher because he could not excel at any other profession, but he says they do not understand the value of the profession, including how important it is to bring up the next generation of citizens to know about their rights and responsibilities.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/feminity-to-masculinity,1952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From femininity to masculinity</a>, Bernardo Michael and George Varughese<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/women-standing-above-the-ground" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Standing above the crowd</a>, Cynthia Choo, Stéphane Huët and Ayesha Shakya<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/uncategorized/stereotyping-women-as-victims/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stereotyping women as victims</a>, Radha Adhikari and Jeevan Sharma<h2>Non-toxic, healthy masculinity</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3fb79c7e80680e04a5dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="643"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3fbc9c7e80680e04a5e0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="651">Photos and interviews by Jessica Amity

Hop over the gender gap

Samsung Nepal has opened pre-orders for the Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Both phones run Samsung’s One UI 8.5, featuring AI capabilities like voice transcription, Circle to Search, and photo editing. They feature a 50MP triple-camera system, a Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates.

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
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BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

Nepal’s new government springs into action

‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>