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Bimala Tumkhewa has been a prominent figure in Nepali literature and media for nearly two decades, carving out a distinguished presence in both realms.

Her writing style not only challenges patriarchal norms but also voices against injustice and inequality. Raised on tales of distant lands by her father, Khadga Bahadur Limbu, who served in the Gurkha battalion, Tumkhewa’s formative years were shaped by his struggles, influencing her deeply.

After Khadga Bahadur’s passing, Tumkhewa defied societal norms by performing his last rites, traditionally reserved for sons. Far from weakening her resolve, this act seemed to strengthen her, reflected in her increasingly powerful writing, particularly her acclaimed love poems.

Currently serving as the central president of Sancharika Samuha, a forum advocating for women journalists, Tumkhewa leads initiatives to address gender issues in media and promote a fairer society. Under her leadership, the organization has worked tirelessly to empower female journalists, advocating for gender-friendly policies and facilitating opportunities for their professional growth.

Tumkhewa’s bold personality was shaped by her upbringing in Pathari, Morang, where she defied societal expectations to pursue her passions in literature and journalism. Despite being the sole daughter after her brothers’ passing, her parents’ unwavering support fueled her literary endeavors and her stance against inequality.

While many of her peers pursued opportunities abroad, Tumkhewa remained dedicated to her craft, primarily focusing on poetry before branching out into storytelling and memoirs. Motherhood marked a significant shift in her perspective, influencing her creative output and inspiring her upcoming collection of stories.

Believing writers must hold themselves accountable to society, Tumkhewa has consistently used her platform to denounce injustice and immorality, challenging established norms through her writing.

Her journey to Kathmandu in 2001 was marked by the discovery of a city different from her village, yet her love for poetry forged a deep connection with its streets. Despite facing hardships, she immersed herself in the literary scene, contributing to the rich tapestry of Nepali literature.

During the 2006 protests, Tumkhewa actively participated, alongside a diverse array of citizens, in advocating for democracy. Reflecting on the camaraderie of that time, she notes a sense of disconnection among contemporary writers, contrasting with the solidarity witnessed during the protests.

Recognizing the ongoing injustices faced by Nepali women, Tumkhewa emphasizes the need for greater acknowledgment of their contributions, advocating for female representation in key positions, such as the chancellorship of the Nepal Academy, to elevate their status further.

The streets of Kathmandu would be filled with protesters every day during the 2006 protest. Within moments, the streets would be littered with tear gas, water cannons, stones, and brick pieces. Commoners, lawyers, journalists, poets and writers had all taken to the streets. Tumkhewa joined the protests daily. During those days, places like Gurukul, Naya Baneshwor, Putalisadak, Bagbazar, Ratnapark and Khullamanch would be teeming with protesters. Writers from across the country had converged on the streets. 

This was the first time such a massive number of citizens had taken to the streets for democracy after the protests of 1950, 1960 and 1990. “The current environment is not like that time. Back then, there was a deep camaraderie among poets and writers. Now, we may seem close on social media, but our hearts are far apart,” she added.

The list of injustices and violence that Nepali women have had to endure solely for being women is quite long. Although women have risen above the situation of having to commit sati (self-immolation) upon their husband’s death, Nepali society is still not free from such crimes. Women’s contributions at all levels and stages are significant, but their true value and recognition have not been adequately acknowledged. Since Nepali women have assumed all important positions in the country, Tumkhewa feels if the Nepal Academy has a female chancellor, its dignity would be enhanced further.

Nepal is now connected to the Asian Highway, a 32-country road network that aims to expand intra-country trade and connectivity, after India completed the work of widening the West Bengal-Kakadvitta section. This section of the highway will start at Bangkok, Thailand and pass through Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, and reach Karachi, Pakistan from New Delhi, via Nepal’s East-West Highway.

With the expansion of the road network, Nepali rural businesses now hope reach international markets near and far. Tikaraj Dhakal, president of the Jhapa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and an entrepreneur, says, “When the Asian Highway comes into operation, our agricultural produce will easily find international markets.”

A four-lane 'Miteri Bridge' has also been built on the Mechi River at the eastern gate of Nepal with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank’s Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation-Road Network Project. Keshav Kumar Sharma, director general of the Road Department, informs that Nepal is now connected to the 'A Class' Asian Highway. “When the road is wide, the border becomes more economically vibrant,” says Rishi Timsina, president of the Mechi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

India has built a 790-meter-long bridge over the Mechi River on the Nepal-India border, funded with a loan of 1.5 billion Indian rupees. “The dilapidated and narrow Mechi Bridge was inconvenient for transport as it was difficult to move large containers,” says Dhurba Raj Bishwakarma, head of customs at the Mechi Customs Office, Kakadvitta. “Now that the new bridge has been built, transport has greatly eased. Vehicles ranging from bicycles to large container bearing trucks can easily pass without having to stay in a jam for hours on end.”  Bishwakarma informs that India has set up a port at Jalpaiguri near Siliguri to facilitate trade with Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

In 2016, there was an agreement between the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to build an expanded bridge over the Mechi River. Construction formally started in February 2017. A four-lane road has now been built up to Kakadvitta Bus Park along with the four-lane bridge on the Mechi River on the Nepal-India border, in what will be an approach road in the Asian Highway system.

India had built the Asian Highway bordering West Bengal only two years ago. After the bridge-building at Kakadvitta, Silguri, which 28 km away, has become more accessible.

“Connecting with the Asian Highway will also help our tourism,” says Netra Karki, a local tourism entrepreneur, noting that the narrow bridges on the Kakadvitta-Panityanki road had made traffic uncomfortable.

Former President of Jhapa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vijay Dalimiya says the Asian Highway is an opportunity for Nepal to expand and promote trade. “The highway will facilitate trade with India, which in turn will also boost Nepal’s trade with Bangladesh and Bhutan,” says Dalmiya.

Nepalis are generally cremated in their own motherland regardless of where they breathe their last. Families prefer to perform funeral rites in Nepal, even if their loved ones pass away on foreign soil. But residents of Mechinagar-6 and 7 in the south-eastern district of Jhapa have been performing funeral rites in Indian land across the Mechi River. 

“There is no proper place to perform funerals rites in Nepali territory. So residents have to tolerate condescending behavior from the Indians,” says Rajesh Basnet, a local of Mechinagar-7. “Earlier, the site was in Nepali territory. In 1995, after Nepali and Indian officials carried out land surveys, the area was declared Indian territory. Since then, we have been performing funeral rites in Indian land. The crematorium couldn’t be shifted just because the land was now in India,” he adds.

The place where people performing the funeral rites stay is in Nepal, but the one where the dead body is kept is in India. During the Indian blockade of 2015-16, Indian authorities used to tell Nepalis to perform funeral rites on the Nepali side of the river. But the problem is more manageable now, according to Basnet.

Bhadrapur (in Nepal) and Galgaliya (in India) are separated by the Mechi River. Although most areas through which the river flows lie in Nepal, the river also touches Indian land at many points. Funeral rites are performed five meters away from the Mechi Bridge at a site that falls on Indian soil.

“Currently, the bodies are cremated on the Indian side of the river and there has not been any objection from them,” says Sarin Gupta, a local. “Indian officials come here for inspection when they see smoke billowing from the cremation pyres. If they objected to this, we would have no place to perform funeral rites.”

Locals complain that elected representatives of Bhadrapur municipality have not paid attention to this matter. During elections, however, politicians promise to build a funeral home. Locals accuse the municipality of abusing the budget allocated for a crematorium. Says Shrawan Rauniyar, another local, “If a crematorium is constructed on the Nepali side of the river, we won’t have to worry about what the Indians might say. And Nepalis could be cremated in their own land.”

Ward chief Bandhu Karki says she has raised this issue in the municipality board meeting several times. She says, “The mayor says crematoria should not be built in multiple places, instead the existing Deuniya crematorium should be managed properly. The oldest place to perform funeral rites is on the banks of the Mechi River.”

Karki adds that the municipality has no plans to construct a crematorium, but that the ward will take an initiative to this end. She fears failure to construct a crematorium now could lead to problems in the future.

Tulsi Bahadur Shrestha, administrative head at the municipal office, says funeral homes are being built on the banks of Deuniya River in wards 2 and 7 of Bhadrapur. “Currently, the municipality has no plans to build one on the banks of the Mechi River.” he adds. “This issue should not be taken lightly.”

The situation is similar in the Kachankawal rural municipality. “The Indian police tell us to shift the crematorium to Nepal,” says Santosh Kurmi, a local. “But we go to the Indian side for performing the funeral rites as the Nepali side has less water.”

 Many women in rural Jhapa, the south-east­ernmost district of Nepal, hide uterine and sex­ual problems, lest they have to face discrimination from their family and society at large. They fear their hus­bands would look for another wife, neighbors would taunt them and people would not eat the food they touch, if they come to know about these illnesses. “My vaginal discharge smells so foul that I sometimes have to change my clothing twice a day. When I told my husband about it, instead of taking me to the hospital, he got another wife. Many women in my village do not talk about their problems fear­ing they would have to share my fate,” says a 30-year-old woman from Gauriganj rural municipality. She is yet to get any treatment.

Another 40-year-old woman of Kachankawal suffers from a similar problem. For several months, she has been getting stomach aches, discharging a foul-smelling fluid from her vagina and having difficulty urinating. And she does not feel like eating because of the pain. But she has not told her family and husband about her problem. She fears that if her family finds out, they might mistreat her and not eat what she cooks. “That would be a matter of huge shame. It’s much better this way. All I have to do is bear this pain,” she says.

These women are not aware that these problems can be cured if treated on time. Yet no organization or local level government body has launched an awareness cam­paign on this.

There are health posts in the village but women fear that others would know about their health problem if they go there. One of them says, “There are many people from the village who visit this health post, and it is certain that we would meet someone from our village there. If one person finds out about our condition, they would tell other people and soon the whole village would know.”

Teenage pregnancy and problems

Generally women are able to give birth when they reach the age of 20. But in the south­ern part of Jhapa, girls usu­ally get married when they are around 16. By the time they are 19, they have a child. Health workers say pregnancy at such a young age can lead to reproductive and other health problems.

Bishnu Bhattarai, an aux­iliary nurse midwife at Kachankawal rural munici­pality, says many men seek employment abroad once they have a baby and women hide their problems because they may not have anyone close to share them with. The problem is so bad that only if we go and ask women personally will some of them talk about their illness,” she says. Bhattarai adds that many rural women have sexual problems.

Health workers in Jhapa claim it’s hard to conclude women from which age group suffers most from these prob­lems. Dr Jaya Kumar Thakur, an obstetrician at the Mechi Zonal Hospital, says, “Some show signs of uterine diseases when they are around 25. Oth­ers reveal it only when they reach 70.”

Urban women get treated

Between 20 and 25 women visit the Mechi Hospital every day seeking treatment for sexual diseases, says Dr Thakur. Most of them are from urban areas. Doctors say that sexual diseases get severe if not treated early. Awareness programs on sex­ual and uterine diseases in rural areas would be useful, he adds.