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Seventy-eight-year-old Malgodami Badi never had the chance to attend school—not as a child, nor as a teenager. She had no desire to study, nor did anyone ever encourage her to do so. A resident of Shreegaun in Dangisharan Rural Municipality-6, Dang, she spent most of her life engaged in household chores. But today, not a single girl in her family, community, or among her relatives is out of school. In fact, girls in the Badi community now enjoy 100 percent access to education. “We didn’t know how to study, but now everyone goes to school,” she said.

Nirmal Nepali, a leader of the Badi community and a human rights activist, recalls that the community only began accessing education after the Education Act was passed in 1971. “We feel like the first students from the Badi community. We started going to school in 1978/79,” said Nepali, who is also a teacher. “Initially, just one or two of us went to school. Gradually, the message spread that the whole community should pursue education. Now, all children in the Badi community—especially girls—have 100 percent school access.”

Similarly, 70-year-old Suntali Kusunda from the endangered Kusunda community has never been to school. Illiterate and unable to recognize letters, she is now committed to ensuring her children are educated. “Reading and writing is difficult in the Kusunda community,” said 68-year-old Birma Kusunda. “I didn’t learn the alphabet, but I have educated my children up to secondary level.”

Until 20 to 25 years ago, Kusunda girls received no formal education. Today, however, most girls in this small community—consisting of 170 people in 36 households—are in school. Around 15 to 20 Kusunda girls have completed secondary education. According to Dhan Bahadur Kusunda, president of the Kusunda Society, political changes have helped raise awareness. “With increased awareness, our people now say that girls must be educated,” he said. Depending on their economic condition, Kusunda children now attend both government and private schools. “I’m 59 and have never seen a school from the inside. But all four of my children are studying, though they have yet to find jobs,” he added.

With these political and social shifts, girls are now actively participating in education, and the demographic makeup of schools has transformed over the years. Data shows that the retention rate of girls in schools is now higher than that of boys, and classrooms today have more girls than ever before. “Earlier, there used to be just two to four girls in a class—now, most of our classrooms are full of girls,” said teacher Dharmaraj Poudel.

In Lumbini Province, the changes in school enrollment levels have been especially notable. From basic to secondary levels, there are more female students than male students in public schools. “This is a pillar of change,” said Lumbini’s Minister for Social Development, Janamjaya Timilsina. He credits state policies aimed at ensuring no one is left behind in school education for this shift. “A few years ago, there were obstacles for girls’ education, but now those issues are largely resolved. This progress is essential for education reform,” he said.

National data up to grade 10 also supports this trend: there are 2,522,049 female students compared to 2,422,969 male students—a gap of nearly 100,000. Experts say this growth in girls’ education is driven by evolving social attitudes and the erosion of traditional barriers.

“The number of girls in public schools has surged over the past 10 years,” said Bhagwat Poudel, principal of Tulsipur Secondary School Center. “Fifteen years ago, you’d see more boys in classrooms. Now, it’s the opposite. Many factors have contributed to this shift.”

Parents’ attitudes have also changed significantly. “Even families from marginalized communities now believe their children should be educated, and they are sending them to school,” he added.

In 2004, there were 17 percent more male students than female students in Nepal. By 2024, that trend had reversed, with female students slightly outnumbering male students. However, a subtle disparity persists: while girls are often enrolled in public schools, boys are more frequently sent to private institutions. Ironically, the dropout rate among boys is now higher, with fewer boys than girls appearing for the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) in 2024.

Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024, ‘Brotherless Night’ by V.V. Ganeshananthan is a beautiful and heartbreaking account of a family torn apart by the civil war in Sri Lanka, fought between the Sinhalese-dominated state and Tamil separatist groups. As someone who grew up during the civil war in Nepal, I could relate to the story and it helped me sort out the many emotions of the time that I still find myself struggling with. I must confess that the subject got a tad bit heavy at times and I had to put the book down. But I loved it and I have been recommending it to all my friends and colleagues. 

The story is narrated from the perspective of 16-year-old Sashi Kulenthiren who wants to become a doctor. Over the course of the decade as civil war rages through her hometown of Jaffna, she finds herself struggling to survive and her dreams take on a different course. Her brothers and her best friend get caught up in various political ideologies and their lives too turn out differently than anyone had imagined. 

After Sashi’s eldest sibling is killed in anti-Tamil riots, Sashi begins to question everything she has learnt and believed in over the years. Soon, as more of her siblings join the movement, she too finds herself in the heart of it. Her friendship with K, a high-ranking militant, offers her a chance to become a medic at a field hospital and this leads her to keep secrets from her family. However, her motivation behind taking up the position is simply that she wants to do good and help people, despite their political inclinations. But when the militants turn on civilians and other helpless members of the society, she starts wondering about her role in the war. Years later, she tries to document all the human rights violations committed by various parties during the war. 

Sashi is a passionate and intelligent narrator. She always finds a way to protect the ones she loves but she is also torn between her love for her brothers and best friend and her sense of what is right. The book shines light on a woman’s perspective on war and how they often have to sift through complicated emotions in order to make sense of and survive in a difficult world. The other characters are also well crafted and feel like people you know or have met. The brilliant characterization and plot make the story come alive. I felt it could be adapted into a really good movie. 

Brotherless Night is a historical fiction based on real events. But it feels raw and real, especially if you have seen war up close or seen people suffer its consequences. It’s brilliantly researched and written and thus compelling. It has been a while since I read the book but it has left a lasting impression on me. It has also definitely made me want to read more of the authors’ works. Brotherless Night is Ganenhananthan’s second book. Her first book ‘Love Marriage’ is also set in Sri Lanka and was longlisted for the Orange Prize.

Fiction

Brotherless Night

VV Ganeshananthan

Published: 2023

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK

Pages: 348, Paperback

Just as the Russia–Ukraine war, initiated by Russia’s  invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, was entering its fourth year, the international community was shocked by reports alleging that the North Korean regime has refused to repatriate the bodies of its soldiers who were unlawfully deployed and subsequently killed on the battlefield at Kursk, instead seeking to preserve them through a controversial “freeze-drying” technique known as “promession.” Even though the Kim Jong Un regime’s atrocious human rights record has long been widely recognized, its refusal to bring home its war dead and its bizarre approach to managing their remains further underscore the regime’s brutality and disregard for basic human dignity. 

Historically, how a nation handles the remains of its fallen soldiers has had a significant impact on military morale and served as a reflection of national dignity. Ensuring that those who sacrificed their lives for their nation are respectfully repatriated and honored is a critical part of sustaining the courage and willingness to sacrifice those soldiers who are alive. The United States, the world’s leading power, tirelessly searches for its soldiers’ remains even in the remotest regions of the world. For example, in the 1990s, the US negotiated with North Korea to excavate and repatriate the remains of American soldiers from the Korean War, demonstrating its commitment to honoring the nation’s fallen heroes.

South Korea also has an organization dedicated to recovering its fallen military members, putting forth every effort to return their remains to their families. South Korea has also continually repatriated discovered remains of Chinese soldiers to their homeland, demonstrating both humanitarian values and respect for national dignity. In stark contrast, the North Korean regime has shown an utter lack of respect even for its own fallen by refusing to repatriate them and instead engaging in an unprecedented and morally reprehensible attempt to freeze-dry their remains. This is a clear demonstration that the regime prioritizes its own security over basic human decency.

The regime’s indecency
This act of indecency by Kim Jong Un’s regime appears to be part of a deceptive attempt to conceal its illegal actions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law. Labeling it a “special military operation” does not obscure the fact that Russia’s act of aggression has claimed countless lives. 

Most nations, with the exception of a few authoritarian states such as North Korea and Belarus, have condemned the invasion and joined sanctions against Russia. Assisting that nation in this unlawful war constitutes an equally undeniable breach of international law. Regardless of this, North Korea has supplied ammunition, missiles and other military equipment in support. And after strengthening ties with Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny summit in Sept 2023, Kim Jong Un escalated his support by deploying around 12,000 North Korean soldiers to Kursk, a Russian territory occupied by Ukrainian forces. These North Korean troops have reportedly suffered approximately 4,000 casualties.

However, neither Russia nor North Korea has officially acknowledged this troop deployment. North Korean soldiers reportedly carry Russian military identification, wear Russian uniforms, and fight as part of Russian military units. According to reports, most of the fallen North Korean soldiers have been found in horrific condition, decapitated or with severely damaged faces. Eyewitness accounts suggest these gruesome injuries result from either suicide drone attacks or soldiers detonating explosives on themselves just before capture.

Reports have it that Russia attempted to return hundreds of dead North Korean soldiers, but North Korea has refused them. Instead, North Korean officials stationed abroad have reportedly been looking into facilities capable of rapidly freezing and pulverizing human remains—a practice known as promession. Promession, developed by Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak in 1997, involves rapidly freezing human remains with liquid nitrogen at -196℃ and then vibrating and dehydrating them into powder before burial. However, the practice has not been widely adopted, due to psychological resistance as well as practical concerns. North Korea’s efforts to pursue the use of this technique, despite these issues, suggests a deliberate attempt to permanently destroy evidence of its unlawful troop deployment.

The primary motivation
The primary motivation behind the Kim Jong Un regime’s  actions appears to be the fear that returning soldiers’ remains in such horrific condition to grieving families could trigger enough public outrage to destabilize the regime itself. The North Korean regime has rigorously concealed the truth about its troop deployment to Russia, even from its own soldiers. This was recently revealed through testimonies of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces.

They stated that they had been told they were traveling abroad for training. The regime also lied to the North Korean people, telling the soldiers had simply gone overseas for training. However, it is only a matter of time before these lies are brought to light. As casualties mount and concealing the truth becomes impossible, the North Korean regime has begun notifying families of soldier deaths, demanding absolute secrecy while offering compensation such as televisions, electronic devices, and additional food.

No matter how strictly a regime maintains control through surveillance and oppression, parents would not just suffer and do nothing once they realize their children have been sent to die senselessly on a foreign battlefield. Should this appalling reality spread across North Korea, it could profoundly unsettle the population.

The unlawful deployment of North Korean troops to Russia is solely driven by Kim Jong Un’s desperate effort to secure his regime’s survival. Due to its efforts to further develop its nuclear weapons arsenal, the international community has exacted punishing sanctions, leading to collapse of North Korea’s economy and great suffering among its people. Kim’s alliance with Vladimir Putin is seen as a way for the former to overcome these challenges and preserve his hereditary dictatorship. However, sending young North Koreans to die on a foreign battlefield and then preventing their remains from returning to the grieving parents goes beyond being profoundly inhumane and will lead to the regime’s collapse—the exact opposite of Kim’s intentions. North Korea must end its unlawful conduct before it’s too late and begin actually practicing its self-proclaimed policy of “putting the people first.”

The author is director of the Center for Korean Unification Strategy at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy

The coalition government of Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML, formed in July 2024 with promises of political stability, has not been able to function effectively. The two parties have not been able to hold even preliminary talks on constitutional amendments—one of the major tasks for which the two largest parties in parliament formed the coalition. A lack of unified support from NC is among the reasons weakening the coalition’s ability to govern effectively.

The rift within the NC, primarily between party president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s loyalists, and reformist leaders such as Gagan Thapa and Shekhar Koirala, have caused problems for the government. Thapa and Koirala, both vying for the party presidency in the coming general election and eyeing future premierships, have openly criticized the coalition. Their resistance to Deuba’s potential return as prime minister in the latter half of this parliament’s tenure has only deepened the party’s divisions and weakened its commitment to the coalition. Even Deuba’s loyalist leaders like Purna Bahadur Khadka and Prakash Sharan Mahat have hinted they prefer an alliance with the Maoist Center, with NC leading the government.

It took the government 29 days to reach an agreement with protesting school teachers because of the lack of support from the coalition partner. The protest caused significant damage to the education sector with national examination of Class 12, assessment of Secondary Education Examination (SEE) answer sheets and national school enrolment program all affected. The dismissal of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising was another such incident. Although an NC minister pushed for Ghising’s termination, NC leaders, including general secretaries duo Gagan Kumar Thapa and Biswho Prakash Sharma, vehemently opposed the decision. The protracted delay in the appointment of the governor is another example of lack of cohesion in the ruling coalition. 

The NC’s wavering commitment has created uncertainty for Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. This has forced Oli to frequently seek reassurance from Deuba on the government’s future. Despite Deuba’s public support, UML leaders suspect behind-the-scenes pressures, reportedly from India, and overtures from Maoist Center Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who has signaled readiness to support Deuba’s return as prime minister. Thapa’s suggestions last month that the NC could exit the coalition, citing Oli’s leadership failures, underscores just how fragile the alliance has become.

This internal disarray threatens not only to cause the collapse of a coalition with a two-thirds majority but also to erode public trust in democratic governance. Nepal urgently needs a unified and functional government. The NC must bridge its internal divisions, set aside personal rivalries, and focus on delivering its coalition commitments—chief among them constitutional reform and effective governance. Failure to do so risks plunging the country back into another cycle of political instability. This would further alienate people at a time when some forces are calling for a revert to monarchy.