A total of 62 married women from all over the world had participated in the pageant.
“Although it was the 18th edition of Mrs Globe, it was the first time that Nepal was represented at the pageant. I’m elated that I was able to bag at least one award,” Thapa shares. Soft-spoken but confident, Thapa says beauty pageants always fascinated her as a child.
“I fondly watched confident young women sashay about the stage of various pageants, and I too dreamt of making it to Miss Nepal someday, but I had to give up on that dream as I got married at the age of 17,” she reminisces.
Totally immersed in her duty as a homemaker after getting married, it was only in 2011 at the Mrs Teej competition that Thapa found her true calling. She not only participated but also secured the 3rd runner-up position and bagged the Best Personality title.
“I, like most other Nepali women, was brought up to believe that the prospect of progress dies down for a woman after her marriage. But my participation and relative success at the competition revitalized the long-buried enthusiasm in me,” she says, adding that it was when she realized that life for her was not over yet.
Then in 2013, this 26-year-old mother of two daughters decided to participate in the Mrs Nepal pageant.
“It was the second edition of the pageant, and not at all as coveted as the Miss Nepal. But then, I decided to give it a try,” she says. However, not knowing what to expect from her in-laws, she kept this a secret.
“Eplanet, the organizer of Mrs Nepal, was also organizing Little Miss Nepal during the same time, in which my older daughter was participating. I used to go for the grooming sessions of Mrs Nepal, telling my in-laws that I was only there to support my daughter. I told my in-laws the truth on the final day, though. I was really nervous, but when I was crowned as the winner, they were really happy,” Thapa shares.
When it was time for her to fly to China for Mrs Globe, she received the required support from her in-laws, which only added to her confidence.
Thapa, who has recently started a business of her own, is also the Goodwill Ambassador of Rakshya Nepal. In future, she says, she wants to work toward uplifting the status of women in Nepal, and convey the message that the marital status or age of a woman should not define her potentials.
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