KATHMANDU, March 14: Photo Exhibition ‘इतिहासको हराएका पाना:The Tyranny of Exclusion’, a commemoration of Nepali female political leaders curated and organized by Mega Maskey, Abhijeet Adhikari and Satyam Shiva Mishra, with the support of Nepal Leadership Academy and International Republican Institute, was held at Patan Museum on March 10 and 11.

Considering the historical oppression and current underrepresentation of women in governmental domains, the project ‘इतिहासको हराएका पाना: The Tyranny of Exclusion’ aims to challenge the traditional narrative that often downplays their contributions and exhibits the important roles played by women in shaping the political landscape of Nepal through photographs, videos, and historical archives.

The exhibition showcased around 90 exhibits starting from the portraits of the most courageous Yogmaya Neupane to the up-and-coming Sobita Gautam. Historic photographs like Bidhya Devi Bhandari during her student politics days; Onsari Gharti Magar during the early People’s War; rare photos of Astalaxmi Shakya, etc. were complimented with powerful photos of them like Sahana Pradhan protesting outside the Singhadurbar; Mangala Devi addressing Tundikhel full of crowd; Shailaja Acharya delegating in International conferences and many others. The exhibition tried to cover different movements across different time period like the two People’s Movement, Tharu Movement, Terai Movement, Maoist Insurgency Period where women were seen in action and power.

The event concluded with a panel discussion with Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal, Dina Upadhyaya and Reeta Pariyar.