Kantipur Media Group organised the annual ‘Nirvik Nari’ event at Everest Hotel in New Baneshwar Kathmandu, on Thursday. With the slogan ‘Invest in women, accelerate progress,’ the programme had four sessions where personalities from different fields expressed their opinions on various issues concerning women.

Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari opened the event with a keynote speech, stressing the equal role of men and women in shaping today’s society. She said, “Even though the roles or responsibilities of men and women may be different, these roles complement and are interrelated to each other.”

In a session of the programme titled, ‘Judging Beauty’, five speakers: actor and model Prashant Tamrakar, Miss Universe Nepal 2023 Jane Dipika Garett, actor Dayahang Rai, sociologist Nirmala Dhakal and Miss Nepal Earth 2022 Dr Sareesha Shrestha discussed the beauty standards set by our society. The session was moderated by vlogger Lex Limbu.

The speakers addressed how beauty standards impose unrealistic expectations on individuals. Dr Shrestha remarked, “We've been fed the notion that fair skin and a certain body type define beauty, which is simply untrue and unrealistic.”

Echoing this sentiment, Garett questioned the relevance of beauty standards, stating, “I don’t understand why we even have a thing called ‘beauty standard’. Everyone is beautiful in their own way,”

Sociologist Dhakal agreed with her and said she believes “there is no standard for beauty.”

When Limbu asked actor Rai about the influence actors have in challenging filmmakers when they mock a character based on their appearance, Rai said, “Previously, mocking characters based on appearance was commonplace, but we’re now realising how wrong that is wrongness and the practice is slowly diminishing.”

Rai also shared his personal experience of people doubting if he could ever make it as an actor solely based on his appearance, without even considering his acting abilities.

Garett also shared that when she first talked to people about enrolling in a beauty pageant, many including her father, doubted her decision. “This further boosted my ego,” she said.

Expanding on this, model Tamrkar reflected, “Back in the early 90s when I started modelling, there were rigid standards. But today, seeing the diversity in beauty pageants and the modelling scene warms my heart.” He further added that beauty is subjective and will remain so in the future.

When the conversation moved to cosmetic surgery, Dr Shrestha said that if it boosts someone’s confidence and is pursued safely, then it should not be criticised. However, she cautioned against undertaking surgeries to mimic celebrities or conform to rigid social standards.