How has the arrival of female writers changed the Nepali literary scene in the last eight decades? With this question in mind, a discussion was organised this week by Nepal Pragya Prathisthan in collaboration with Banita, a Nepali literary magazine. Speaking during the event, author Maya Thakuri said that figures such as Devkurami Thapa, Parijat and Prema Shah set the benchmark for women writers.  Among the three writers, Thakuri focussed on the contribution made by Dev Kumari Thapa. Thapa had risen to prominence after she published a short story titled Patan (roughly translated as decadence) in 1949. “Thapa brought the history of womanhood in the country into public limelight. She provided much needed awareness in Nepali society,” Thakuri empasised, “All the woman writers then as well as  now follow her path.” 

Presenting a paper titled ‘Tradition of Women Writing in Nepal’, literary critic Gita Tripathi said that since stories written by women have been filtered through the patriarchal lens, there has never been a proper understanding of the scope of women writing. “Those who think that woman writers only write about individual struggles miss the point,” she added, “From 1972 to 2006, there is a curious absence of political writings from women.”

In spite of that, her paper provided an argumentation for how the changing political landscape has increased the quality and quantity of women writings.