Dwarika Devi Thakurani

Dwarika Devi Thakurani (Nepali: द्वारिकादेवी ठकुरानी) (1915–2002) was a Nepali politician, the first Nepali woman to be elected to parliament and the first woman to become a cabinet minister.

Dwarika Devi Thakurani
द्वारिकादेवी ठकुरानी
Born
Dwarika Devi Panta

(1915-10-28)28 October 1915
Silgadhi, Doti, Kingdom of Nepal
Died10 December 2002(2002-12-10) (aged 87)
Kailali, Nepal
OccupationPolitician
Known for
  • First woman Member of Parliament of Nepal
  • First woman Cabinet Minister of Nepal
SpouseUddhav Bahadur Chand
Parents
  • Bam Dev Panta (father)
  • Radha Devi Panta (mother)
RelativesShiva Raj Panta (step–brother)

Biography

Thakurani was born to father Bam Dev Panta and mother Radha Devi Panta on 28 November 1915 (12 Kartik 1972 BS) in Silgadhi town of Doti district in far–western region of Nepal. She died on 10 December 2002 (14 Mangsir 2059 BS).[1]

Career

Thakurani was elected to parliament in the first democratic election of Nepal, held in February 1959. She was a candidate from Constituency No. 66,[2] Dadeldhura District for Nepali Congress. She was the only woman elected to the House of Representatives (out of 15 that ran),[3] and jointly the first woman in the Nepalese parliament, alongside Kamal Rana, who had been appointed to the Senate.[4]

Following the election, she was also appointed deputy minister of Health and Local Self-governance on 27 May 1959 in the BP Koirala cabinet,[5] also becoming the first female minister in Nepal.[6][7]

References
  1. "आजैका दिन मुलुककाे पहिलाे महिला सांसद बनेकी थिइन्– द्वारिकादेवी". Himal Khabar. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  2. "Marching Ahead" (PDF). National Democratic Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  3. Ahmed, Nizam (24 August 2017). Women in Governing Institutions in South Asia: Parliament, Civil Service and Local Government. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-57475-2.
  4. Stéphanie Tawa Lama-Rewal (2004) Femmes et politique en Inde et au Népal pp92–93
  5. "Women ministers in Nepal". South Asia Check. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  6. "Oli speaking about Nepal's first elected woman parliamentarian makes three mistakes". South Asia Check. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  7. Joshi, Bhuwan Lal; Rose, Leo E. (1966). Democratic Innovations in Nepal: A Case Study of Political Acculturation. University of California Press.


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