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Nine Nepali women nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

The names of Nepali women candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 have been made public.

According to a press release issued by the Sancharika Samuha, a Kathmandu based women communicators’ forum, the names of the Nepali women for the prestigious award were made public amid a programme in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

The candidates are Sahana Pradhan, Rita Thapa, Indira Shrestha, Binda Pandey, Ghamak Ghimire, Anju Chetry, Stela Tamang, Jagan Sub Gurung and Ching Lahmu Sherpa.

Of them, most of them are from rural and grassroots levels and work on the promotion of non-violent responses to conflict situations and structural injustices. Pradhan, Thapa, Shrestha and Gurung are women rights activists while Pandey is a workers’ rights activist.

Similarly, Ghimire is a physically disabled person and a regular columnist in vernacular Kantipur daily and Sherpa is a social worker. Chetry is a journalist and Tamang, a child rights advocate, according to the statement.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the first woman winning the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, 1,000 women worldwide, including 9 Nepalis, have been nominated for the prominent award.

The names of all candidates, globally, were made public amid press conferences in their respective countries Wednesday, reports said. The declaration has been made demanding recognition for their contribution to peace building.

During 2004, nominees were sought from across the globe with the help of 20 coordinators. Reports said that international project team, on October, had selected the 1000 women from over 2,000 from 153 countries.

A total of 147 women from the SAARC region have been nominated for the award, which includes 91 Indian, 19 Pakistani, 16 Bangladeshi, 12 Sri-Lankans and 9 Nepalis. nepalnews.com pd June 29 05