Feminists Around the World: Nirvana Bhandary

Today we spotlight the work of Nepali agitator, activist, writer and filmmaker Nirvana Bhandary.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha. I wo through stuff
never told you production of Bot Hurt Radio and today
for our feminist around the world, we are talking about
Nepali feminist, writer, filmmaker, advocate and storyteller and so much

(00:27):
more of course with all the people as we talk
about Nirvana Bandari. So Bandari is a seasoned writer and
journalist who's been working to advocate for the rights of
women and queer people in her community. She actually calls
herself an agitator and I've listened to many interviews when
she talks about this more so than an activist, because
she knows that her conversations, this conversation alone ruvels a

(00:51):
lot of feathers. She talks about it agitates men. When
you talk about feminism, the word alone causes a lot
of agitation. And yes, we know this, we know this
is special today and she claims it. She likes it,
she goes with it, and I love everything about it.
We love everything about claiming what people would criticize you with.
And it's such a big talk. When she's talking about

(01:14):
feminism and women's rights, she make sures that she pinpoints
that as the focal reason of what she is doing,
and here's what she writes about herself in her upcoming book, y'all.
By the way, unsns Scari a feminist life. So since
scari is a Hindi word that is kind of like
a badge of honor or based on the person's behavior,
they're civilized, they're I guess what you would say, lady

(01:36):
like good and demeanor and dress. So unscen Scari is
the book she is writing, A feminist life. She writes
this about herself. I am committed to creating impactful spaces personal,
digital and social where women can exist with authenticity, vocalize
their truths, and become agents of change. My name is Nirvana.
I am a feminist writer, independent filmmaker, digital activist and

(01:58):
creative powerhoalth Originally from Kutmandu, Nepal. I have led a
life of wonderlust the last eight years that has taken
me from places like Australia all the way to Morocco.
Along my journey, I have designed leadership projects for refugee
women in Melbourne, captured the oral stories of women living
in the Saharan Desert, and curated immersive travel education programs

(02:19):
for girls in India. Through all my experiences, the one
thing that remains constant is my commitment to seeing women
flourish into the best versions of themselves. My passion is
supporting women to reclaim their narratives and regain complete control
over their life choices. I do this through avenues such
as conscious independent travel, oral and digital storytelling, and building
society community and curating bespoke events. So when you go

(02:43):
and look her up, all of our articles range from
so much including how to travel in Katmandu. As a
feminist like, she is very focused on keeping you safe
and where to go and how to do this and
also doing it. I think that's one of the big
things that we have talked about when it comes to
travel and seeing the world that a lot of times,
especially for by ourselves or it's a group of women,

(03:06):
feels unsafe, and so she is all about empowering young
girls and women to do this, to be able to
go out and enjoy themselves and see the world without
fear or how to best be safe. So I love
that that's something that she does, and she has many
articles written about different areas, so you definitely should check
it out. Obviously, I don't think you want to travel

(03:28):
to cut them on, do right now. Always be responsible
in your travel. Always look yes, what's going on? Yes,
always look up the current events. So she talks about
being able to feel safe in all environments, including in nature.
She talks about hiking a lot because she loves hiking

(03:48):
ourselves and talking about being able to explore nature in itself,
but also is what it is to be in society,
being able to go out to drink or have partying
as she would ay, or be safe in restaurants, in
society in general. And she's talked about her growth and
feminism and using her voice. So this is from an
article she wrote for austray dot com, which she has

(04:09):
several articles in there. She writes, this, my university course
comprised of ninety five percent women, and my first job
was at a women's nonprofit organization. This is the time
I began to find my feminist voice, recognizing the manifestation
of patriarchy and squeezing out the splinters of internalized misogyny
from my epidermis. I loved working solely with women. Power,

(04:30):
dynamics and conflict exist as in any workplace, but to
spend seven hours a day in a space without sexist
microaggressions and harassment created a desperately needed sanctuary. Interacting primarily
with women has always been natural to me. It has
made sense with regards to both my physical safety and
emotional comfort. In the presence of women, I can fully
express my personality, including the qualities that society has labeled

(04:53):
as intense or hysterical. Having so many women in my
spaces without being conscious of the male gaze, without being
main explained, has made me a vocal advocate for increasing
the number of formal women's spaces. These spaces should exist
in regardless of a woman's age, race, religion, income, sexuality,
or ability. These spaces should be accessible, and she actually

(05:15):
does this. She creates different types of events that she
calls Nirvana's Vibes, which curates events for women only. I
love it, and she even talked about in an interview
that I saw recently about how, yes, she knows that
US has been doing this, but obviously for areas that
she's going to, its new and so being able to
create these spaces where women feel safe to drink, women

(05:37):
to feel safe to dance, women's feel safe to look
cute because we're not most of the times, we're not
dressing up for men. We're dressing up for me, for
ourselves or for other women to say I like your dress,
and you can say I have buckets, yes, or I
got it for this price, which part a lot of
women like to do. I do this, or I just
tell you where it does you should go get it? Yeah?

(06:00):
Weyet she can you look cute in this anyway? We
love those types of faces, and she is creating more
opportunities for that in her events, Like when she says
that she is a powerhouse, she is a powerhouse. And

(06:24):
with all of that, she explains even more about the
feminist movement in Nepal and how it's changing or hopefully
changing and grown through the years. She wrote another article
wrote for boe L dot Dee and she sits down
with two other Nipalese activists and they talk about what
has happened before Now, I guess, as you say, in

(06:44):
the past years with feminism. So this is what she writes.
The feminist movement in Nepal is dynamic, diverse, and rooted
in both individual and collective struggles. Since the establishment of
the Nai Samiti, Nepal's first women's rights organization, in nineteen
eighty progress has been both gradual and inspiring. Over the
last three decades. Concerted efforts have focused on reducing ginger

(07:07):
based violence, dismantling minstrual taboos, and ensuring access to safe
reproductive health services for women. A significant milestone was achieved
in twenty fifteen when Nepal elected its first female president,
Head of the US, Head of the US. While Nepal's
protest culture may not be as visible on the global
stage as larger countries more fraught with political tensions, grassroot

(07:30):
activism is meaningful and worthy of recognition. That has changed,
that has changed. So this was earlier this year. By
the way this article, Feminist resistance does not always take
the form of public marches or rallies, but can also
be found in everyday acts of defiance. For many Nepali women,
the very act of realizing their oppression and deciding to
resist as a significant feminist and class awakening. Which is

(07:54):
so true, Which is so true. I think, like we
think in the US, we've progressed so far, But like
when women come to that point of understanding, which is
still happening today, that in itself is resistance and I
love reading that. But she actually has some beautiful interviews
and conversations with other activists about the specific conversation, especially

(08:17):
in Nepal in India. Like, she is very focused in
women's rights, but also she is a queer activist as well.
She is bisexual herself. It has talked about what that
looks like in her culture and what that looks like
in a culture that doesn't celebrate that, and having to
walk safely in a heterosexual space. So like, there's a

(08:41):
lot of great conversations she has in understanding, like yeah,
that's good for you, liberated and out, but there's a
lot of places that's not okay. So we have to
navigate these spaces differently. So I think she does a
lot of great thing pieces on those as well. So
if you get to look her up again, like we said,
she actually has a book coming out. I believe it's
going to be September thirteenth through the twentieth when it's

(09:02):
supposed to be released. So we're recording ahead y'all. So
by the time this is out, you should be able
to get this book. And again is called Unsakari My
Feminist Life, So it's very cool. You should definitely go
check it out. She is on social media as well,
and she's been doing little excerpts of that from her book.
So I think it's important to see because she is

(09:24):
again a powerhouse. As we talked about the experiences that
she has, the events for the Nirvana Vibes. She has
feminist projects that work with Nepali Writers Collective, Women White
Writers Collective, and digital platform storytelling, so she's helping with
that as well as created projects with that. But also

(09:45):
she has she's had a documentity already released called Nepali
Women Reclaim their Bodies and it has been like in
several film festivals already. But she's got a new one
coming out in twenty twenty six called Unwed and the
film cover alone is gorgeous. That is written and directed
by her. So I'm sure there's gonna be a lot

(10:07):
more things that we can look into add to our
many a list, Annie, that's a part of yours. But yeah,
she is a woman of many talents, a storytelling, of
opening conversations, of travels. I want to be her friend
in real life. I make that happen. You're good at that, Samantha.

(10:27):
I'm gonna try to find you. You are, I'm gonna do this.
I believe in you. I truly do well. Listeners, Please
let us know if you have any suggestions for the
segment or any thoughts about anything we've talked about. You
can email us at Hello at Stuffannever Told You dot com.
You can find us on Blue Sky at mom Stuff podcast,

(10:47):
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a contributor Joey, Thank you, and thanks to you for
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(11:09):
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