Being denied water as a child set Sarswati Nepali on a path to end caste-based discrimination. She has since been honoured by the US government and become an inspiration to women
Dashing home to get a drink of water during school breaks was Sarswati Nepali’s first taste of injustice. Born into a Dalit family from Baitadi, a district in the far-west of Nepal, she was not allowed to drink from the same tap, cup or bucket as other pupils.
“I had to run to my home, which was 25 minutes away, to drink water during the school break because as a Dalit I was not allowed to touch the water in school,” says Nepali, 41, now one of Nepal’s most prominent activists for Dalit rights. “Many times I had to leave my classes because I was thirsty.”
Written by Rojita Adhikari in Kathmandu
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/sep/11/nepal-celebrated-dalit-activist-on-her-lifelong-battle-for-equality under the title “‘I will fight until I die’: Nepal’s celebrated Dalit activist on her lifelong battle for equality”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
