The second series of Co-exploration of the Women’s Movement: Sandhaann Collection, a compilation of research based articles grounded in 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥 launched on Tuesday, 29 September 2026 at Siddhicharan Hall-Nepal Academy, Kamaladi, Kathmandu. The publication has been published in joint collaboration between The Story Kitchen and the Central Department of Gender Studies, Tribhuvan University (TU).
The book brings together the experiences and voices of women representing the diverse backgrounds of women in Nepal, as well as the struggles they have had to undertake even over fundamental aspects of life and their contributions to political and social movements. Featuring articles by 25 fellows/authors the approximately 450 pages volume explores the diversity of women’s experiences and examine multiple forms of discrimination faced by women with disabilities within Dalit and Indigenous/Janajati communities, as well as members of the gender and sexual minority communities.
A Contribution to Nepal’s Feminist Knowledge Production
Reviewing the book at the event, Prof. Dr. Kundan Aryal, Head of the Central Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Tribhuvan University, stated that the book is significant for Nepal’s women’s movement and stated; it has identified and raised alternative issues within Nepali society. Describing some of the articles as particularly powerful, Dr. Aryal said that the book would serve as a reference material for scholars and researchers of Nepal’s women’s movement and society.
Sociologist Dr. Meena Paudel, another reviewer of the book, described the collection as an alternative journey in the writing of history, particularly in a context where dominant narratives have been often shaped by the experiences of the same social classes and similar historical perspectives. .Dr. Paudel highlighted the distinct nature of feminist research methodology, which moves beyond traditional approaches focused primarily on counting people and producing statistics. She noted that the methodology reflected in the book incorporates questions of social justice and lived experience into research and knowledge production.
Intergenerational Knowledge, Diversity and Inclusion
During the programme, young lawyer and activist Kunjani Pariyar, Women’s Human Rights Activist Shyam Kumari Sah, and Gen-Z activist Monika Niroula shared their perspectives on “The Importance of the Book from the Perspective of Inter-Generational Knowledge Transfer, Diversity, and Inclusion.”
Activist Kunjani Pariyar emphasized the importance of viewing history through a feminist perspective, noting that women’s experiences and contributions have often been overlooked in male-dominated historical narratives. She also stressed that women should no longer be treated merely as a “backup generator” in politics and that their voices, experiences, and contributions must be recognized as an integral part of history. She also highlighted the interconnected nature of discrimination, the importance of documenting untold experiences for future generations, and the social, economic, political, and identity-related issues faced by women from Mechi to Mahakali.
Furthermore, another keynote speaker, Shyam Kumari Sah, added that the book adopts an inclusive perspective and underlined the importance of mentorship in ensuring meaningful inter-generational knowledge and leadership transfer. She appreciated TSK’s efforts to document and bring recognition to issues that have remained unwritten, unheard, and unacknowledged.
Additionally, Gen-Z Activist, Monika Niroula highlighted the book’s role in promoting inter-generational knowledge exchange, while raising an important question about how previous generations of strong women transferred leadership and knowledge to the next generation. She stressed the need for meaningful mentorship and leadership succession beyond individual projects. She also appreciated the theme of “victimhood to conscious struggle,” emphasizing the importance of seeing women not only as victims but as active agents of change. At the same time, she raised questions about who tells whose story, the insider–outsider position of authors, and the need for self-critical reflection.
They noted that ensuring intergenerational representation would make the ongoing effort to document women’s histories increasingly meaningful and relevant.
Bringing Marginalized Issues into Intellectual Discourse
The Chief Guest of the program, Prof. Dr. Dubinanda Dhakal, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Tribhuvan University, observed that the book has explored many other issues that have not yet entered intellectual discourse through the subjects discussed in it, and that the book also identifies various issues that have not been brought into public discussion in society. He further described the book as a “corpus” of articles prepared by incorporating the actual experiences and empirical facts of women, and expressed the view that, on this basis, further analysis and theorization could be carried out at the academic level.
The Guest Speaker, Dr. Mrigendra Bahadur Karki, Executive Director of CNAS, reflected on the significance of the fingerprints featured on the cover of Sandhaann as it conveys the message to everyone that every individual has their own identity. He said that since fingerprints can’t be identical and each fingerprint represents an individual’s unique identity.He noted The book also conveys the message that every woman has her own identity and that each individual’s experiences deserve recognition, respect and visibility..
From “His-Story” to “Her Story”
Dr. Jaya Luintel, Co-Founder and President of The Story Kitchen, described Sandhaann, as an initiative that has begun the work of writing histo-journalism and opening a window through which history can be explored from perspectives that have traditionally remained silenced & unheard. She explained that The Story Kitchen has been collaborating with universities with the understanding that the knowledge emerging from the discriminatory lived experiences, struggles, and specific contexts and circumstances of Nepali women, or our mothers and grandmothers, should also be transformed into academic knowledge.
In a society where His Story has often been regarded history, Dr. Luintel described The Story Kitchen’s work as a search for Her Story. She clarified that this does not mean removing men from historical narratives, but rather ensuring that women’s contributions, struggles, leadership, and lived experiences are placed at the centre of historical documentation and knowledge production.
E A Collective Journey
Nirmala Gyawali, Executive Member of The Story Kitchen, expressed gratitude to everyone who supported the initiative from the beginning of the fellowship through the publication of the book. Expressing confidence that everyone’s support and cooperation would continue in the coming days for “Her-Story” writing, she also stated that The Story Kitchen would continue collaborating with various departments of universities and other organizations in this kind of work.
Likewise, Jamuna Siwakoti, Head of the Central Department of Gender Studies at Tribhuvan University, which has been collaborating on the Sandhaann Fellowship and book publication, stated that the department has been collaborating on this kind of work for the past eight years and that such collaboration would continue in the coming days as well.
Gardika Bajracharya, Program Lead and Organization Head of The Story Kitchen, highlighted the gap between women’s actual contributions to social and political change and their representation in formal historical documentation She observed that although the lived experiences of Nepali women and their contributions and roles in social and political change have been highly significant, they have only occasionally been found to be assessed as supplementary elements in formal historical documentation. The book she explained to seek to document these overlooked experiences, struggles, and knowledge. She stated, “This was not merely a book-launching program; it was a celebration of a collective effort that has succeeded in documenting, through collaborative research and co-writing, the diverse women’s movements of Nepal, their struggles, leadership, contributions, experiences, and knowledge.”
Continuation of Sandhaann Journey
“Sandhaann” is an online portal initiated by The Story Kitchen that publishes and disseminates materials prepared through collaborative research from a feminist perspective. Since 2022, The Story Kitchen has been providing the “Sandhaann Fellowship” every year to journalists, writers, and students engaged in study and research at universities.
Under the fellowship, the collection of articles by 21 fellows from the first and second cohorts, titled Co-Exploration of the Women’s Movement, Sandhaann Collection Series-1, was published in 2024. The first series, initially published in July 2024, has also had its second edition published in September 2026.