In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, Hyatt Regency Kathmandu, in association with Media 9 Pvt Ltd, organised an award ceremony honouring accomplished women professionals from various walks of life on Tuesday. 

The programme began with a panel discussion presided over by Amud Mishra, the founder and executive director of the Ujyalo Foundation. Members of the panel included the founder of Pack My Lunch, Samiksha Rai, dancer, motivatioal speaker and founder of Blind Rocks, Shristi KC; singer songwriter, Samriddhi Rai; surgeon, Dr Tseten Yonjan Tamang; Ms Nepal 2010, Sadichha Shrestha, and politician, Ranju Darshana.

Awards were later presented to Aayushi KC for entrepreneurship, Ranju Darshana for leadership, Shailee Basnet for the arts, Shristi KC for social activism while Dr. Tseten Yonjan Tamang was recognised as ‘Inspiring Woman of the Year’. 

Aayushi KC is the founder of Khalisisi, ‘a trash collecting company’ conceived of to address the dire need for an efficient model of trash collection and recycling in Kathmandu valley. The 22-year-old Ranju Darshana was the Capital’s youngest ever mayoral candidate for the Bibeksheel Party. Shailee Basnet is the co-ordinator of the Seven Summits Women Team, a group of women mountaineers who were the first ever to summit the highest mountains of each continent. Basnet is also well known as a stand-up comedian, being the first Nepali person to ever perform at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York. Shristi KC is the founder of Blind Rocks, an organisation that serves people with disabilities. Dr Tseten Tamang is a veteran surgeon who has the distinction of being the first Nepali woman to perform a liver transplant. During the panel discussion, Tamang had shared her current goals as being the establishment of a medical registry, the depolicisation of the medical profession, and the raising of wages for medical staff.