Mangala Devi Singh

Mangala Devi Singh
Mangala Devi Singh in 1951
1st President of the Nepal Womans' Association
In office
1947–1952
Personal details
Born(1925-12-10)December 10, 1925
DiedAugust 26, 1996(1996-08-26) (aged 70)[1]
Cause of deathKidney Failure[2]
SpouseGanesh Man Singh
Known forFeminism
Founder of the Nepal Womans' Association

Mangala Devi Singh (Nepali: मंगलादेवी सिंह) was a pioneer feminist and prominent democratic right activist of Nepal.[3] Singh got involved in politics in 1940 at the age of 16.[2] Her husband was the leading Nepali Congress Leader Ganesh Man Singh.

In 1948 Mangala Devi Singh led a delegation to Prime Minister Padma Shumsher to demand education, employment and voting rights for women.[4][5]

In 1952 the Nepal Women's Association had an ideological split, with Mangala leading a faction which believed that women's rights could be attained through democratic reform. while another faction, led by Kamaksha Devi held the belief that only a radical change could provide women with their rights, this division culminated later that year when a decision to protest the arrival of First Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru caused Mangala to lose her support. During the protest police arrested a number of women attempting to reach the Prime Minister to protest radically with black flags, contrary to this Mangala welcomed Nehru alone. This act lead to her removal as president and replacement with Kamaksha Devi.[5]

She died in August 1996 of Kidney Failure, Aged 70[2]

  1. ^ "Leader Mangaladevi remembered". The Rising Nepal. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Asia Week Passage". CNN. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Mangala Devi Remembered". Nepalnews Videos : Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. August 26, 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  4. ^ "The Awakening II". Spotlight Nepal. 4 Feb 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b Binda Pandey. "Women Participation in Nepali Labour Movement" (PDF). GEFONT-Nepal. Retrieved 17 December 2019.