Meena Kharel Elected Chairperson of Nepal Women Association Affiliated with Nepali Congress
April 8, Kathmandu – Meena Kharel has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Nepal Women Association, affiliated with the Nepali Congress. Party President Gagan Thapa designated Kharel, a resident of Chitwan, to lead the women’s organization. In the recent election, Kharel had contested from Chitwan-2 against Ravi Lamichhane, the Chairperson of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP). She has been actively working on behalf of vulnerable women and children. Under her leadership, a directive has been issued to conduct the long-overdue general convention of the association. Since 2016, the Women Association has not held any elections, and the previous committee led by Chairperson Usha Mishra was also unable to organize the convention.
Who is Meena Kharel? Meena Kharel is a well-established name in social activism focused on women’s rights, children, and domestic violence issues. Among the residents of Chitwan, she is recognized as a dedicated social worker committed to rescuing women and children facing abuse around the clock. At 54 years old, Kharel has devoted nearly 35 years to social service. She has fought legal battles for women suffering from single and polygamous marriages, and operates a shelter for helpless children who have lost both parents due to forced causes such as abduction. Known for empowering victims by providing vocational training to help them achieve self-reliance and social integration, Kharel remains more active in social fields than direct politics.
Born in 1971, Meena is a permanent resident of Ward No. 4, Bharatpur Metropolitan City. She holds a master’s degree in sociology. Kharel is the founding secretary of Adarsha Nari Club, president of Adarsha Nari Development Center in Bharatpur, and founder coordinator of Adarsha Griha, a rehabilitation center for vulnerable women and children. She also established Hamro Ghar, a street children rehabilitation center in Narayangadh, and has served as president of Adarsha Savings and Credit Cooperative and founder president of the Community Service Center in Narayangadh. As a child, she was arrested for protesting a fee hike. Kharel actively participated in the 1990 people’s movement as a representative of the student federation (Nevisangh).
She served as the student federation chairperson at Birendra Campus and was a member of the District Working Committee of Congress in Chitwan; she is currently a member of Congress’s central committee. In the local elections of 1997, she was elected as a female ward member of Bharatpur Municipality Ward No. 5. The recent parliamentary election was her first time running for parliament. The Nepali Congress has not won in Chitwan-2 since the 2004 elections. In the February 21, 2023 election, Ravi Lamichhane of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party emerged victorious in this constituency. The Maoist Center won Chitwan Constituency No. 3 in 2007, and from 2013 to 2017, Communist Party of Nepal (UML) consistently won here. In 2023, Lamichhane again triumphed followed by his re-election in the 2024 by-election. In those recent elections, candidates from the coalition including the Maoists ran for Congress. This time, Meena ran independently as Congress did not enter an alliance. Despite internal disputes within Congress, she received full party backing. However, the results were unfavorable. With 54,402 votes, Lamichhane was elected, while Kharel secured 14,564 votes. The CPN-UML candidate Asmin Ghimire received 6,992 votes in the race.
Her mandate includes organizing the Women Association’s general convention within a specified time frame, as well as continuing advocacy and support efforts for women and children in need.
