Indira Ranamagar is Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nepal since January 2023. She started her career as a primary science and maths teacher in village schools in the southeast of Nepal, and became a social worker in prisons in 1990. For well over 30 years now, she has been a prolific human rights and social worker. In 2000, she founded the NGO Prisoner’s Assistance Nepal, which looks after prisoners' welfare and works to give children whose parents are imprisoned an education and a roof over their heads.

In 2022, she was elected to Nepal’s House of Representatives on behalf of a brand-new political party, taking her social work from the streets to parliament.

In 2007, Indira was named an Asia 21 Young Leader by the global network of Asia Society, while in 2009 her NGO PA Nepal received the Asia Society Asia 21 Public Service Award. In 2017, she was the first Nepali to feature on the BBC’s list of the 100 most influential women in the world.

For more on Nepal, watch this episode of our popular series A Closer Look: a quick but deep dive into the Himalayan nation with Nepalese investor Suman Joshi, recorded in March, 2023.

This episode is from Asia Society Switzerland's STATE OF ASIA podcast, bringing you exclusive, engaging conversations with leading minds on issues that shape Asia and affect us all. More info and other episodes: https://asiasociety.org/switzerland/podcast-state-asia.