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| A graduate of Empowering Women of Nepal, Kamala Biswakarma leads foreign visitors on Himalayan treks. Jasmine Scott |
Guiding Himalayan treks, Nepali woman scales mountains of social taboos
Divorced and poorly educated, Kamala Biswakarma entered a unique training program, put her sari aside, and became self-sufficient in traditionally male business.
from the October 1, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
If female guides threaten men's egos out on the trail, it must take a certain kind of man to marry a trekking guide. Biswakarma smiles and says her husband, Nabin Shestra, is "a quiet man, and he is proud of me."
Not all men are so accepting. When Biswakarma – a poorly educated girl from the flatlands of Chitwan – was still living with her family, a widowed veterinarian came to her house looking for an arranged marriage. She was open to the idea. But when he found out she was training as a trek guide, he stopped knocking on the door.
"He's an educated person but he doesn't want an educated woman. I would have been a housewife if I [had] married him," says Biswakarma, who thinks he simply wanted a sitter for his children.
Although Biswakarma is remarkably open with me as I sit with her in her sparse, one-room home and drink milk-tea from a tin cup, she hesitates to talk about the painful catalyst for her career.
She left her first husband after he returned home from a "trip" to India with a second wife. Despite the humiliation and discrimination she knew she'd suffer from friends and even family, who offered no financial support to her, she divorced him. "Once I left, I never looked back," she says firmly.
Although she exudes confidence and wisdom now, Biswakarma was once just as timid as the rookie trainees who start out speaking in a whisper and avoiding eye contact.
"She is totally different today from when she first came to us," observes EWN founder Lucky Chhetri. "She spoke no English; had no skills and no confidence. [She has] changed dramatically."
Ms. Chhetri recognizes that Biswakarma's situation stands apart from other guides: "Even though she's married, she is continuing to live her own life. [This is] unusual. Many girls who get married as guides end up depending on men again."
Biswakarma now lives in a small apartment near the EWN office with her husband and her 4-year-old daughter, Sabanam. With the money she earns she sends Sabanam to a private school. During the off-season it's tough to make ends meet, she says, but she is earning substantially more than most working women. With her primary school education, she'd normally only command 100 to 150 rupees a day ($1.50 to $2.50). As one of 10 permanent guides at EWN she makes 400 rupees a day (25 more for treks above 3,000 meters) plus benefits.
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