The daughter of an ordinary farmer became the first woman PM of Nepal, this was the journey of Sushila Karki

International News: After obtaining a postgraduate degree in political science from Banaras Hindu University 50 years ago, Sushila Karki would have never imagined that she would set a record in Nepal's politics. 73-year-old Karki, who was the first female Chief Justice of the Nepali Supreme Court, has now become the country's first female Prime Minister.

Sushila Karki was appointed the 24th Chief Justice of Nepal in July 2016. She held the post for about 11 months. Karki faced an impeachment motion brought by the then Sher Bahadur Deuba government, which was deemed politically biased and was later withdrawn.

Born in 1952

Born on June 7, 1952 in Shankarpur-3, Biratnagar, near the Indian border, Karki graduated from the Mahendra Morang Campus of Tribhuvan University in Nepal in 1971 and obtained a master's degree in political science from Banaras Hindu University in 1975. She returned to Tribhuvan University in 1978 to pursue a law degree.

She grew up in an ordinary farmer family

Karki is the eldest of seven children of her parents and grew up in a simple farmer family. Karki spent 32 years in the judicial profession. She started practicing law in 1979 in Biratnagar. Meanwhile, she was also appointed as an assistant teacher at Mahendra Multiple Campus, Dharan in 1985. She became a senior advocate in 2007 and was appointed ad hoc judge in the Supreme Court in 2009. She became a permanent judge on November 18, 2010.

Married to Durga Prasad Subedi

Karki is married to Durga Prasad Subedi, a popular former leader of the Nepali Congress. They met while studying at BHU. A Nepali Congress source said, "Subedi was a young revolutionary member of the Nepali Congress in the 1970s. He was part of the group that hijacked a Royal Nepal Airlines plane to raise Rs 30 lakh for the party's armed revolution to overthrow the party-less panchayat system during the reign of then King Birendra Shah for the first time in Nepal's history."

Subedi And Karki’s Literary Journeys

In 2018, Subedi wrote a book titled 'Vimana Vidrohi' on his experience of hijacking a plane for political purpose. Karki has also written two books after retirement. 'Nyay' is his biography, while 'Kara' is a novel inspired by his experiences in jail during the 1990 people's movement that led to the restoration of multiparty democracy in Nepal.