Washington DC, JUL 17 – A documentary titled Bahadur Bahini (The Brave Sister)—based on Sabitri Shresthas’s struggle in seeking justice for the murder of her two brothers—premiered at Hotel Sheraton, Washington DC, on Monday. The 40-minute documentary, directed by popular journalist Ganesh Panday, was screened for free to mark the 32nd anniversary of the National Notary Association.
In Bahadur Bahini, viewers see Sabitri lose her younger brother Ujan Kumar Shrestha for having chosen to marry a girl from a different caste. The documentary follows Shrestha’s struggle for justice after she suffers through two more family members’ deaths for the same cause.
This heart-wrenching story is based on real-life incidents. Ujan Shrestha was killed on June 24, 1998. Five years later, his brother Ganesh Kumar Shrestha—whose plea for action against the perpetrator remained unanswered—was also shot in front of his traumatised daughter, who went on to commit suicide. In the wake of the death of three family members, Sabitri’s non-stop struggle to fight for the case has been documented in Bahadur Bahini. She goes to media houses, visits human rights activists and the Prime Minister’s office and even approaches the President at one point. In between, viewers understand how the Shrestha family have had to struggle to get by, and how they’ve had to deal with frequent death threats from the culprits whilst fighting the case.
“A trend has developed in Nepal where the excesses committed by powerful post-holders are deemed valid,” says director Panday. “Bahadur Bahini is an example of how impunity has become acceptable in Nepal.”
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