Sarita Barmashakha

Sarita Barmashakha is a youth development practitioner and learning enthusiast dedicated to advancing the rights of Dalit and other marginalized women and girls in Nepal. As Deputy Director at Just Futures Pahal she continues her work centering feminist learning and a strong commitment to uplifting historically excluded communities. Over nearly a decade she has worked across programme management, research and grassroots advocacy in service of Dalit and marginalized communities, facilitating sociology-educational processes grounded in Popular Feminist Education and organizing capacity and leadership-building training for Dalit women and girls that integrate an anti-caste feminist perspective, gender justice and community resilience. She is actively engaged in initiatives that empower youth and women, fostering inclusive leadership and social transformation, and approaches her work with an ongoing curiosity for learning, reflection and feminist praxis. She was a Scottish Human Rights Defender Fellow on the Gender and Environment Programme in 2023, where she worked closely on influencing policy to curb gender-induced discrimination against marginalized women. She is co-author of a book chapter in Water Issues in Himalayan South Asia, and author of an op-ed on Dalit women’s experiences in Nepal amid COVID-19.