A Fearless Voice

Thirty-year-old Sona Khatik, a journalist from Kapilvastu, was born into a Madhesi Dalit community in Nepal. She suffered and faced abuse from a young age, being physically and verbally abused by members of other castes.

She also recalls experiences of being insulted, isolated and humiliated in school from fellow students and teachers. “They didn’t treat me like a human being,” Sona says, “I dreaded going to school and couldn’t even sleep at night.” She however tried to continue her education. “I tried very hard to make the most of my time in school, because my mother used to tell me how much she had struggled to send us to school,” Sona says, “But I could not take it anymore and one day I quit my studies.”