 After years of hereditary rule, Nepal introduced a constitutional monarchy in 1990. Widespread disaffection led to Nepalâs Communist Party launching their so-called 'People's War' six years later. A Maoist insurgency was in full swing. The Communists wanted to abolish all forms of discrimination. Women in particular saw this as a unique opportunity to win equality and many joined the movement in droves. Just weeks before peace talks between the Maoists and the government began; film makers Alex Gabby and Subina Shestra were given extraordinary access to some of Nepalâs revolutionary women. Comrade Nischal is a member of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). She says she joined when Maoists came to her village to explain their work and their ideologies. Having suffered physical abuse from her husband, just as her mother had with her father, Nischal decided she had to take part in the revolution. Now almost half of the PLA is made up of women like Nischal, who joined the movement for varying personal reasons, and all to fight for the same cause. But it hasn't been a smooth ride for them. Half of the Maoist party members are women, proof that they are making great strides in the battle for equality. But only two women sit at the highest levels of the party, and no woman, from either side is involved in the peace talks. Pampha Bhusal, a central committee member of the Maoist party hopes to change this. She says that the oppression against women comes from the state. The revolutionaries face other obstacles as well. They have been accused of exploitation, violence, and forced indoctrination. But women like Comrade Neschal says that she owes her very freedom to the movement. In the weeks approaching the peace talks, the party and its armed wing remain alert and ready to mobilise, as the stakes are as high as ever. But they also remain hopeful of a peaceful resolution, and the chance to trade in their bullets for ballots.
Bullets To Ballots - Nepal. Note: Video hosted on Youtube.com Nepal, officially Kingdom of Nepal, constitutional monarchy in South Asia. Locked within the rugged ranges of the Himalayas, Nepal is bounded by the Tibet region of China on the north and India on the south, east, and west. It was cut off from the rest of the world until the early 1950s, when a palace revolution and the subsequent overthrow of the autocratic Rana dynasty marked the beginning of Nepal?s emergence into the modern world. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. Nepal?s indigenous population consists of two major groups, the Indo-Nepalese, whose ancestors migrated into the country from the south, and the Tibeto-Nepalese, whose ancestors entered Nepal from the north. Although intermingling between the two groups has occurred, cultural, linguistic, and religious differences exist both between and within the two groups. The Indo-Nepalese group comprises people who speak Sanskrit-derived languages and are strict adherents to Hinduism. Nepali, the official language, is derived from Sanskrit. Differences within the Indo-Nepalese group are marked more by caste (a system of social hierarchy) than by ethnicity. The Tibeto-Nepalese group comprises several different ethnic groups including Newar, Bhutia, Sherpa, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, and Limbu people. Although most of the Tibeto-Nepalese speak Nepali, each ethnic group also has its own language. While the majority of Nepali people practice Hinduism, the official religion, a strong shamanist element remains in the religious practices of many Tibeto-Nepalese ethnic groups (see Shaman). Buddhism is also important within the country. Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in LumbinÄ«, in present-day Nepal. There is also a small Muslim population mainly located in the TarÄi.Nepal?s society is predominantly rural. Social life in the village revolves around the family, which is headed by the father. Extended families sometimes break apart as sons separate from parents and brothers from each other in search of additional land. Family property is divided equally among sons at the time of separation. Consequently, family land holdings are extremely fragmented. Villagers often pool resources and labor to implement village-level projects such as irrigation ditches or channels. Rice is the food staple in most parts of the country. Barley, millet, and potatoes are important food staples in the Himalayas.
 People in Kathmandu
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