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Making history: Nirmala Sharma becomes first female president in umbrella organization of Nepali journalists

The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), long dominated by males in top posts, elected Nirmala Sharma in the post of President on Sunday. Nitu Pandit has been elected vice president.

Nitu Pandit left and Nirmala Sharma (right)

Kathmandu: The election of The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), the umbrella organization of Nepali journalists, elected Nirmala Sharma as its president. She is the first woman to lead FNJ as  president since the professional organization of journalists started in 1956. The organization was named as FNJ in 1995.

Among others, Nitu Pandit was elected vice president of the umbrella organization of Nepali journalists. Both Sharma and Pandit have had a long history and experience of working in Nepali media—often considered the fourth state that in recent times appears to be thoroughly politicized.

FNC Central Election Committee said on Sunday that Sharma secured 4,282 votes against 3,203 of her nearest competitor Ramesh Bista to win the election. Devi Prasad Sapkota, the third candidate for the chair post, obtained 270 votes while another contender Lal Singh Lama got 96.

Similarly, Deepak Acharya has won the election for the Senior Vice Chair by receiving 4230 votes against 2,886 of his nearest competitor Roshan Puri.  In the Woman Vice Chair category, Nitu Pundit obtained 4,705 votes to win the election while her rival Gangal Baral got 2,644. Umid Bagchand won the post of Vice Chair (Inclusive) with 4292 votes while his nearest rival Susbhash Prasad Sah secured 2,080.

The FNJ elections for all the three-tier leadership were held simultaneously on Friday.

Sharma contested as a common candidate  from Press Union and Press Chautari, journalist associations of Nepali Congress and CPN-UML respectively. Pandit was a common candidate from Union and Press Chautari.  

Ideally the umbrella body to advocate for the rights and wellbeing of working journalists of Nepal, the FNJ often faces the allegations of being politicized and not being able to work for the working journalists—majority of whom suffer from wage-related issues. A number of journalists file complaints at the FNJ regarding unpaid wages.  The journalists’ association also becomes a platform for protests by journalists affiliated with different political organizations over different issues.  The FNJ offices in Kathmandu and elsewhere get padlocked by journalists from different political parties now and then.

Sharma’s election to the top leadership marks a change in Nepali media landscape where women remain underrepresented including in professional organizations of journalists.