Tharu women have made significant contributions to the struggle for Indigenous rights and recognition in Nepal. This series by artist, writer and activist Indu Tharu documents the participation and leadership of women in strengthening the movement. The title, Ragat Timro Pani Raato Chha, can be translated as Your Blood Runs Red Too.

The photographs show key moments of activism from 2012 onwards, although the major turning point in women’s involvement was around 2008. In the Kailali district of the western Terai region, large and sustained demonstrations demanding a Tharuhat State, or Tharu ethnic state, were carried out by a range of Tharu organisations, in direct opposition to the ‘United Far West’ (UFW) protests. To weaken morale, the UFW – padded by political support, police forces and the mainstream media – would attack Tharu men and boys. Wanting to sustain the momentum of the movement, Tharu women organised, marched and rallied, taking up the responsibility of public demonstration. By wearing their traditional attire to protests and reviving Tharu-specific festivals, language and other intangible forms of their heritage, they have also preserved their ancestral culture. Ragat Timro Pani Raato Chha explores the systemic culture of exclusion, oppression and violence facing the Tharu community since the beginning of the Nepali state. This decades-long intergenerational movement is yet to see resolution.