Devi

Nepalese Devi Khadka realises her story as a wartime rape survivor – like the stories of thousands of women like her – is being erased from history. She decides she won’t let that happen. In her thoughtful, quietly determined way, Devi takes her demand for accountability to the highest political level.  

Between 1996 and 2006, Maoist rebels fought a civil war in Nepal to overthrow the monarchy. When she was 17 years old, Devi Khadka was captured by the Nepalese army who were looking for her brother, a local Maoist leader. Devi was brutally tortured and raped multiple times. After that, she became a Maoist soldier herself, emerging as a commander of an all-women’s platoon.

Since 2014, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigates the human rights abuses committed during the Nepalese war. However, the many cases of sexual violence against women – perpetrated by both sides – are all but ignored in this process. Now, after many years of silence, Devi Khadka is ready to take action. ‘I’ve come to one conclusion,’ she says, ‘if I don’t speak up, nobody else will.’ We follow Devi as she works with a therapist to deal with her trauma, tries to heal the bond with her daughter, and inspires rape survivors to shake off the stigma and shame, and join her in her fight.  

Activist Devi Khadka will be present at the Q&As for Devi at the festival.