About the Speaker
Rachana
Sunar
Nepalese women’s rights activist and founder of the Sambad Center
Rachana Sunar is a Nepalese women’s rights activist and founder of the Sambad Center. Created in 2013 with support from Kirdac Nepal and the Stromme Foundation, the center aims to educate young married mothers on issues such as women’s rights, child marriage, and human trafficking. At 15 years old, Sunar was intended to become a child bride to an older man of a higher caste, but tricked her family into delaying the marriage and allowing her to stay in school. Sunar began sharing her story with other Nepalese women and now helps lead the fight to end child marriage in Nepal. She has saved 37 girls from forced marriage and provides literacy lessons for adults in addition to her work at the Sambad Center.