Dr. Barsha Prakash

Empowering Dalit Daughters Alumna

Health Division Chief, Ministry of Health & Population, Madhesh Province, Government of Nepal
Pediatrician & pediatric anemia researcher

Dr. Barsha Prakash belongs to the Madhesi Dalit community—the caste group facing the most complex challenges and most oppressive discrimination in Nepal. She comes from a village in Dhanusa District, and was raised watching her entire community experience caste-based violence and systemic neglect. This included medical neglect, including some doctors who practiced untouchability with their patients.

Although the society around her did not see it, Barsha was bright and deeply motivated. Against tremendous odds, she completed grade school and managed to secure a spot at a small medical college. Managing the expenses was a challenge. Becoming a doctor was Barsha’s dream, and though her school wasn’t prestigious, she was making the most of the opportunity.

Then she learned about NYF through a notice in the paper about a special scholarship for female Dalit students from all over Nepal. NYF had launched the Empowering Dalit Daughters program, and Barsha eagerly applied.

NYF supported Barsha from 2005 through 2007, beginning by transferring her to a renowned medical school in Kathmandu to complete her bachelor’s degree.

This enriched scholarship covered tuition and living expenses, plus personalized resources and networking to help young women from Dalit castes move effectively in circles they had historically been strictly excluded from. “This scholarship beautifully changed my life.”

After completing her bachelor’s degree, Barsha was able to complete her master’s as well. She became a pediatrician, and began serving communities back home in Madhesh Province.

Alongside her work providing medical care, Barsha began publishing research on medical issues facing children in Madhesh Province. She specializes in thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder that causes chronic anemia. This condition is especially common in South Asia, but often goes undiagnosed and untreated in Dalit communities.

Today, Dr. Barsha Prakash is serving as a Health Division Chief at Nepal’s Ministry of Health & Population, where she is shifting public policy to provide more equitable medical services across the country.

The experimental Empowering Dalit Daughters program began in 2005, when a Dalit Rights organization approached NYF with an idea for girls’ scholarships that would train future leaders from Dalit communities. This massively-successful initiative formed the basis for our current Educating Dalit Lawyers program.