Equal Together – Grantee Projects 2025

Grantees: Birat Bijay Ojha and Elly Makem I Location: Kathmandu and Belfast 

Tender Is the Tear is a queer comic exploring masculinity, grief, mental health and intergenerational healing through a father–son narrative. Blending lived experience with fictional elements, the story examines care, vulnerability and the unlearning of rigid gender norms.  About the grantees: Birat Bijay Ojha is a writer, artist and independent journalist from Nepal, working through queer, feminist and decolonial perspectives. Elly Makem is a Belfast-based illustrator whose comics explore gender, neurodivergence and identity.

Grantee: Sushila Tamang I Location: Kathmandu

Aparajita strengthens inclusion in Nepali children’s literature by training seven writers in rights-based and feminist storytelling, hosting workshops and publishing seven illustrated books centred on underrepresented communities. About the grantee: Sushila Tamang is a writer working across art, literature and culture, with a focus on women, gender and sexual minorities, and marginalised communities. 

Grantee: Dolkar Lhamo Gurung I Location: Kathmandu

Reimagining Lhamo uses Tibetan folk opera to open conversations on gender and sexual diversity within Tibetan and Himalayan communities, using familiar forms and local languages to engage audiences with care and cultural sensitivity. About the grantee: Dolkar Lhamo Gurung is a Kathmandu-based artist whose work spans theatre, performance and community cultural initiatives.

Grantee: The Lead Nepal I Location: Surkhet

Project overview: Katha Karnali empowers young Dalit women through spoken word poetry and photography. The project creates safe spaces for storytelling, builds confidence and challenges gender and caste discrimination through workshops, performances and public exhibition. About the grantee: The Lead Nepal is a non-governmental organisation based in Surkhet, Karnali Province, that empowers marginalised communities through creative arts and leadership development. 

Grantee: Gargi Nepal I Location: Kathmandu and Chitwan

Grantee: Yozana Thapa Magar I Location: Kathmandu 

Project overview: Nowhere to Sit is a short fiction film set in a post-apocalyptic world where three girls clash over who deserves the lone ‘women’s seat’ on an empty bus. Using dark humour, the film explores gender norms, solidarity and survival. About the grantee: Yozana Thapa Magar is a screenwriter and stand-up comedian working across commercial and creative storytelling. 

Grantee: Aliz Ghimire I Location: Kathmandu, Pokhara and Butwal

Project overview: This fashion-art archive transforms clothing into testimonies of resilience. Featuring trans women, queer individuals and chosen families, the project challenges how dress codes police gender and morality, reframing garments as carriers of memory, identity and dignity. 

About the grantee: Aliz Ghimire is a Nepali queer artist, fashion professional, and the Founder of Nepal’s first gender-fluid clothing brand, Aliz Wardrobe. 

Grantee: Ankura Atelier I Location: Lalitpur

This project honours the stories of older women from Pilachhen, Lalitpur through collaborative art and storytelling, centring memory, care and emotional histories amid rapid urban change. About the grantee: Ankura Atelier is an artist collective based in Lalitpur, focused on collaboration, shared learning and care.

Grantee: Enuma Rai I Location: Khotang, Bhojpur and Udayapur

This project documents and celebrates the role of Kirat women, particularly elders, through audiovisual storytelling that preserves oral traditions, folk songs and cultural practices at risk of being lost. 

About the grantee: Enuma Rai is a Kirati Indigenous visual storyteller from Khotang working across photography, film and writing. 

Grantee: Pass the Mic I Location: Kathmandu and Damak

Project overview: Pass the Mic expands creative opportunities for women and gender and sexual minority communities through stand-up comedy, using joke-writing workshops and performances to challenge stereotypes and build confidence.

Pass the Mic is a storytelling and stand-up comedy initiative creating safe spaces for women and queer communities.

Grantee: Dinesh Raj Upadhyay I Location: Darchula, Baitadi, Doti, Dadeldhura, Bajhang, Bajura, and Achham 

This project documents endangered women-led musical traditions across seven districts in Far Western Nepal through film, virtual tours and artist profiles, supporting cultural preservation and gender equity. Dinesh Raj Upadhyay is a visual ethnomusicologist and singer-songwriter from Bajhang.

Grantee: Mithila Maajh I Location: Janakpur

This project curates an in-person and digital walking tour highlighting the contributions of Muslim, Dalit and Janajati women to Mithila art and cultural heritage, including murals created along a one-kilometre route. Mithila Maajh is a Janakpur-based initiative highlighting women’s roles in Mithila society.