Dwarika Devi Thakurani
Dwarika Devi Thakurani was a Nepali politician, the first Nepali woman to be elected to parliament and the first woman to become a cabinet minister.
Biography
Thakurani was born to father Bam Dev Pant and mother Radha Devi Panta on 28 November 1915 in Silgadhi town of Doti district in far–western region of Nepal. She died on 10 December 2002.Career
Thakurani was elected to parliament in the first democratic election of Nepal, held in February 1959. She was a candidate from Constituency No. 66, Dadeldhura District for Nepali Congress. She was the only woman elected to the House of Representatives, and jointly the first woman in the Nepalese parliament, alongside Kamal Rana, who had been appointed to the Senate.Following the election, she was also appointed deputy minister of Health and Local Self-governance on 27 May 1959 in the BP Koirala cabinet, also becoming the first female minister in Nepal.