2026 IofC Annual Lecture and Trustbuilding Awards

Dr. Lily Thapa is a pioneering Nepali human rights leader whose more than three decades of work have transformed the status, dignity and rights of widows, whom she helped reframe as “single women”, recognized rights-holders, leaders, and peacebuilders.

In 1994, Dr. Thapa founded Women for Human Rights, Single Women Group (WHR), which has grown into a nationwide movement bringing together more than 200,000 single women through over 2,500 community-based groups across Nepal. Under her leadership, WHR has advanced economic empowerment, legal literacy, psychosocial support, leadership development, and peacebuilding, enabling thousands of women to become human rights defenders, paralegals, and community mobilizers.

Her advocacy initiatives have contributed to significant legal and policy reforms, including changes to discriminatory inheritance and property provisions, recognition of child widowhood as a harmful practice, and the establishment of social protection mechanisms for widows.

She also initiated Nepal’s nationally recognized Red Color Movement, challenging social taboos surrounding widowhood and helping restore dignity, visibility, and choice to single women.

Dr. Thapa has played an important role in gender-responsive peacebuilding, transitional justice and human rights governance in post-conflict Nepal. She has advocated for the meaningful participation of conflict-affected women in truth-seeking, reparations and accountability processes, and has served as a Commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal.

Her leadership extends beyond Nepal. WHR received UN ECOSOC Special Consultative Status in 2011 and Dr. Thapa is a founding member of the South Asian Network of Widows’ Empowerment and Development (SANWED).

Her contributions have been recognized through honors including the Ashoka Fellowship, Women Manager of the Year, Gorkha Dakshin Bahu, Human Rights Award, Suprabal Jan Sewa Padak and Janaprabha Kirti Award.

With a PhD in Sociology from Tribhuvan University and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Women in Management from Luleå University, Sweden, Dr. Thapa continues to exemplify ethical leadership, courage, justice, and peacebuilding through transformative action.

Hari Sharma is the Executive Director of Purak Asia - a non-profit organization and societal catalyst based in Kathmandu, Nepal, and a member of the board of Social Science Baha.

Over the years, he has held a range of positions in both the Nepal government and the academia. Hari’s vast experience as a lecturer at various universities, including Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu College of Management, and Kathmandu University, has equipped him with a deep understanding of the academic landscape.

Furthermore, his tenure as Prime Minister GP Koirala’s principal secretary and advisor to the President of Nepal Dr. Ram Baran Yadav on political and foreign affairs highlights his extensive experience in the government sector. Hari’s contributions to Afghanistan’s Office of Administrative Affairs and Office of the President also demonstrate his ability to provide valuable insights and guidance on matters related to governance.

Hari graduated with a bachelor’s in political science from Panjab University in India and a master’s in political science from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. He was a Fulbright scholar from Cornell University. He is the co-author of two books, ‘Political Leadership in Nepal’ and ‘Local Leadership in Nepal’.

His interests include South Asia geopolitics, social movements, comparative political institutions, democratic transition and social dialogue.