Tamang, Stella

Education and Career

Tamang began her career as an educator by developing schools for disadvantaged children in her own community. Her first school continues nearly 40 years later as a low-fee secondary school with about 900 students. Designed to meet a different need, the Bikalpa Gyan Kendra (alternative learning center) employs a philosophy Tamang calls “learn and earn” to combat the exploitation of indigenous Tamang girls in the sweatshop-based carpet industry in Kathmandu. Young women are taught skills they can take [Page 1438]back to their villages, providing practical economic opportunities and maintaining their dignity and independence while preserving Tamang culture. The residential school program includes sustainable agriculture, market gardening, traditional handicrafts, and basic business skills.

Tamang is the founder of a number of organizations in Nepal that seek to unify indigenous women who have been politically marginalized. In a nation that denies many women legal access to land, Tamang's work ensures they have a voice not only in national women's movements but also in decision making at the national level. Tamang is a strong advocate for indigenous peoples worldwide, taking a leadership and organizational role in many committees and international meetings within the United Nations (UN) and beyond. Most notably she has taken a leadership role in the Commission of the Status of Women, organized by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the UN. She is also founder and chairperson of the South Asia Indigenous Women's Forum (2002), providing a forum in which indigenous women from all over Asia can work together to lobby and advocate at national, regional, and international levels.

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