Astalaxmi Shakya

Shakya was also elected as a Constituent Assembly Member in November 2014. In 2015, she turned down the nomination of Labour minister to give other politicians a chance to work at the position.

Shakya was elected Vice President of the CPN-UML party, from the general convention. She has been the SC member of JOMPOPS since its formation in early 2010 and was the first elected Chairperson of the JOMPOPS platform.

Shakya was elected as a member of House of Representatives from a constituency in Kathmandu in the 1999 Nepalese legislative election. She also became Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare in the coalition government and Minister of Industry and Commerce.

Shakya spent eleven years of underground life in different places of the country before the multi-party system was restored in 1990. She had stayed in Panga of Kirtipur, in Tokha of Kathmandu as well as in Ilam and Jhapa districts in eastern Nepal. In 1984 she became a district committee member of Jhapa and in-charge of All Nepal Women Association in Mechi Zone. In 1988 she became a member of Mechi Zonal Committee.

Shakya was arrested for some times during her underground period. While she was detained in Ilam Jail her father came to see her from Kathmandu after many years. She was released only after the restoration of democracy in 1990.

Shakya was given various responsibilities by her party to head Muslim Ittehad Organization, Central Law Department and Parliamentary Hearing Committee. She also played an important role to establish the women organization in her party. In February 1981 she, along with Gaura Prasai, Sushila Shrestha and others, organized a secret conference of women cadres of the CPN (ML) in Hetauda, where All Nepal Women Association was reformed to become more active. In this conference Shanta Manavi was elected as a president.

In 1981, Shakya married Amrit Kumar Bohara who is now a member of Standing Committee of the CPN- UML. They both applied in their party for marriage and the party decided to grant them permission. She has two children, a son and a daughter. Both spent most of their childhood at her friends' houses, growing up separately in different places.

After having observed Shakya's suspicious activities her parents decided to arrange a marriage for her. With the help of her sister Sunita and her friend Sulochana, she made a plan to quit her home and devote her life for the party. In 1980, she ran away from home to avoid the marriage. After leaving her home, she joined the CPN-ML.

In 1980, she left her home, pretending to go to attend a feast at her friend's house. Before that her important books and documents had already been carried out. She had collected all her photos which were with her relatives and burnt them. She donated all her belongings, including expensive jewels, to the party and took a vow to obey the party directives. At that time the party in-charge of the CPN (ML) in Bagmati Zone was Amrit Kumar Bohara who later became her life partner.

Shakya was born in Kathmandu in 1954. She was born on the eighth day of Dashain festival on the day culturally known as Astami, which is how she got her name. She was a second child among eight in a Newar family at Jhochhen, near Hanumandhoka Durbar Square. After the completion of School Leaving Certificate in 1972 she joined a Chinese language class at Basantapur with her friend Sulochana Manandhar, who is now a writer. The two girls were often seen doing quite unusual activities for girls in those days – like riding bicycles or driving cars, swimming and doing physical exercises.