Indira Ranamagar

Indira Rana Magar (Nepali: इन्दिरा रानामगर) is a Nepalese politician and social worker, currently serving as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nepal as of 21 January 2023.^[2] In 2022, she was elected to the 2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal from the Rastriya Swatantra Party based on proportional representation category.^[3][4]

The Right Honourable Indira Rana Magar MP
इन्दिरा राना मगर
Indira Ranamagar during Media Briefing Inside Newsroom, Kathmandu 2024
Deputy Speaker of the Pratinidhi Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 January 2023
President	Bidhya Devi Bhandari Ram Chandra Poudel
Prime Minister	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Speaker	Dev Raj Ghimire
Preceded by	Pushpa Bhusal Gautam
Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 December 2022
President	Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Constituency	Party List (RSP)
Personal details
Born	(1970-07-02) 2 July 1970 (age 55)[1] Arjundhara Municipality, Jhapa
Citizenship	Nepalese
Nationality	Nepalese
Political party	Rastriya Swatantra Party
Education	Undergraduate in Management
Occupation	Social Worker, Politician
Website	indiraranamagar.com

Early life and career

Ranamagar was born on 2 July 1970 (18 Ashad 2027 BS) at Deuniabasti, Jhapa in eastern Nepal.^[1] Up to the age of ten, she had to struggle for her early schooling, however she managed to get admission later and graduated from a local school. After the graduation, she worked as a teacher and eventually moved to Kathmandu. There she got influenced by the works of Parijat on the rights of political prisoners. Ranamagar joined Parijat's movement and got acquainted with the Nepalese justice system and the poor conditions in prisons. ^[5]

Work with Prisoners Assistance Nepal

Ranamagar founded a non-profit organization Prisoners Assistance Nepal in 2000 which assists the children of parents serving sentence in jails.^[5] The organization has constructed four children's homes, two schools, and implemented social projects aimed to help prisoners and their children.^[6][7][8]

Political career

Indira Ranamagar was nominated as a Member of 2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal from Indigenous peoples category by Rastriya Swatantra Party, following the 2022 Nepalese general election.^[4]

Indira Ranamagar was elected as the third Deputy Speaker of the Parliament on January 21, 2023. She received a total of 166 votes out of the 264 members present in the House.^[2]

Awards and recognitions

For her work, Ranamagar has been recognized by various national and international organizations. Some of the major awards she received are:

• Asia 21 Young Leader Public Service Award in 2009.^[6]
• World Children’s Honorary Award from the Queen Silvia of Sweden in 2014.^[9]
• Nomination for World's Children's Prize in 2014. ^[9]
• Listed in the BBC's 100 Women in 2017.^[10][5]