Nepal’s first female Prime Minister (PM) Sushila Karki was sworn into office on Friday and today on her first day in office, she visited the injured young protestors at hospital.
Karki is expected to appoint ministers to her cabinet within a few days.
She was appointed by President Ram Chandra Poudel. The president also set March 5th as the date for elections based on the recommendation of the new prime minister.
Karki visited injured protesters at the Civil Hospital in the capital, pledging to do what’s best for the country, “I will work with everything I have,” she said.
She is widely regarded as having a clean image, and her leadership of the interim government is being supported by student leaders from the “Gen Z” movement. Previously, she has served as Chief Justice of Nepal.
During her time as chief justice, she oversaw several landmark cases, including the conviction of a sitting Information and Communications Minister, Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, for corruption.
She also presided over a ruling overturning the government’s appointment of a police chief.
Both Karki and her husband, Durga Prasad Subedi, participated in Nepal’s 1990s people’s movement that brought an end to absolute monarchy in the country and eliminated the panchayat system.
She was imprisoned during the time and wrote the novel Kara based on the events.
The protest broke out in Nepal following a ban on social media.
Violence over the past week also resulted in 51 deaths, many of whom were protesters killed by police fire.
