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The first female Nepali scholar and her important role

Karuna Sharma is the first Langham Scholar from Nepal, she shares how her PhD study into the effects of the caste system on Christian Nepali women, and the challenges and pressures of being a Christian in Nepal.
Interview with Karuna from Nepal when she was in Auckland for the Langham Asia-Pacific Scholars’ Consultation

Karuna Sharma is a current Langham Scholar. She is from Kathmandu, Nepal, and is pursuing her PhD studies through the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in England. She was the first ever female Langham Scholar accepted into the program from Nepal! 

Leading the way as a Nepali Christian woman

Karuna’s research explores intercaste marriage among Nepali Christians. In Nepal, There are very, very few Christians who are theologians who have done their PhD in theological education. At Langham, we are thrilled to be able to support Karuna in her research. 

Karuna shares, “Among Nepali Christian women, maybe I would be the first one [to do a PhD].”

Reflecting on her experience of her PhD so far she says, “Being a Nepali, being born and brought up in Nepal, I had never understood the caste system so deeply as I have understood it now, and I’m still learning about it. So it has really enhanced my thinking, broadened my perspective, and helped me to understand my culture in a deeper and better way.” 

Doing PhD study is also helping Karuna to share the country of Nepal with people. Christianity only began after 1950 in Nepal, so they are very young when it comes to  developing Christian culture or even general understanding and knowledge of Christianity, compared to other nations with a long history of  Christianity. 

Nepal was officially a Hindu kingdom until 2007, after which it was declared a secular state. There are still a lot of difficulties for Christians. This includes the fact that none of their religious institutions, like churches or bible colleges, are registered by the government so they are personal property. 

There have been many legal issues for Christians in Nepal because of this. Other challenges include anti-conversion legislation meaning no one is allowed to share the gospel or talk to others about Christianity. It was the rapid growth of Christianity in Nepal that caused this response! Karuna explains, “In the span of 10 years, there was a 265% increase in the growth of Christianity. When the government saw this statistic they were scared. So now they are trying their best to stop the growth.”

In addition to her PhD, Karuna is working as a teacher in a Bible school. She plans to continue teaching in theological education so she can keep reaching different areas of Nepal through her students. 

Karuna says, “Because we have students from different parts of Nepal, when I’m teaching them and when I’m impacting their lives, I’m not just impacting them as an individual, but I’m also [influencing] them to impact their community, their church, and the places where they come from.”

In Nepali churches, there are more women than men. 70% of their congregations are women. For many churches, you would walk in to find predominantly women and a handful of men. This is due to the men needing to leave Nepal to be migrant workers in other countries. 

This highlights how significant Karuna doing her PhD and working in leadership is for those around her. She reflects, “I strongly believe that my role in the church or in the Nepali context is very important because I’m not just teaching as faculty, but I’m also being an example for the students who are women and who come from different backgrounds.”

Many of her students need encouragement to study. They are coming from churches who say, ‘why do we need to train women leaders?’, because they think they will invest in them and then they’ll simply get married and leave. This limited thinking is something Karuna is eager to change. 

Empowered and enabled by Langham

She says, “[My PhD study] is impacting the other women who have the desire to study God’s word and move on, which would ultimately benefit the church because the church is this majority of women whose voices are not heard, who are silent.”

“I heard about Langham from one of the Langham graduates. Before this, nobody [in Nepal] had got a Langham scholarship.”

When Karuna applied she was doubtful she would get accepted because her interest was contextual to issues in her society. However, she did get the scholarship and it opened things up for her! 

She shares, “Being a Nepali, serving in the Nepali context, even in my wildest dreams I wouldn’t have been able to come and study at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and have that degree. But Langham has been the support, has been a backbone for me to stand on, and to pursue my studies without any tension.”

It has also financially enabled her to do her PhD, as raising funds in Nepal is very difficult. People can only support in a limited capacity and for a limited time, as they are working hard and sometimes struggling to support their own families. 

Karuna says, “Langham has been a real support, not just financially, but throughout my PhD journey…there’s care support, there’s prayer, there’s fellowship, there’s sharing and there’s learning. So that has been a great blessing for me.”

Written by Ngaire Buckley, Langham Partnership Australia

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