Biography 
Currently serving as president of the Women’s Security Press Group and founder and chair of the Inter-Party Women’s Caucus, Sahana Pradhan is a veteran member of the Communist Party of Nepal: she has belonged for more than 50 years. From 1997 to 2001, she served as chairperson of the CPN (Marxist-Leninist), and she remains a Standing Committee Member of the CPN (United Marxist-Leninist). In 1990, she was appointed as cabinet minister in the interim government. Also in 1990, she was president of the United Left Front of the Nepali congress. From 1997 to 1998, Ms. Pradhan held the post of Women and Social Welfare Minister. After facing some difficulty obtaining an education in World War II-era Nepal, Ms. Pradhan eventually earned a bachelor’s degree from Patna University in Patan, India in 1953; and she earned a master’s degree in economics from Nepal’s Tibhuvan University in 1961. Her husband, founder of the Communist Party of Nepal, lived in exile in India for 18 years. Ms. Pradhan, who is considered a visionary politician, taught at the high-school and university level for nearly 25 years before becoming a member of the politburo of the CPN (Marxist) in 1978.(1.2007)
Read more on Sahana:
BRIEFING: Top Official Stands Up for Nepali WomenBy Rita Tiwari,
Washington TimesOctober 12, 2007