By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Nov. 25: Sapana Roka Magar, who vounteers in cremating abandoned bodies at Pashupatinath area, has made it to the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020.
The 18-year-old fearless Magar hails from Bukeni, Barnja of Myagdi district. She started cremating unclaimed bodies and carrying out their last rites at the Pashupati Aryaghat during the nationwide lockdown implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19.
From February, Magar has cremated 43 unidentified bodies until now.
After completing high school from Pokhara, Magar had come to Kathmandu for her further studies. Soon later, she started working together with Binaya Jung Basnet in an organisation, which has been cremating the abandoned bodies for six years.
“Sapana’s organisation retrieves the abandoned bodies from the street or mortuaries and arranges for them to be taken to hospital for post-mortem examinations. If the body remains unclaimed for 35 days, the organisation brings it to the crematorium,” reads BBC’s introduction of Magar.
At a young age, Magar has experienced a fair share of ups and downs in her life. Her parents had fixed her marriage with a guy she had met via Facebook. To her dismay, her then husband turned out to be a drug addict and she couldn’t stay with him for even two months.
The stigma created by the society regarding her marital status didn’t let Magar stay at her parent's home. She had then left Myagdi and shifted to Pokhara to continue her high school studies.
She is currently staying at ‘Ba Aama Ghar’ in Mahalaxmi Municiplaity-7 of Lalitpur, supporting Basnet in this odd yet brave job of cremating unclaimed bodies.
The first abandoned body she had cremated was of an around 19-year-old woman along with her infant wrapped in plastic sheet. “To cremate the girl of my own age was a very difficult task for me. Tears were rolling down my eyes and I was shaking in fear when cremating the body. The infant was also buried in the forest across the Bagmati River as per Hindu tradition,” said Magar to The Rising Nepal.
Along with continuing with the cremation works, Magar is also looking forward to continue her Bachelor-level education once the colleges open.
"There are homeless, abandoned people across the world. People who die on the streets deserve proper last rites. I do this job not as a social service but for my own peace of mind," the BBC quoted Sapana as saying about her passion and job.
The BBC had revealed its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020 on Tuesday.
The 18-years-old is joined by Sarah Gilbert in the list, who heads the Oxford University research for Oxford-Astra Zeneca coronavirus vaccine, Sanna Marin, who leads Finland’s all female coalition government, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, who has starred in Hollywood blockbusters like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and James Bond movie Tomorrow never Dies, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan and US actress Jane Fonda.