What does it mean to be a woman vendor, leader and trade unionist in a male-dominated space? A leader from Nepal tells her story.

by Sophal Ken

Can you briefly present yourself?

I am Maya Gurung from Nepal. I am 42 years old now. I have completed my education up to 12th class. I am a mother of 3 children. I am currently the President of the Central Committee of Nepal Street Vendors Trade Union (NEST), a national organization of street vendors in Nepal.

What has been your experience as a vendor and as a unionist?

I have been working as a street vendor continuously since 2001. At that time, there were many problems, difficulties and extreme oppression by the city police. There was no law or policy.The municipality used to arrest and confiscate goods from the street vendors every day, but there was no one to talk with. In such a situation, to fight for for the welfare of the street vendors, the largest and strongest trade union in Nepal, General Federation of Neplease Trade (GEFONT), gathered a total of 25 people as its constituent union and established NEST on January 25, 2002 in Kathmandu.

How were you involved in NEST?

I was involved in the organization from the time of its establishment. Initially, I worked as the treasurer of the local unit committee. During the 24 years of life of the organization, I was continuously actively involved in every activity. I started my organizational life journey from the local unit committee. I then moved to the district committee member, then became the KathmanduValley Women’s Committee coordinator. I have been working as Deputy General Secretary, General Secretary, Vice President of the Central Committee and I am currently the current central president.

Similarly, since its inception, NEST has been affiliated with GEFONT at the national level and with StreetNet at the international level, and I am currently active as a member of the GEFONT National Committee and a member of the SNI Executive Committee.

What has been the relationship between your personal life and the activity as a trade unionist?

Professionally, I have been working as a street vendor for about 28 years. There have been many ups and downs in my personal life as well as in the organization. But I continue to fight. In the early days, when I started working in the union, I first faced opposition from home. When I was a regular union member, my husband threatened me with divorce and even subjected me to mental and physical violence. When we did not submit, I separated from my husband of 19 years and took the responsibility of raising the children alone. Now my children can support me. I endured violence at home, but I was able to keep on living. When I was in leadership, some male colleagues did things like belittling me,and character assassination, but I resisted them and kept moving forward.

When we organize large-scale agitations in favor of street vendors, my role in the agitation is always at the forefront and in communicating and interacting with the relevant entities, so I have received the support of many colleagues.

I have faced many charges and have been subjected to police detention many times during the protests, but I have not given up and have come this far, overcoming every obstacle. Of course, it comes with many bittersweet memories.

Sophal Ken is from Cambodia and currently works as the Research Project Coordinator at IDEA, focusing on the platform worker sector. In this role, she promotes workers’ rights and better working conditions by collecting data to advocate at both national and regional levels with platform companies. She also serves as the Project Coordinator for the Women’s Committee, organizing meetings to address women’s issues across various sectors, including street vendors, tricycle drivers, tuk tuk drivers, waste pickers, domestic workers, and platform workers, with the aim of finding solutions. Additionally, Sophal is an Asia Regional Communicator for StreetNet, reporting on training and events involving StreetNet stakeholders.