GURKHA GIRL

Dilmaya, a young girl from the mountains of Nepal, has a wish to lift her family out of poverty. She hears news that Britain, which has traditionally recruited young Nepali men in its army for more than 200 years, will recruit Nepali girls in its Gurkha regiments. Dilmaya sees it as a once in a lifetime career opportunity for the lucrative salary it pays in comparison to the average Nepali income. She travels to a nearby city, a day’s bus ride away from her village and joins a training center to prepare for rigorous selection process. The training is tough and the girls work as hard as the boys. Dilmaya and a dozen other hopeful young girls devote themselves to training even as the Nepal Government and Britain, over several years, do not reach an agreement about recruiting Nepali girls into the British Army. Dilmaya, who will soon cross the age limit for recruitment, fears that she might be ineligible to join Nepal’s national forces as well.