Learning acceptance through books

Manushi Yami Bhattarai, a political leader and social activist, discusses her old relationship with reading, the escape it provides and the ever-increasing importance of reading for today’s youth.

Born to Maoist leaders Baburam Bhattarai and Hisila Yami, who are both avid readers, reading came naturally to Manushi Yami Bhattarai. She claims to have grown up surrounded by books and considers reading to be an escape from her daily life. During Nepal's decade-long civil war, nine-year-old Manushi was sent to India in disguise, away from her parents, and reading became her only source of solace.