Laxmi Bohara Women's Empowerment Center and National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders Kanchanpur, Nepal Community Health Counselor

Laxmi was a member of the National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders in Nepal. She was a health rights activist and worked as a volunteer and secretary of the Women’s Empowerment Center in the Kanchanpur district. As a community health counselor, Laxmi worked with women in that area, where incidence of domestic violence is high. Because her activism took place in a conservative community, her advocacy and that of other women human rights defenders was not always well-received; many face death threats, attacks and harassment. Because her activism entailed interaction with men, it was a major source of struggle between her and her husband and his parents. In June of 2008, Laxmi died, allegedly due to a severe beating by her husband and because of poison she was forced to take by her husband and mother-in-law. She was 28 years old and a mother of three.