Kathmandu Meeting Shouts

Forget whispers. The Australian Embassy in Nepal just threw a full-on conversation grenade with their electrifying panel discussion and networking meet, "Menopause to Meno-Peak", on 3rd June 2024 at a full-to-the-brimm hall in Kathmandu. This wasn't a casual chat about hot flashes - it was a fierce and frank discussion about a topic long shrouded in silence, especially in Nepal.

Powerhouse women like world-renowned Buddhist nun, singer Ani Choying Drolma, and the indomitable Australian mountaineer Allie Pepper led the charge. They tackled the subject of menopause head-on, shattering the stigma and sparking a long-overdue conversation. A puzzle for many in the audience was to see Dr Sunoor Verma, an international communication strategist and President of The Himalayan Dialogues, on the stage. He was the lone male voice in an all-female panel, a bold choice by Australian Ambassador to Nepal HE Felicity Volk, signalling that the traditional approach of engaging mainly with women on female sexual and reproductive health needs a rethink. Ambassador Volk introduced Dr Sunoor as communication strategist, deeply committed to gender equity who walks the talk.