One Year After Being Shot During Protest, Student Aims for Medical Career Amid Uncertain Recovery

Kathmandu. There is an election atmosphere across the country. Political parties and candidates are busy making their strategies. However, Ekta Shah from Bhaktapur, who turned 18 today, is untouched by such matters. Although it is because of youth like her that election preparations are underway in the country today.

Ekta, who was moving forward with the dream of becoming a doctor, was shot in the leg during a 'Gen-Z' demonstration in Baneshwor on Bhadra 23. She can walk a little now, but it is uncertain whether her leg will fully recover. She still has surgery remaining.

Neither any Gen-Z leader has visited Ekta, who was injured by a gunshot, nor has she seen the faces of leaders vying to become prime ministers or members of parliament.

Everyone's agenda is to build the nation. But the person who was shot for truly demanding the nation be built is not being asked by anyone - 'How is your health?'

'Now I have to study hard - I love study - I can do this,' Ekta Shah's room is plastered with such messages. She loves to study and decorated her room by hand-drawing various pictures and writing words. But it has been almost 5 months since Ekta visited this study room.

Ekta's books are scattered in the room. Mathematical formulas and important scientific facts are written on study notes and pasted on the wall. She was always excellent as a student. Along with bookish education, she was also interested in extracurricular activities. That's why the awards she received are displayed all over the room. The calendar of the military residential college she studied at also hangs in the room. She had scored an A+ in Class 12. On that same calendar, remembering that moment, she had written - Thank you Universe! 

After a long stay in the hospital, she returned home with an injury to her leg, showing a distinct confidence. That's why, even in a condition where she couldn't walk, she boosted her morale, participated in the CEE exam required to become a doctor, and even passed it.

Mother Bunu Shahi has kept science books and notes next to her daughter's bed. But Ekta is no longer interested in those books as before.

Ekta might be thinking, 'I wonder if this leg will ever get better.' Perhaps such questions are making it difficult for Ekta to achieve the educational peak she set for herself. But mother Bunu remains as her daughter's source of courage.

When the then government banned some social media, TikTok became a source of information. Information about a demonstration against corruption in Baneshwor on Bhadra 23 spread through that TikTok.

The 'NepoBaby' trend was everywhere on TikTok. Those videos made Ekta want to go to the demonstration in Baneshwor.

On the morning of Bhadra 23, Ekta got ready wearing her college uniform. She wore a helmet from home and carried a water bottle. Her parents tried to stop her, but Ekta was firm about participating in the demonstration against the government, saying, 'Your generation tolerated it, our generation will not. I am going.' Her father dropped her off at Tinkune on his scooter. After that, Ekta headed straight towards Baneshwor. Wearing her college uniform, she started shouting - demanding answers from the government. Meanwhile, Baneshwor became tense. The police started using tear gas and baton charges.

A police officer hit a student right in front of Ekta with a baton. The baton also struck her. But she was not scared. Showing her tie, she told the police, 'I am a student.'

'People who had stepped back seeing me came forward. Perhaps the police thought I was leading that crowd, and they wouldn't let me go,' she said, recalling that moment.

Amidst the commotion, a shot suddenly rang out in Baneshwor. Two bullets hit Ekta's leg. People nearby put her in an ambulance and rushed her to the hospital.

Her father's missed calls kept coming on the 'dumb phone' Ekta was carrying.

A few hours after reaching the hospital, Ekta asked someone to call her parents. The brothers accompanying her conveyed the news to her guardians.

Ekta's mother Bunu says, 'There was no need to shoot my daughter.'

Ekta is currently at her home in Bhaktapur. But most of her daily life is spent in one room. Sometimes she goes out to the balcony. 'It was difficult when I was in the hospital. After coming home, it is green here. Friends come here. Their presence gives encouragement. When I am alone, I remember (and wonder) why I was shot. They tell me this time will pass, which boosts my morale.'

She can walk a little now. But the bullet wound in her leg remains. Since the bullet hit the nerve, some surgery is still pending.

Upon learning that Sushila Karki's government was formed, Ekta hoped that something might change now. So, despite being shot in the leg, she went to Singha Durbar for a compromise between the Gen-Z movement and the government. But she was stopped outside. Officials there did not coordinate for her entry. Vehicles of ministers and influential people were entering Singha Durbar right in front of her. At that moment, Ekta realized - Oh! This is what power is like.

She finally reached the Prime Minister's Office. But there, various groups of the Gen-Z movement were arguing among themselves instead. Ekta was shocked by the situation there.

Mother Bunu says, 'My daughter was shot. Many people like us are injured. Many have died. But they were fighting there in the name of Gen-Z. What was the point of going there? Nanu gets discouraged, thinking everything will be like this, no matter what she does.'

Nevertheless, mother Bunu has not let the spirit of her daughter, who passed the MBBS CEE, diminish. She is telling Ekta to move forward on the path to becoming a doctor.

Her demand to the government is: The government should create an environment for her daughter to study what she wants to study. The government should fulfill its promise regarding her daughter's treatment.

Ekta also says, 'May the education, health, and employment sectors improve. May we not have to return to the same situation again. May we not have to sacrifice our lives. May this place become heaven for us.'

On this day last year, Ekta bid farewell to 'Sweet Sixteen'. She celebrated her birthday with friends at home. The balloon marked '16' from that time is still in Ekta's room on the ground floor.

Pravin Ranabhat and Nepal Photo Library