Meena Acharya, known for her many attributes such as economist, gender equality fighter, and activist, has passed away. She was a witness to the political, economic, and social changes in Nepal from the 1990s to the present day. She breathed her last at her residence in Madhya Baneshwor on Thursday evening.

Meena spent 25 fruitful years of her life as a research officer, economic advisor, chief economic advisor and head of the finance department at the Nepal Rastra Bank. After that, she became a consultant to international organizations including the World Bank, UNDP, and Asian Development Bank. As a member of the board of directors of the Policy and Research Institute, she played a role in important decisions related to society and the economy. She was also an expert advisor to the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

Meena had raised issues like the right to obtain citizenship in the name of her mother, the role of women in local policymaking, and gender-responsive budgeting four decades ago. This made her known as a leading 'feminist' economist in Nepal. She has mentioned her research and experience on the issues of her concern in books, research reports, and policy documents.

Another introduction to Meena is the daughter of political leader and former Prime Minister Tanka Prasad Acharya. She was born in Kathmandu in Baisakh 1994. Meena was only three years old when Tanka Prasad, the founder of the Nepal Praja Parishad, was imprisoned during the Rana period. She lived in Banaras with her grandfather Tika Prasad for three years. Then she returned to Nepal and started her studies in Kathmandu.

She did her IA from Padmakanya Campus, BA Honors from Delhi University, India, MS in Economic Cybernetics from Moscow University in the then Soviet Union, and PhD in Development Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US. Meena was married to a Russian citizen. But she retained her Nepali citizenship. When her husband refused to stay in Nepal, she divorced him without informing the family.

Political science professor Sucheta Pyakurel says she has been hearing about Meena for four decades. ‘The concept of Women in Development came into being when I was in college. Various discussions and studies focused on the condition of women had started in Nepal, which covered the social, economic and family conditions of women. I used to listen to her in the comments and debates that were being held,’ she says.

Mentioning that Meena played a leading role in the establishment of Nepal's oldest 'think tank', 'Institute for Integrated Development Studies' (IIDS), Sucheta said, 'When the new building of IIDS was built, the fact that rooms and meeting halls were named after men and not included anywhere is a disgrace to the feminist movement of that time.'

Rights activist Bharati Silwal said that the 'Dr. Meena Acharya Library of Intersectional Studies' was established on her initiative. The library targets women and minority communities. 'She also provided books for the library,' she said. According to Bharati, Acharya is a woman with a strong, mature and determined personality. Meena's autobiography 'A Continuous Journey to Freedom and Equality' was published last year.