Lily Thapa and Mandira Sharma have been selected for this year's prestigious Ashoka fellowship. The Washington-based fellowship comes with monthly stipend to support individuals working for social changes in their country. The fellowship is run by the Ashoka Foundation in 44 countries. Since 1987, the fellowship has selected more than 31 fellows working in various social issues. Thapa, a women's activist, is involved in empowering the widows to become economically independent and fight social stigma. Mandira Sharma is actively involved in making Nepal's justice system more accountable.