Kathmandu, April 17 -- Sapana Pradhan Malla's rise to the top of Nepal's judiciary is rooted in a life spent confronting the very structures she now leads. Now serving as acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, she joined the apex court as a Justice in 2016 after decades of legal activism. With seniority placing her next in line, she is widely expected to be appointed Chief Justice once the constitutional process is completed. Her trajectory-from challenging discriminatory laws to leading the institution that interprets them-offers a lens into both Nepal's evolving legal landscape and the persistence required to reshape it.

Here are five points you should know:

From disgrace to self-definition

Malla was named as a symbol of familial...