As a young girl growing up in a family of three daughters, Soni Joshi was raised without any inkling of the gender disparity that was an inherent part of Nepalese tradition and culture. She was raised by parents who believed in the importance of educating their daughters and making them self dependent.  It was only in the later years of her teens as she set out into the world that real life incidents and scenarios of discrimination against women turned her into an advocate for women’s rights and advancement.

These incidences made her aware of the situations that her parents must have faced with only three daughters in the patriarchal stronghold of society. Their belief in their daughters is what set the foundation for her foray into the world of gender disparity.

The past two decades have seen her active involvement in the field of Women and Children’s Development with her association with a number of social development organizations all focused on issues of women and children‘s advancement.

Soni Joshi is the Past President of ASMAN (Association of St. Mary’s Alumnae) in Nepal. ASMAN is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization devoted to the cause of aiding and supporting under-privileged Nepalese women and children. The organization’s work and commitment encompasses support in the areas of Education, Health, Environment, Cultural Awareness and Development.

As the first Nepali woman to become President of AWON (Active Women of Nepal) formerly known as the American Women of Nepal she created a benchmark in the history of the organization. She together with a group of like minded individuals introduced a variety of changes that were instrumental in bringing the local inhabitants and the expatriate group in close communication.

In her myriad of roles with her intense involvement with UNWO (United Nation’s Women’s Organization) of Nepal she brought about many changes in the workings of the organization. As the Chair of the Social Welfare Committee she worked actively to bring the plight of the local women and children to the forefront.  Both AWON and UNWO are reputed organizations in society with a focus on working for the betterment of the women and children of Nepal.

She is also amongst the founder members of the Nepal chapter of ZONTA, an organization dedicated to advancing the status of women. She has  served as the Secretary of the organization and the Chair of the Violence Against Women Committee ,she has been  leading the United Nations Committee till date and currently  is also serving as the District 25 Co-Chair for the Advocacy Committee 2018 to 2020 which includes  Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Nepal .

In her role as a Board Director of reputed educational institutions (both primary levels to higher level education) she is amongst a group working to bring about a change to the conventional method of teaching in the country. She is a strong advocate for the education of the girl child. 

She has served as the President of CHETANA (Center for Health, Education, Training and National Advocacy) which has as its special focus the plight of the differently abled women and girl child. With a personal family incidence and experience of a differently abled person, she is actively involved with organizations working for the betterment of these differently abled. She is on the Advisory Board of SUNGAVA an organization for Girl’s with Down’s syndrome.

She has been awarded with the “Women Leadership Achievement Award by the World Women Leadership Congress Awards in 2015 and the Women Super Achiever Award in 2017.