A few months ago, Luna Luitel returned from Australia, carrying the dream of becoming Miss Nepal! Perhaps destiny had already written her fate to become Miss Nepal World. On August 30 (Saturday) she was crowned as Miss Nepal World 2025.
When her name was announced as the new Miss Nepal on Saturday night in the Sunrise Convention Center, Godavari, the applause went on for a long time. Along with her, the winners of Miss Nepal Earth, International, and Cosmo were also declared.
First Gen-Z Miss Nepal
For the first time, the country had four Gen-Z Miss Nepals.
Luna, 26, is tech-savvy, enjoys freedom, and likes to write the script of her own dreams.
In her first interview after winning the Miss Nepal crown, Luitel spoke with SajhaKatha about her journey in the Miss Nepal competition, her nursing studies at the University of Sydney, Australia, and her thoughts on how the youth should intervene in policymaking.
Luitel still can’t believe she bagged the crown of Miss Nepal World.
“When my name was announced, I went into a surreal life. Even now, I feel like I am living between reality and dreams,” she says
She considers herself grounded.
“The Luna I was yesterday is the same Luna I am today, even after wearing the crown. The only difference is that now I carry responsibility,” she says.
Luitel is a devotee of Lord Krishna. She has memorized verses of the Bhagavad Gita. Raised in a spiritual family, she recalled Krishna’s teaching: “Do your duty without attachment to the results.”
Remembering lord Krishna’s lesson she says that her task is to do good deeds, without caring about the results. To her, the Miss Nepal crown is not just an object but a symbol of social responsibility.
“Wearing this crown, I am ready to face the challenges ahead,” she said.
Shaping policy futures
She believes the value of the crown is heavier than its physical weight.
Although young, she speaks with maturity. She describes herself as “hardworking, empathetic, and flexible.”
Expressing her wish to work in policymaking in the future, Luitel says, “Policy influences the entire system and the lives of people in the country. That is why I want to engage in this field.”
She also believes her nursing studies helped her in the Miss Nepal competition. “While working, I treated patients from different backgrounds. Even when I didn’t understand their language, I could understand their emotions. Nursing has taught me to empathize, which helped me a lot in Miss Nepal too,” she says.
Her philosophy is ‘Learn, Earn, Return.’ She advises those who want to study abroad to remember this. Having traveled to nine countries, she says she often felt insulted and devalued at immigration counters when showing her Nepali passport.
That experience gave birth to her ‘Learn, Earn, Return’ philosophy. She considers the Nepali passport her greatest asset. “It may sound nationalistic at first, but lived experience has made me mature in this belief,” she says.
Her heart felt heavy while showing the Nepali passport.
“No matter how much money is in my account, if my country’s passport is weak, it is a problem,” she says.
Every time she goes through immigration, she feels stressed because of the weak status of her country’s passport.
She adds, “We often take foreign citizenship after going abroad. But for me, my greatest asset is my Nepali passport.”
“Equality changes lives”
Luitel has lived in Australia for nine years and holds permanent residency. She could easily get citizenship, but she does not want to give up her Nepali identity.
“I am a Nepali citizen. I will no longer live in Australia. My asset, my identity, is the Nepali passport. I cannot live by losing my Nepali identity,” she says.
When asked what social and health issues she hopes to raise through the Miss Nepal platform, Luitel says she wants to end gender discrimination in education.
“Men and women are born equal, but they have not been given equal opportunities. For women, education is limited, and they are confined to household work. There is a big difference between boarding and public schools. If it’s a son, he is sent to boarding school; if it’s a daughter, she is sent to government school,” she says. “This inequality must end. If such inequality ends, everyone can stand on their own.”
She adds that Gen-Z must also take actions that influence other people’s lives.
“I cannot speak for all Gen-Z, but I believe we are capable of living independently. Still, we must do things that impact others’ lives,” she says.
Luitel’s hobbies include scuba diving, playing flute, and swimming, which she says help keep her grounded.
“When you go scuba diving, you see a whole different world underwater where humans and turtles swim together. It makes you feel down-to-earth,” she says.
In her free time, while driving or doing household chores, she always listens to podcasts. She frequently listens to Nikhil Kamath.
Her advice to all Nepali girls is: “Believe in yourself. There are many multidimensional problems in Nepal and the world, and we must come together to solve them.”
She envisions herself in policymaking within the next five years.
In the grand finale of Miss Nepal 2025, the judges had asked: If you had to change one aspect of beauty pageants, what would it be? We also asked Luna the same question. Repeating her final answer, she says: “We have been looking at beauty pageants only from the lens of physical beauty. But it is also about commitment. Like my own commitment, Learn, Earn, Return. Go abroad, understand the system, and come back. That is how we can make Nepal great.”
