Uh huh.

Nepal's army is responsible for managing the bodies of coronavirus victims across the nation and for the first time, female soldiers are also being deployed to help.

It's a position once unimaginable in the conservative Hindu majority country, where women touching a dead body is still a cultural taboo.

But rights for women in the nation of 30 million have improved since it emerged from a decade long civil war in 2006 and abolished its centuries old feudal monarchy two years later.

On their first day on the job last month, four female soldiers moved six bodies from the hospital to a crematorium.

Russian A, a 25 year old corporal, was one of those women.

Thistle is an opportunity that we got from the Nepal army as we can't do this type of work outside.

It was a challenge for us and we were thinking whether we would be able to do it or not.

We turned this challenge into an opportunity and did it successfully.

The nation's army spokesman said that 95,000 strong force was putting female soldiers and new roles as part of a program to empower them.

Since the pandemic first struck Nepal in January, over 200,000 have been infected and 1500 killed, according to official data.

Health workers say the pandemic will only worsen as winter sets in and limited health infrastructure, including critical care beds, is stretched.