Widows' stories of survival Caste discrimination Adult class increases women students Prostitution: My name is Nirma NEPAL: Focus on maternal mortality Surkhet: Eve teasing, harassment and violence against girls Manpower agencies and women's power

Sapana S., 19, felt alienated from her familiar surroundings when her husband died a few days after her marriage. Since his death, Shrestha's family members blamed her as being jinxed and responsible for the death of her husband. She was eventually thrown out of her house and forced to live at her brother's house. However, from the day she began living at her brother's house, her sister-in-law began harassing Shrestha forcing her to move out again.

Being a young woman, Shrestha was constantly sexually harassed by house owners and neighbours. She finally was able to find refuge at a kind lady's house where she is currently living.

Life is really hard for widow women like Shrestha. In Nepal, widowhood has its own moral dimensions that are expressed through a behaviour code, diet restrictions, clothing colour code and customary actions. Widowhood is not viewed as a natural period in the life of a woman and therefore they are often mentally, physically and sexually harassed by the society at large.

Another typically tragic story is that of Judy T. who found herself widowed at the age of 35. After her husband died in the Gulf War, Judy faced extreme mental torture. Although from a well-to-do family, she found herself suddenly alone in the world. Based on her own experience, Judy began to wonder what widowhood must be like for widows who were less fortunate than her. So, with help from a friend she established Women for Human Rights (WHR) in 1994. In the first few years there was not much progress. However, in the last year, this non-governmental organisation has expanded. WHR is run solely from funds of the members who are single women. The motto 'Strengthening the lives of single women' fits perfectly as WHR acts as a forum for social empowerment, education and economic empowerment of single women. It brings together women over age 35 who are widows, divorcees, separated or unmarried.

Chandra Kala, who has studied up to class eight in Sindhuli, married a man from Rautahat and came to Rautahat from Sindhuli. She is somewhat aware of untouchability prictised in the country through some newspapers. According to her the practice of despising the lower class people has been increasing in the society. The oppressed class people are often exploited by high class people in Rautahat due to the practice of untouchability. Kanchha Sarki, who migrated from Sarlahi district to Chandranigahapur, was not allowed to buy a plot of land near the village. Later he decided to construct his house, far from the village and near a forest. He alleged that all the affluent people of the village tried to evade him saying that an oppressed class man should live near a forest.

Our society needs oppressed class people in many ways, such as a 'Damai' (one of the classes considered untouchable) is required for any auspicious occasions like marriage ceremony and bratbandha and a Biswokarma or a Kami is needed to manufacture agricultural tools. However, it is ironical that they are despised in our society. They are not allowed to touch water coming from the tap.

UML Rautahat District Committee member and woman leader Kalyani Khadka says that although untouchability is a punishable crime, it is still entrenched in the society. Chief District Officer Anand Raj Pokhrel says discrimination on grounds of race and caste has sullied the society.

It's not just the trainees who find the Chhetri sisters inspirational. The American trekkers could not speak highly enough of the work that the three women from Pokhara are doing. Ben Clark, a geology major from Illinois and one of five male trekkers, says he is convinced women make better guides then men. "All over the world, it's becoming obvious that there's nothing that women can't do. These Nepali ladies make excellent guides, they have more stamina than most men, and they're always cheerful. I'd love to go trekking with them again." And the trainees are getting something back from their interaction with the American students.

All along the trail from Pokhara to the high reaches of the Tibetan Buddhist enclave of Mustang, there have been frequent stops for short lectures about geology, the mountain environment and natural history. In an old caravanserai at the edge of the border of Mustang, the group stops to look at the unique flora and fauna of the Tibetan plateau. At the airport in Jomsom, the district headquarters of Mustang, there are tears and promises of renewed contact between Nepali guides and American students. A man who runs a rival trekking agency comments that he has rarely seen such closeness between trekking guides and trekkers.

Some women in Tamang community, 40 percent of whom are unaware about the value of education, have started going to school after they understood the value of schooling , thanks to the adult women classes run by different Government and Non-governmental Organisations. Tamang families were not sending their school-age girls to school showing various reasons. The girls aged above 16 years and deprived of the opportunity to go to school in their childhood joined the adult literacy classes and learnt the value of education. They have joined class three after completing 6-monthly education, health and sanitation related adult classes run with the initiative of Gerkhutrar Youth Club and Drinking water User Committee and financed by Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Development Fund

Many girls from different wards of the same Village Development Comittees VDC have joined the school. Thus the number of girl students has suddenly risen in Shimrang Chaur primary school this year with the admission of 50 to 60 girls. Arrangement has been made especially for their seating and books. Additional classes are also being taken for such girls during leisure hours.

Although the adult classes run by different organisations could not teach the girls much, one of the main achievements was that students were aware of the need to obtain formal education from schools. The women of the backward Tamang women were also more conscious than before. The adult literacy classes run by the government have also helped local women to obtain general education and even child education classes were run for the children.

Credit and Copyright © IRIN 2005
IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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Maiti Nepal Trafficking: Crime against woman