Women Play Visible Roles in Rebuilding Nepal

During a recent trip to Kathmandu, Iris Gonzales photographed the myriad ways women are playing a significant role in the difficult process of rebuilding. Here is a sampling of what she saw.
By ● Politics ●
A woman sells pigeon feed to tourists to earn a living in Kathmandu's Basantapur Durbar Square.
A woman sells pigeon feed to tourists to earn a living in Kathmandu's Basantapur Durbar Square.


KATHMANDU, Nepal (WOMENSENEWS)– The capital city of Nepal is slowly and painfully rebuilding after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck this Himalayan country on a seemingly ordinary lunch hour on April 25, a Saturday.

The earthquake left the people of Nepal, especially its government, in a state of shock, but amidst the chaos, women are remarkably playing a significant role in the difficult but necessary process of rebuilding. Here is a sampling of what women are doing. All photos by Iris Gonzales.

Water supply is intermittent in Kathmandu because of the damage to water pipes by the earthquake. Women and children collect water from a public source near Basantapur Durbar Square.
Water supply is intermittent in Kathmandu because of the damage to water pipes by the earthquake. Women and children collect water from a public source near Basantapur Durbar Square.
Naniyera Tamraker, 68, owner of a bakery in Nardevi Street in Kathmandu, sits with her grandchildren, Palaistha Tamraker, 10, and Palpasa Tamraker, 15. She stays with her grandchildren constantly now to help allay fears left by the disaster.
Naniyera Tamraker, 68, owner of a bakery in Nardevi Street in Kathmandu, sits with her grandchildren, Palaistha Tamraker, 10, and Palpasa Tamraker, 15. She stays with her grandchildren constantly now to help allay fears left by the disaster.
Female vendors set up near the Royal Palace in Kathmandu in one of the many tent cities that have sprouted all over the capital after the earthquake left many homeless.
Female vendors set up near the Royal Palace in Kathmandu in one of the many tent cities that have sprouted all over the capital after the earthquake left many homeless.
Sita Shrestha, 48, forms cotton wicks, which she sells to candle vendors near the various temples in Nepal. She is staying in a tent city near Thamel because her house was destroyed by the earthquake.
Sita Shrestha, 48, forms cotton wicks, which she sells to candle vendors near the various temples in Nepal. She is staying in a tent city near Thamel because her house was destroyed by the earthquake.
In Nepal, some days are all about dust, thick, thick dust, as the residents clean the piles of rubble left scattered by the earthquake around the capital. Here, a woman covers her nose as she walks through the rubble.
In Nepal, some days are all about dust, thick, thick dust, as the residents clean the piles of rubble left scattered by the earthquake around the capital. Here, a woman covers her nose as she walks through the rubble.
A woman in a tent city near Nardevi Street prepares to dry native crops under the sun. The poles propped against the buildings to prevent further collapse are a now-common post-earthquake feature.
A woman in a tent city near Nardevi Street prepares to dry native crops under the sun. The poles propped against the buildings to prevent further collapse are a now-common post-earthquake feature.

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Author

Iris Gonzales is a journalist based in Manila, the Philippines, who writes about economics, development and humanitarian stories.

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