Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/tag/nepal/)
Nepal’s government has pledged to end all child marriage by 2030. This should also apply to marriages being chosen by pre-teens and teens, since the consequences of child marriage affect girls whether they choose marriage or are forced into it.
“I am right now like a prisoner in my own country,” says a young woman who can’t get a passport and doesn’t have hope to study abroad because her father isn’t available to confer his citizenship on her. Nepal joins 27 countries with “dependent nationality” laws.
Talking about menstruation and feminine hygiene is rare in many parts of Nepal. After the earthquakes, that made it hard for girls struggling with rough camp conditions to speak up and say their foremost need was for sanitary pads.
During chaotic, makeshift times, women throughout Kathmandu are playing key roles in holding their families and society together. “She always tells us not to be afraid and keeps a close watch on us especially at night,” says the 14-year-old daughter of one woman.
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.
The restrictive, isolating practice of chhaupadi, outlawed 10 years ago, is still a way of life for some girls and women in Nepal. “I am not allowed to enter the kitchen or touch any material from it,” says a 17-year-old.
While spending time with her in-laws in a remote village in Nepal, Elizabeth Enslin saw local women press their rights. In this excerpt from “While the Gods Were Sleeping,” some decided to plant trees instead of throwing rocks and breaking windows.
Thousands of young women each year are lured into Kathmandu’s booming and unregulated sex industry that operates out of cafes and bars. Many arrive with hopes of saving money and going home, but the wages are often too meager for that to ever happen.
Many women in Nepal say they didn’t know that involuntary intercourse within marriage has been outlawed. Women’s advocates say those who are aware would rather call it a form of domestic violence than marital rape.
The rules are modified for players’ vision levels, and the bats are shorter. But the pride of the players on Nepal’s national team for blind women seems boundless. “We’ll soon present a world-class blind woman cricketer,” the team’s coach says.