Losing a husband should not mean losing your rights!
Dear John,
I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn about the plight of widows in Nepal – one of the most poorly treated groups of women in the world.
In the depths of grief, having lost their husbands, women suddenly find themselves shunned by society and evicted from their homes. They are forbidden from taking part in family or community events and are forced into virtual exclusion.
When Nani’s husband died she was left with nothing:
“I had three young children and we were living in a cow shed.
I cried myself to sleep every night.”
There are over 500,000 women in Nepal who have been widowed like Nani. They often live in deep poverty and are subjected to abuse and exploitation.
78% of widows have reported experiencing violence or abuse,
often within days of their husband's death.
“They helped me set up my own smallholding [small piece of land] and provided me with 17 chickens so that I could start to earn a living.
By selling the eggs and some of the chickens after they grew, I was able to buy materials to build my own house.
It meant I could leave the shed and have a home to call my own… ”
Womankind has been working with Women for Human Rights (WHR) since 2011 to support women, like Nani, to rebuild their lives and regain their financial independence. This autumn we are embarking on a groundbreaking project to give widows like Nani the knowledge, skills and resources they need to end their oppression once and for all.
Widows in Nepal face immense suffering on a daily basis. Their voices go unheard, their rights are denied, their plight ignored. Learn more about our new project and how you can stand with them and show them their lives matter.
