Janaki Devi Joshi became a widow at the age of 21 when her daughter was just 6 months old. After her husband's death her in-laws family started to give her even more troubles. Her father in law sold the house and didn't gave her any compensation. She joined WHR group and managed to find a deal with the brother in-law to obtain some compensation.

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Mahìla


A light in the darkness for widows in Nepal


The tumultuous recent history of Nepal stripped many men out of their families and left thousands of women alone. The 10 years of civil war claimed the life of 19.000 people, the 2015 earthquake killed over 9.000 people and destroyed half a million houses in a country of 29 million. Widowhood is a dreadful experience especially in the rural and remote areas of the country, where the unwritten rules of tradition still prevail over the
increasingly egalitarian legislations of the young Republic. In Nepal, marriages are arranged by families and women move to their husband’s house and often interrupt their education and professional trainings. When
their husbands dies, they are often blamed to be responsible for their deaths by their in-laws families, and by the community. In several cases, they are forced out of the houses, frequently falling pray to verbal and sexual violence. When Lily Thapa became a widow herself, she realised how hard the conditions of the widows were
on her country and founded an organisation, Women for Human Rights, in order to help them. Her work became a light in the darkness for widows in Nepal. The organisation brings together over 100.000 Nepalese women, gathering along the 1.5000 groups, scattered over the 73 districts of the national territories. Women groups bring forward programs of psychological support, empowerment through trainings and legal support on property issues. Microcredit projects are designed to help women kickstart entrepreneur activities, benefiting their families as well as their communities. The tireless work of these women have achieved the goal of bringing hope to these widows, and as Lily Thapa says ‘to turn their shame into pride’.

Sanu Thapa Magar Rai, 41 years old. Sanu’s husband killed himself leaving her alone with 3 children. Their relationship was difficult: they were often fighting because he was drinking too much, neglecting her and her children, leaving them in economic hardship.  She didn't got any support from anyone when she became a widow and she lives in a dusty informal settlement in Basinghat, where at least she has no rent to pay.

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Sanu Thapa Magar Rai, 41 years old, walking with one of her son in the informal settlement of Basinghat

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Sunita Thapa, 45 years old.

Her husband was violent and beat her repeatedly before he disappeared, leaving her alone with 2 sons and 2 daughters.


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Sumitra Tudu, 33 years old.

Sumitra was offered to work in Kuwait and was instead trafficked to India for sex-related work.

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Lily Thapa is fighting the stigma and the discrimination towards Nepali’s widows, accused of being responsible for their husband’s death.

She is the founder ofWomen for Human Rights (WHR) and the deepest inspiration for widows in Nepal.

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Lily Thapa was 29 when she lost her husband during the Gulf war.He was serving as an army doctor for a UN peace mission and left her with 3 children, who are now 34,33 and 29 years old.

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Those days were a struggle for her and after attempting suicide for three times, she started meeting other widows, and understanding their conditions in Nepal’s society. Being privileged compared to most of them, because of being born in a middle/high-class supportive family in Katmandu, she decided to travel Nepal from village to village, to inspire women in getting together and fight back the stigma and discrimination they suffer, through new cultural practices.

‘Life teach us many things. The situation I found myself taught me a lot. I have often be protected by my family, but my trauma and my sorrow made me much stronger’ she says. It was in 1994 when Lily founded WHR which brings together over 100.000 Nepalese women, in 2.000 groups, scattered over the 73 district of the national territories. 'It was very hard, especially because in 1995 the civil war started, which ravaged the country for a decade. It’s not in the city that we must work, but in the remotest villages, where the traditional culture is stronger and women end up discriminated the most. I don’t do much, I mainly give them moral support. I want to let these women know that someone is behind them and they can count on us. We want to transform their shame into pride, which is basically revolutionary. We want to give women respect and dignity. We are changing people mindset, customs, cultural practices. We even managed to bring together Maoist’s widows with the wives of their enemies, can you imagine? But it is so hard to change a way of thinking so much connected with religion.’ Lily was able to push for the change of a Nepalese law that did not allow women below 35 years old to inherit properties. Now they are allowed. Lily worked on the creation of 6 different laws to improve widow’s lives in Nepal.  ‘We have a long road ahead’ she says ‘but we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for change’.

During a small discussion group of widows under-25 under the supervision of Lily Thapa, a girl is showing an irritation under her lips. Young widows are the most fragile ones and in Nepal, they are 60% of the widows.

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After the women group in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur district, a WHR officer is giving little microcredit fund to the women involved.

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After the earthquake, Laxmi started living in a tent, over the debris of her collapsed house.However, snakes were coming at night, she was scared and couldn’t sleep. Thanks to WHR, she received a small loan and with the time she built a new shelter, on the land where she was previously growing crops, losing as a consequence her most important source of income. At the moment she is barely surviving.

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Phool Maya Maharjhan, 70 years old, was already a widow when she got trapped under the debris during the earthquake in Dharmastali.

She lost her house and all of her documents.Since then she had to manage to support her 3 sons and 2 daughters alone, living in extreme poverty.

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Kumari B.K. with her daughter Swstika and the son Sobas in front of their house in Kaski, next to the Bijayapur river. Since she became a widow 9 years ago, when her husband was taken by the river during a flood,

Kumari is struggling for the education of her children.


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Hari Chaudari, 55 years old, received a pig from WHR that allows her to make a small income and her economic conditions are slightly improving.

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A child in one house in the informal settlement of Basingath, where many widows live in Kathmandu

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Ram Kumari, 66 years old, Kaski district, Nepal.

Ram is disable since 6 years and her son is born with disabilies as well. She has no income, unless for some revenues made by her daughter cookings'. Ram's husband died ill of jaundice. Women for Freedom provided her with a wheelchair.

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The mother in-law and daughter of Chandra Hasda, a woman who was trafficked into India and then disappeared.Every year, around 12.000 young Nepalese women are illegally takenacross the long and mostly uncontrolledborder between Nepal and India. They disappearinside the labyrinth of the Indian brothels, losingall hope to reunite with their families.

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Sabita Maharjan, 30 years old. Her husband died in a car accident in 2012 when their daughter was only 1,5 years old.Becoming a widow, she experienced severe exclusion from the community, but things changed when she joined the single women group. She found the courage to wear red clothes, usually wore by married women, again.She is now very active in helping other women in the village of Sunakoti and recently started a bachelor in rural agriculture.

She is hoping to acquire the means togrant her daughter an education.

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Maiya Ale Magar, 54 years old. Her husband was often drunk and her life got better when he died 7 years ago.

She was being beaten often by her husband during the marriage and currently she is still suffering from the violent behaviours of her son. She achieved economic independence working informally in the real estate business, but she gains a little and she is lives in the informal settlement of Basinghat.

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