Written for Adventure.com April 2019 - They have been waiting for her visit for weeks. When Lily Thapa enters the hall, light shines through the eyes of the over hundred women who have gathered in the small city of Mahendranagar, in Kanchanpur district, south-western Nepal. They have traveled from the small villages surrounding to meet the woman that has changed their life with the power of her inspiration. I had traveled there together with Lily from Kathmandu, where she is living and where her organisation Women for Human Rights Nepal (WHR) is based. The main goal of WHR is to support and empower widows and single women who lost their husband and experienced the hardest period of their life since then. Looking at the crowd I feel overwhelmed at the idea of the sufferings most of them must have been through. 3 out of 4 of them have been victims of some forms of violence (verbal, physical, sexual) and in several cases, they were blamed by their in-laws families to be the reason of their husbands’ deaths.
Their stories are particularly sad. Following trekking paths in the Himalayas a few years earlier, I did not realise how marginalised women were in a country of 29 million that for two decades had known no peace. First the civil war claimed the life of 19.000 people between 1996 and 2006, than a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed over 9.000 and destroyed half a million houses. The villages along the stunning mountains and woods along the Langtang trekking trail I had walked through were shattered. The capital Kathmandu was now covered into dust, in the sluggish process of recovering itself from the serious damages it had suffered. Many of the villages in the Kathmandu valley were severely affected by the catastrophe. The people suffering the most from these consequences were the single women: those who had lost not only their houses, but also their husband and their main source of income. 
Traveling across Nepal in the spring of this year I got to meet many of their stories. In the village of Dharmastali, located in the valley surrounding the capital, people are still living in temporary shelters more than three years after the earth shaked. The Reconstruction Authority has miserably failed in supporting the earthquake-afflicted victims and only reached out to one fifth of the concerned population. One of the oldest women in Dharmastali, 70 years old Phool Maya Maharjhan, was trapped under the debris losing the little she had own. Her neighbour, Laxmi Nakasmi, 60, had to renounce her little piece of land where she used to grow vegetables in order to build a temporary shelter. Her sole source of income then vanished. 30 years old Sabita Maharjan lost her husband in a car accident when her daughter was not even 2 years old and experienced severe exclusion from her community. A few kilometres further along the valley, 55 years old Tami Maja Maharjan is training in shoe making in Sunakoti, hoping to start an activity that could support her future and the studies of her daughters. They would have been left alone if women had not organise themselves in groups, giving support to each others and developing these professional trainings to empower the most vulnerable ones. All of them have found the courage to wear red clothes again, traditionally the colours of married women’s garments.
‘I wanted to transform their shame into pride” tells me Lily Thapa alongside the gathering in Mahendranagar. ‘We decided to focus our attention to the most remote areas of the country, where the traditional culture is stronger and women end up discriminated the most’. Since Lily Thapa has founded WHR, she managed to reach out to 100.000 Nepalese women, organising them in 2.000 groups, scattered over the 73 district of the national territories. Lily was 29 years old when her husband passed away, while serving as an army doctor for a UN peace mission in Iraq. Those were the darkest day for Lily, when she even tried a few times to kill herself a few time. But it was by meeting young poor and discriminated widows that Lily understood their dire conditions. Her advocacy started as a therapy and progressively became a mission. “I felt I was privileged” she tells me. “Being born in a good family in Kathmandu I was protected after my husband’s death, while most of Nepali women experience a nightmare when losing their husband. I started to travel, to hear their stories, to understand that they did not know anything about their rights, that they were subjugated in the societies they were living, especially those living in the most remote areas. I felt that I could help them, at least by giving them a little bit of hope, to let them know that someone is behind them and they can count on us”.
Kamala Sharma is one of those widows who’s made the most amazing progress. Born in Kailali where traditional culture is often stronger than the laws of the young Republic and where marriages are mostly arranges by families, her widowhood started when she was only 15, one year after getting married. Kamala decided to direct all of her energies into agriculture. By working hard she became a leading example in her communities. She now grows 50 quintal of tomatoes in 60 square meters of land. She is the chairperson of WHR’s local section, she joined the Congress party and won a national award for her endeavour. Her story became a model for other women trying to emancipate themselves through agriculture. One of them is Lalmati Rana, who built up a successful mushroom farms in greenhouse and now trains about 200 women every year in doing the same. With a an initial investment of 5000 Nepal rupie, she made 700.000 rupees of profit only this year. All of her children are now independent and she is now very respected inside her community.
For Lily Thapa, these examples are the energy that push her to look forward with hope and ambition, despite she is well aware that the work of WHR is nonetheless still a drop in the ocean. The patriarchal system in the Nepalese countryside gives to man primary power and women sometimes have situations too difficult to overcome. ‘When I became a widow there was none to support us’ she tells after a long day of meetings with local women. ‘Now things have changed. 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. ‘What I care the most is to give women the dignity they deserve. Sometimes the most important think I can offer them is moral support and confidence in their own means’ she continues. 
Gita Joshi, 41,l has lost her man during the civil war and experienced the same discrimination of many other women. She is one of those that never gave up and managed to improve her life thanks to the help of WHR, of whom is now a very active member, helping other widows in need. “What Lily did for all of us was priceless. It’s our duty to bring this project forward and help other women to come out of shadows.” Gita has learned from Lily to use the negative experience as energy to be stronger and as Lily likes to say “to be ready to sacrifice our own life to bring about change”.




This vision inspired her to create Women for Human Rights Nepal, an NGO based in Kathmandu that has managed to reach out to over 100.000 Nepalese women, organised in 2.000 groups, scattered over the 73 district of the national territories. Some of them are completely lost. In Nepal, 60% of the widows are aged between 20-25, the 89% of them are illiterate and have normally 3-4 children.  ‘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 give women respect and dignity. 
W Sarmila Adhikazi was beaten many times by her husband, until one morning she found him hanged in one of the rooms of their house. The in-laws family blamed her for his death, she tries to make a bit of economy with a meat shop but some days she has nothing left to eat. Gita Joshi, 41, lost her man during the civil war and experienced the same discrimination of many other women. She never gave up and she is making a small income with some goats that WHR provided her. She is an active member of the organisation and she is always willing to help the other women in her same situation. “I want to have the same courage of Lily” she tells me. “What she did for all of us was priceless. It’s our time to bring this project forward.” Gita has learned from Lily to use the negative experience as energy to be stronger and as Lily likes to say “to be ready to sacrifice our own life to bring about change”.
In search of this hope, Danescoori Devi Bohora, 40 years old, decided to recently join the group of Kanchanpur. Her husband passed away 9 months before and she is still wearing the white robe that widows conventionally wear for at least one year, according to cultural laws. She is struggling to allow her children going to school.Bimala Bhatta, 26 years old, is the wife of a Maoist insurgent who escaped during the civil war and never returned. Bimala isn’t even aware whether he is still alive or not. She was forced to come back to her mum’s house and to live without her daughter, who is living with her in-laws that forbids the two to meet. They are now part of the local group in Kanchanpur, where they are meeting other single women who have been already able to follow Lily’s example and get out the shadow.





This vision inspired her to create Women for Human Rights Nepal, an NGO based in Kathmandu that has managed to reach out to over 100.000 Nepalese women, organised in 2.000 groups, scattered over the 73 district of the national territories. Some of them are completely lost. In Nepal, 60% of the widows are aged between 20-25, the 89% of them are illiterate and have normally 3-4 children.  ‘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 give women respect and dignity. When I became a widow there was none to support us. Now things have changed. 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’ tells me Lily Thapa while we travel the region and meet women that opens up completely in front of her, knowing they can get her understanding and support. 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. She also launched the ‘red color movement’, to inspire women to wear red clothes that normally are supposed to be wore by married women, and also jewellery and nose rings that used to be forbidden for widows. 


When Lily leaves to follow her schedules, I keep traveling the country, meeting other women groups that WHR are supporting. On the other side of the country, in the Wester region of Jhapa where tea cultivation is concentrated I met two women which destiny are connected. Sumitra Tudu, 33, was approached by a local man soon after losing her husband. “He offered me to work in Kuwait. I was fragile, I had no money and I didn’t know what to do. I found myself being trafficked to India for sex-related exploitation. Luckily I was rescued near the border and I could return to my village Deonia. Mina Tudu, 28, had lost her husband 5 years ago for a skin disease she was left alone with one son and 2 daughters. She was also trafficked and rescued and she is now trying to restart her life in Deonia. Some women never returned after being trafficked. The family of Chandra Hasda are waiting her return since several years. Her husband and her daughter wants to believe that one day she will return, but they are aware that this is not the majority of the cases.
What WHR is trying to do with these women in Nepal is to give them back the chance to care for themselves and provide for their children. In Kailali district I met Devi Kapadel, 37. She got married at 15, at 25 she became a widow and had to take care of her husband. WHR provided her with a training in tailoring and received a counter and 3 machines which allowed her to start an activity. In the village of Sunakoti, in the Kathmandu valley, I met Tami Maya during a training in shoe-making. She is 38, has 3 children to feed and the stigma of the society to overcome. Peopleblamed her of being responsible for the death of her alcoholic husband but the women groups are given hope back to her.Kamala Sharma is one of those widows who made the most amazing progress. After becoming a widow at the age of 15, one year after getting married, she directed  all her energies into agriculture and she now  grows 50q of tomatoes in 60sq of land. She won a national award for her endeavour, joined the Congress party and become chairperson of the local section. Her story has inspired other women that she trained in orden to allow them to be independent thanks agriculture. Lalmati Rana is also an incredible successful story a model for other women. Since many years she started growing mushrooms in greenhouses and she now trains 200 women every year. At the beginning she only invested 5000 Nepal rupie, this year she made 700.000 Nepali of profit. This work made her independent now and she could send her children to school. Despite these successful stories, the work of Women For Human Rights is nonetheless still a drop in the ocean. WHR operates in a patriarchy system in which males hold primary power and women sometimes have situations too difficult to overcome. Some women have became hopeless after the earthquake has destroyed all they have left. Such is this case of Phool Maya Maharjhan, 70 years, who got trapped under the debris during the earthquake and is left with nothing. Sarmila Adhikazi was beaten many times by her husband, until one morning she found him hanged in one of the rooms of their house. The in-laws family blamed her for his death, she tries to make a bit of economy with a meat shop but some days she has nothing left to eat. Gita Joshi, 41, lost her man during the civil war and experienced the same discrimination of many other women. She never gave up and she is making a small income with some goats that WHR provided her. She is an active member of the organisation and she is always willing to help the other women in her same situation. “I want to have the same courage of Lily” she tells me. “What she did for all of us was priceless. It’s our time to bring this project forward.” Gita has learned from Lily to use the negative experience as energy to be stronger and as Lily likes to say “to be ready to sacrifice our own life to bring about change”.













Those days were a struggle for her and after attempting suicide for three times, she started meeting other widows, and understanding the conditions of these women 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 Might 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, growing up with no troubles, difMiculties or particular challenges. But my trauma and my sorrow made me much stronger’ she says.
‘We have a long road ahead’ she says ‘but we are ready to sacriMice ourselves for change’.

After attempting suicide for three times, in 1994 a young widow, Lily Thapa, moved the Mirst steps towards an unexplored direction, founding Women For Human Rights Nepal (WHR). Today, 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, beneMiting their families as well as their communities.After 20 years Mighting against discrimination, the work of Women For Human Rights is nonetheless still a drop in the ocean. WHR operates in a patriarchy system in which males hold primary power. In spite of that, the tireless work of these women have achieved some results, also because the approach of the organisation reMlects an already existing pattern in Nepalese society: the spirit of collectivity and mutual help. Nepalese women aren’t alone and WHR main activity is to encourage them to create and strengthen their networks, to bring forth a change in people mentality and a social and cultural development of Nepalese society.Mahìla (in nepalese woman) is each and everyone of these women, a journey that photographer Nicola Zolin has done inside their life, their houses and their stories of sufferance and defeat, as well as the small, everyday life victories.The project was produced in March 2018 thanks to the organisation and support of Women For Freedom Onlus, working side by side with Women For Human Rights since 2014, cooperation in writing projects and proposals and supporting the activities.




Can you send me a short project description based on the new edit? mention the ngo and the work they do and why their work is important. Also provide a line that says traditionally women who loose their husbands often face discrimination, ostracism, and abandonment. In a country with few economic opportunities for women, becoming a widow marks the beginning of a lifetime of greater hardship to feed, shelter, and educate herself and her children

The tumultuous recent history of Nepal, ravaged by a civil war and a deadly earthquake, stripped many men out of their families and left thousands of women alone. Besides being a painful and disgraceful experience in its own, widowhood becomes even more dreadful in contexts where women are blamed to be responsible of their husband’s death by their in-laws families and by the community. Women who loose their husbands often face discrimination, ostracism, and abandonment. In a country with few economic opportunities for women, becoming a widow marks the beginning of a lifetime of greater hardship to feed, shelter, and educate herself and her children. After attempting suicide for three times, in 1994  Lily Thapa, an educated woman from Kathmandu who had just lost her husband, understood how dramatic life for widows was in her country. She traveled for over 15 years in the most remote areas of Nepal, bringing over 100.000 women together under the umbrella of the organisation she found, Women for Human Rights, which offers programs of psychological support, empowerment through trainings and legal support on property issues.
The project was produced in March 2018 thanks to the support of Women For Freedom Onlus, working side by side with Women For Human Rights since 2014, cooperation in writing projects and proposals and supporting the activities.





After attempting suicide for three times, in 1994 a young widow, Lily Thapa, moved the first steps towards an unexplored direction, founding Women For Human Rights Nepal (WHR). Lily traveled for 15 years along the landlocked country of Nepal, to learn about the lives of women who lost their husband and were discriminated by their communities. Her passionate work has been an inspiration for many, who managed to turn their shame into pride. Through heer endeavour and tireless work  she brought 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.After 20 years fighting against discrimination, the work of Women For Human Rights is nonetheless still a drop in the ocean. WHR operates in a patriarchy system in which males hold primary power. In spite of that, the tireless work of these women have achieved some results, also because the approach of the organisation reflects an already existing pattern in Nepalese society: the spirit of collectivity and mutual help. Nepalese women aren’t alone and WHR main activity is to encourage them to create and strengthen their networks, to bring forth a change in people mentality and a social and cultural development of Nepalese society.