Widows Face Discrimination in Society

Widows in the Hindu caste and ethnic groups are traditionally excluded from society. For young women, this can be particularly devastating emotionally and economically.

The political conflict over the past ten years has left thousands of women in this difficult situation, many of whom are teen-agers whose families married them off at a young age. Most widowed women are often illiterate, unskilled, destitute, and ill informed about their rights and legal procedures.

In addition to personal loss, widows are tormented by economic, psychological, physical, social, and legal issues. Governments, national and international communities have generally neglected these issues. Yet, widows are often the poorest, most marginalized, abused, and invisible sector of the population. In the context of conflict, widows and their children become even more vulnerable and exposed to violence and exploitation.

These women are also left to head households where they have to feed the very young and the aged. Many of these widows migrate to city areas to look for employment and opportunities to improve their destitute condition. Their long term needs, as sole supporters of families are mostly unrecognized and their voices are unheard.

The movie "Water" shows the discrimination faced by widows in Nepal and India. Nine-year-old widows are among those helped by CORE.

Poor People Migrate to Cities for Employment

Poverty, conflict, and discrimination have pushed many rural Nepalis to migrate to urban areas. The children of these migrants rarely are able to attend school, the first step in building skills and a future occupation. They become doomed to a life of poverty like their parents.

Poor Farmers Work as Porters to Feed Their Families

In rural areas of east Nepal, many families cannot grow enough food to feed themselves through out the year. Family members will work as porters, carrying loads on the steep trails linking towns and villages.

Child portering is a problem endemic to impoverished communities across Nepal, and the government of Nepal has classified child pottering as one of the worst forms of child labour in the country.

Portering has serious physical consequences upon young children and the vast majority of child porters have difficulty returning to the traditional education system. Our partner to work with porters is Porters' Progress.