Social Sufferings of Widows in Nepal

Gender discrimination starts from birth in Nepal among diverse communities in different ways. The girls are taken as unwelcome birth in most of the families. Widows are one of the main actors of the society but their voices are not heard and their identity is not recognized. Patriarchal society in Hindu religion has been playing crucial roles for the social, educational, legal and economic and health sufferings of widows. The widows from the poor economic and educational background are facing both physical and mental health problems as compared to others. Widows’ children have limited access to education, health, nutrition and they are vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of violence. By existing laws, widows have the right to deceased husband’s property but in practice they have not been able to own it. Poor implementation of laws is the major lacking and the main reason behind this and thus need of the development of appropriate mechanism by the state.