Services:

• Shelter homes: Three shelter homes housing more than 120 children and more than 30 women

• Childcare centers: Two centres, one in Jhapa in the eastern part of Nepal, and the other in Kathmandu caring for between 40 and 60 children aged 1–6 years

• Non-violent school: Teaching over 450 children up to 10th grade

• Micro-Credits in 2013: 235 women (in total 3,000 women)

• Vocational training: 300 qualified trainers in the Nepalese Rural Women Program who go on to teach almost 1,000 women in each of their respective districts

• Legal assistance (mediation and lawsuits): Over 300 cases annually

• Scholarships: More than 1,000 in total

• Support of poor, mentally sick, disabled families: More than 500 in total

History

Our organization

Our partnerships

Nepal is a country of great geographic, cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. However, it is also a highly patriarchal society, where women are discriminated against in almost all aspects of life (see also Women’s and children’s issues).

The Women’s Foundation Nepal is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation helping women and children in Nepal who are victims of violence, abuse and poverty. WFN was established in 1988 by a group of professional Nepalese women.

40% of Nepali girls got married before their 18th birthday in 2017. And 7% even got married before the age of 15. Child marriage violates children’s rights and represents the most prevalent form of gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation of girls. It also shows that women and girls are seen as inferior to men and boys. Poverty is another reason for child marriage and goes along with the perception that girls are a burden to the family. It is also associated with the dowry system, wherein daughters who marry early require lower payments. In some parts of Nepal it is a traditional belief that women will go to heaven if they marry before their first menstruation (Girls Not Brides). The harmful consequences of child marriage include serious health risks, separation from family and friends, lack of freedom to interact with peers and participate in community activities and decreased opportunities for education. It can also result in bonded labour or enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation and violence. Every third girl suffers from violence by their husband and every sixth girl reports physical violence (UNICEF).

Malashree*
Child marriage at the age of 10 years old

“One day, when I was 10 years old, my neighbors congratulated me on my wedding. They had just got an invitation from my parents. This is how I found out about my marriage. My parents arranged my marriage and gave me away to a 20-year-old man. Many people warned my father about him, as everyone knew, he was a mad man. But he did not want to listen. After the wedding, I felt so alone in the house of my in-laws. I missed my family and felt uncomfortable. Soon after my wedding, my in-laws started to treat me badly. I had to get up at 4 am in the morning, clean the house, cook and carry heavy buckets of water. My husband started to beat me. I was very afraid, that he would kill me one day. Many times, he broke my bones and I had to go to the hospital. I tried to escape, but he found out and found me when I was running away. After nine years in this situation, I got very sick. My mother-in-law saw, that I would die soon and brought my back to my parent’s house. They healed me and after my recovery, I found out about The Women’s Foundation Nepal. As I lived close by, the Foundation provided me with a job. Today I feel safe, more respected and I am happy that I can take care of my parents.”

Jamuna*
Child marriage at the age of 9 years old

My mother died when I was still very young. My father married again and had children with my stepmother. They did not treat me badly but they did not care about me a lot. My father was a compulsive gambler. One morning, a man came to our house and took me away. My father had gambled me and lost. This man took me to his house and arranged for me to marry to his thirty-year-old son who suffered from leprosy. I had no idea what was happening to me. Villagers heard about my fate and informed The Women’s Foundation Nepal. They came to the house and rescued me from my husband and his family. They brought me to their Shelter Home in Kathmandu. WFN brought the case to the court and my marriage was cancelled. At the Shelter Home I have many friends now, I can go to school. It feels like a real family.”

*names changed

The persecution and killing of women in the name of practicing witchcraft is still very prevalent in Nepal. Most of the witchcraft allegations in Nepal are based on reasons like making people or animals sick, casting a spell on food or drinks and making children sick. Diseases spread through epidemics are also said to be related to black magic. Most of the allegations are followed by beating of the victim and forcing the person to consume human excrement. Sometimes the victim is beaten to death. In 2018 (2075/2076) the Nepali police counts 46 cases of witchcraft allegations. The number of accusations is much higher than these figures as many cases remain unreported (Witchcraft Accusation and Persecution of Women in Nepal).

Sahana*
Widow
One child

“I am a widow and my village blamed me that I caused the death of my husband. When a young buffalo died, the situation got worse – the people of my village said that I am a witch and it was again my fault. The members of the village beat and tortured me. They hit me very hard and tried to make me eat human excrement. A member of The Women’s Foundation living in a nearby village heard about it and rushed, together with the president of WFN, to my village. The people of my village had left me lying on a little path with my five year old daughter crying next to me. I vomited blood and I barely could feel my body. The two members of WFN found me there and one stayed with me, while the other one tried to find someone who would help to bring me to a hospital. Nobody in the village wanted to help. At the main road, the WFN member found a taxi and with two men, they helped to bring me to the main road. With another taxi we made it to a hospital in Kathmandu. I am happy that I survived and that WFN gave me shelter and helped me to cope with what had happened to me. When I recovered, they organised a job for me in a handicraft centre. I rented my own little flat and now I feel safe and I am happy that I can take care for me and my daughter.”  

Luniva*
Widow
One child

“I lived in a little hut by the riverside. I was very ill for four months and when the fever was so high, my body started to spasm uncontrollably and I hallucinated and spoke in an irrational way due to the fever. My neighbour called the shaman to heal me. When the shaman arrived, around 50 villagers gathered to see the prayers and the process going on. The shaman looked at me and said that there is a witch inside me. He asked the villagers to heat up spoons (until they were burning red) and put them on my face. In this way, the shaman thought the witch would leave my body. The villagers did as they were asked. Some holding me back, while others would burn my face with the spoons. I screamed as much as I could, but nobody released my. My daughter, 13 years old, saw everything and was screaming and crying. When they left me, I knew that I could not go to the hospital, as I had no money. So I stayed at my hut, suffering from the pain. Members of The Women’s Foundation Nepal heard about me and saved me. They brought me to the hospital and took care of my daughter. Today I am living near an Office of WFN in a rural district, I feel safe there. Thanks to WFN I have a good job and I can send my daughter to school.”

*names changed

In Nepal, only 19.7% of women own land. This is only 5% of the total land of Nepal. Of these women only 11% have control over their land. In 2015 the Government changed the law and today, there is a 25-50% discount on the registration fee when the land is registered under to women’s name. After the new civil code in 2018 daughters are entitled to keep their share of their parents property after getting married. That means equal rights for sons and daughters. After a divorce women are also entitled to their husband’s share of property, if the divorce is the husband’s fault. This brings a positive change. In a patriarchal country like Nepal, access to land is fundamental to women’s empowerment. Land rights bring security, independence and confidence, which together enable women to become active in all social and political arenas. Women’s ownership of land encourages men to view women as equals, which is shown to give women more decision making power in their households and decrease domestic violence (US Aid Country Profile).

Rajani*
Arranged marriage at the age of 15 years old 

“My marriage was arranged when I was 15 years old. After one year, my husband married another woman and moved to Kathmandu. Sometimes he visited me in the village, but always treated me badly and beat me. Once so bad, that he broke my leg. Neither my parents nor his parents helped me. Everyone said, that it was my bad luck. I did believe it was my fate/destiny. But one day, his parents did not allow me to live in the house anymore. I got a small plot of land and my neighbours helped me to build a small house, made out of grass and stone. Also they gave me work, so I could earn a little money to buy my own food. Sometimes, my husband and his other wife visited the village. They treated me badly and took away my food and pots. One night, they locked me in my little house and tried to burn the house down. I escaped and my husband was running after me with a knife. My neighbours were the ones who saved me. The next day, I talked to a community member and he gave me the address of The Women’s Foundation Nepal and the money for a bus to Kathmandu. For 16 years I stayed in this bad marriage. I was 31 years old and I believed that I was an old woman. I had lost all hope for my future. But WFN changed that. They gave me back my confidence. I started to work as a cook at the Shelter Home. WFN’s lawyers registered my case in court and after two years I succeeded in getting money from my husband for the property which I am entitled to. I received NRS 200,000 (USD 2700) and used most of this money to buy a small piece of land in Kathmandu where I have built a house to live in.  I feel I have respect from other people now. The women at the Shelter Home showed me great support and helped me to believe that I was worth something. WFN helped me to prepare my land for farming. I am independent now and shaping my own future.” 

*name changed

It is difficult to get a divorce in Nepal. Legal changes have made it possible for a woman to divorce her husband and still keep some of the property, and even to gain custody rights. However, such court cases are lengthy and expensive. It typically takes many months to get a divorce case through court if the woman makes any kind of property or custody claims. Even worse than the time and money required to get a divorce is the social stigma put on a divorced woman. Many women are so terrified of being ostracized from their communities if they get a divorce that they will endure years of abuse instead.

Lakshmi*
Arranged marriage at the age of 16 years old
Two children  “

My husband was very violent and abused me. He beat me almost daily and raped me whenever he liked. We had two sons together. One day I decided to leave this situation, and fled with my two boys. I wanted a divorce, but I feared social retaliation. My family asked me to not divorce, as this would ruin the family.  My husband was still looking for me and when he found me he beat me in public. He harassed me on several occasions and he printed flyers with my phone number on, saying I was offering free sex. I had no energy anymore. I just wanted to live a happy life with my two children. So I asked The Women’s Foundation Nepal for help. The staff there convinced me, that I should divorce my husband and they helped me to push the case through court. My husband stopped harassing me, as I was in a strong community, protecting me. Eight years after I left him, I was finally legally independent and had custody of my children. I now work and raise my children and they are doing so well at school. I am very happy and free now.”

*name changed