I obviously don’t know if it’s harder to be a woman in Nepal than in other places, but often it seems like it must be.
Around 1,200 women here die each year giving birth, many from a simple post-delivery haemorrhage. (The fact that no one seems to know the exact number speaks volumes about the importance officialdom places on the issue). Tens of thousands of other women endure the condition known as uterine prolapse — where the uterus descends towards or through the vagina, the result of, among other reasons, child brides giving birth when their bodies are still not fully developed or of mothers returning to hard, physical labour too soon after giving birth.
As in other countries, women in Nepal are bearing a heavier burden than usual during the COVID-19 pandemic, including caring for out-of-school children and homebound husbands. Family planning, already a challenge in a patriarchal society, has become more difficult as health facilities run out of supplies. Fearful of catching the coronavirus or unable to find transportation, one-half of pregnant women are shunning health facilities, skipping vital pre- and post-birth appointments.
Despite this negative outlook, our guests on this episode did have some ideas for making life better for Nepal’s women. Pallavi Payal is a researcher and activist on women’s rights, with a focus on Nepal’s southern Madhesh, or Tarai, region. Samita Pradhan is Team Leader of the Women's Reproductive Rights Programme at the Centre for Agro-Ecology and Development.
By the way, our next episode will the last in this first series by Nepal Now. Check out our social media to have a say on which topic we’ll be discussing. As always, you can like or follow the podcast on the usual players, including Apple and Google podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or email me at marty@martylogan.net.
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Nepal Now is produced and hosted by Marty Logan.
