Women protesters have marched through the streets of Kathmandu in their hundreds after the government announced a "humiliating" scheme to offer financial incentives for men to marry widows.
The scheme has been deemed necessary by the government of Nepal in part because of the 10-year-long civil war that claimed up to 13,000 lives and widowed many women. Such women are widely ostracised and discriminated against in the conservative country. In such circumstances, the government said that by offering grants of 50,000 Nepali rupees (£395), unmarried men would be persuaded to wed widows to help re-integrate them into society.
But campaigners say the scheme would not only turn women into cash cows but would be open to abuse by human traffickers. They warn that in Nepal women are traded for as little as 5,000 rupees. Lily Thapa, founder of the group Women for Human Rights (WHR) and one of the organisers of the rally, said: "It's totally humiliating for the women. We do not want this. It's against our human rights."
Ms Thapa set up WHR after her husband was killed while serving with UN peacekeeping forces in 1991. She said widows in Nepal were routinely discriminated against, particularly in rural areas, and were prevented from wearing colourful clothes or attending important events as they were considered bad luck. "In the West you have no idea of the cultural code that goes on here. If women want to wear a colourful dress that is their right."
She said the government's proposal would not help the situation and would be open to abuse by traffickers.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/men-offered-163400-to-marry-nepals-widows-1770283.html
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