Ann Marcer in Nepal: Women at work

Namaste.

The position of women in this developing country is changing, but there is still a very traditional attitude to their role by many, especially men and boys. In the villages where I work, and walking to them, I observe at first hand the lifestyle of country women and in many cases the hard grind which is their life.

In many of the rural villages, high in the hills, there is little or no employment and a high percentage of men leave their families to seek work elsewhere, sometimes as many as 50%. This work may be in Kathmandu or the other cities of Nepal, or abroad. Many men go to the Middle Eastern countries and work on construction projects there. A job in the army, the British Gurkhas or Indian army, is better paid than many jobs in Nepal, and so is highly prized. The wives are left behind in the village, at their husband's family home, to look after the children and in-laws, farm the family’s land and literally hold everything together.

Many women work incredibly hard, cooking, cleaning and caring for their family, fetching wood or fodder from the forest for the animals, cultivating crops and often trying to earn some extra money by knitting, weaving or making things in their spare time. Sadly, this hard slog is often not appreciated or even noticed and in many cases the work of women is taken for granted and not valued by the men.

Below is a selection of photos taken of women at work around Besisahar.