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“As women in Nepal, we support each other”: Raleigh host mother Sun Maya shares her story

“As treasurer of our women’s group in Rampur, I know the women in my community well. Together we run a cooperative, depositing money each month to the group which women in the community can use when needed. We support each other financially, but we also support each other with other issues that we may face.

Menstruation taboos still affect women in our country

About six years ago we had problems of women in the community being seen as ‘untouchable’ during menstruation. At these times, we were not allowed in the kitchen and were unable to cook food. Things have changed now for us in Rampur, however this is not the same for other communities in Nepal.

There is a village just two hours away where women are still separated from the rest of the community during menstruation. They were treated badly. But recently, they received training from an organisation about menstrual hygiene and have slowly started to implement good habits during those periods. But it makes me feel sad that there are still rural parts of our country where these things are practiced. I feel lucky that this has been transformed for us, now we can go anywhere during this time and can speak openly about our periods.

Now that we do not have to worry about the stigma, it was good to recently learn from Raleigh volunteers staying in our community how to make our own sanitary pads. For me it was really helpful and applicable as it means I don’t have to buy other pads from the market. I have two children and my family struggles economically as my husband’s painting work in Kathmandu valley is our only source of income, so it is really useful that we can make these pads by ourselves.

Supporting women with domestic violence

I think it’s important for women to support each other with many issues. For instance, in some Nepali communities there can be cases of violence and abuse against women in the home. In times like these it’s even more important to have support between each other.

A few years ago, I visited a close friend who lived with her mother and father. As I’d previously received training on how to identify signs of abuse in the home, I had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. When I spoke to my friend about it, she opened up to me; she told me through tears that she had been raped by her father. It happened years previously, but he had tried to do it again when he returned from working in India. While my friend’s mother knew about this, she was unable to do anything about it. This is not seen as the place of a man’s wife.

After making this discovery, I decided to call the police and he was arrested. Women in Nepal, especially in rural communities like mine, are not expected to act in such a way. By acting in this way, supporting my friend, myself and other women, I feel that I am empowered.

Women in Nepal and around the world can empower each other

It’s been really great meeting female Raleigh volunteers from Nepal and around the world, sharing our homes with them and getting to know them during their menstrual hygiene and water and sanitation projects. It’s really important for women to support each other like this. 

I feel like my fellow women in my community are empowered, like me. In Rampur, we are the main driving force of the community. We are hardworking and leaders of the home, and we are always there for eachother.Sometimes it can feel like women in Nepal are not at the forefront of change. I think this is because there are still women who have repressive experiences in Nepal compared to other women around the world. However, there are women here too that are doing good – even our president is a woman.  We look to her and to women globally. We as women can learn from each other, and then we all can be empowered.”


Raleigh International is proud to work with women like Sun Maya on water and sanitation projects in Nepal.

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