Dambara Devi Badela of Attariya Municipality was denied property ownership after the death of her husband four years ago in Kailali. She had to struggle to work as a daily wage labourer to feed her four kids. Following the demise of her husband Yagya Raj Badela, she filed a case at District Court, Kailali against her in-law Dev Bahadur Badela seeking her part of the property and the court gave a verdict in her favour. Similar is the case of Rukmadevi Luwar of Malakheti VDC. She was also denied property ownership by her in-laws after her husband’s death six years ago despite consistent appeals at the local level for the same. She finally gained ownership after filing a case at the court.

Similarly, widows Mina Sah and Sakuntala Karki of Tikapur Municipality have filed cases against their in-laws demanding their share of the property after their husbands’ death four years ago, said Naba Raj Subba, a first-class non-gazetted officer at District Court, Kailali. A large number of single women have no option but to knock the court’s doors and seek property ownership after their kin deny them the same. Bed Awasthi, the coordinator of Single Women far-west, said family members of widows deny property fearing they will marry again. Rukmadevi complained that society had mistreated widows. “We have no property ownership and that makes it hard for us to feed our kids.

Hence, we have no option but to frequent the court,” said Rukmadevi. Parbati Budha, Chairperson of Single Women Bajura, said widows were treated like slaves in the family after the death of husbands. “However, the situation has changed as women have become more conscious about their rights,” she said. Though a large number of governmental and non-governmental organisations have been established for the welfare of single women, their programmes have influenced only a handful of women. “We have received nothing from the state other than social security allowance,” said Jashudevi Singh of Barhabishe, Bajura.