Now the Nepalese government has taken the torment faced by widows a step further by offering men NRs. 50,000 ($650) if they marry a widow. A strange way to encourage  widow remarriage, you say? I agree. Women in Nepal are up in arms against this.

Guardian UK reports:

"Women's groups have condemned a Nepalese government plan to pay men for marrying widows, describing it as contrary to human rights law and humiliating for single women.

Under the proposal, contained in the government's annual budget last week, a lump sum of 50,000 Nepali rupees (£388) would be given to men who marry widows."

 

Widows are also angry at the government for putting a price tag on their dignity. The Times of India says:

"Dama Sharma, a Maoist MP whose husband was killed during the insurgency, says her party is also opposing the offer. "What about the children of a widowed woman?" she asks. "How many men in Nepal are broadminded enough to accept a widow along with her children? Instead of advocating re-marriage as a panacea, the state should provide her vocational training and a job so that she can stand on her own feet."

A Nepalese women's group based in the United States, Nepali Women's Global Network, has released a statement calling for a "comprehensive plan to address the need of widows" instead of focusing on re-marriage.

Bhumika Ghimire