IRIN humanitarian news – Tuesday 30 Dec, 2008
The stigma of being a widow in Nepal can be overwhelming, even more so when you are young
RAJBIRAJ, 30 December 2008 (IRIN) – At the age of 11 Purni Shah was forced by her family to marry a 25-year-old man. Four years into the marriage, her husband died leaving her a child widow.
Her fate is not uncommon in Nepal, which has one of world’s highest levels of child marriage, according to Nepal’s Demographic Health Survey. Over 63 percent of girls marry before 18, and 7 percent marry before reaching 10, the survey said.
But for those who become widows, the stigma can be overwhelming: They are often looked upon with disdain and suspicion, and even blamed for their husband’s death. . .
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