As Their Husbands Seek Jobs Elsewhere, These Women Stay Behind to Beat the Odds

Nepal has faced years of political instability, climate change, and economic woes, driving undernutrition across the country. One-third of the population lives below the poverty line, and women are especially affected.

The vast majority of Nepalese live in rural areas, many of whom spend their days tending to fields near the Himalayan Mountain Range. There, a financial crisis is driving many farmers to leave the country for better jobs. Some 500,000 young Nepalese, mostly men, leave the country ever year to work, leaving women to manage the farms themselves.

Climate change in Nepal has fueled natural disasters and extreme weather, from excessive rainfall to landslides and avalanches. These climate shocks can disrupt traditional agricultural cycles and jeopardize harvests. And as more male farmers leave their homes and search for opportunities elsewhere, women are forced to take things into their own hands.

Meet Goma: Turning Challenges into Opportunities

When Nepalese women become the sole breadwinners, they confront considerable economic challenges.

Goma Bishwakarma, who lives in Udayapur, faced this very turning point. It was out of the question to sit back and wait for her husband’s return, who, like many other men in the village, had left to work in Qatar.

Staying alone with her three sons was an immense challenge. Still, Goma persevered. She knew many other women in her village could identify with her hardships. Even though she knew little about local politics, she took the plunge and ran to represent her village as an elected ward member.

“Honestly, I didn’t know much about it,” she says. “Someone in the village put my name forward, and I was elected in 2017. The economic situation is very difficult. My heart tells me that whoever is in difficulty, I have to help them, even though my own financial situation is fragile.”

After ten years of exhausting work abroad, her husband finally returned home. Now, he looks after the kitchen garden and bamboo nursery. In many ways, Goma still plays a key role in her household by contributing financially and guiding her family in other ways. But as a woman, Goma must still speak up so that her voice can be heard.

“I always stress that women can also earn money and are a valuable resource,” she says. “Today, my husband is very supportive, but my work at home is still not considered. I do the housework and wash the dishes, and when I ask him to help me, he tells me I can do it myself. Even worse, some women must ask their husbands for money to buy lipstick!”

Goma is now a committed women activist and leader of a group of women farmers. She is part of a project run by Action Against Hunger and our local partner, Sahara, to strengthen local agricultural production for vulnerable households.

“There’s no shame in learning something new,” she says of the skills trainings that she and other women received. “This project is a game-changer: for example, you can make two baskets from a single bamboo and earn 500 rupees [$3.75].”

It’s not unusual to meet Goma at rallies, where she raises awareness of the importance of a healthy diet. The latest one brought together over 150 women and girls to demand equal rights to quality food. While food is widely available throughout the country, the diversity of foods is far from ideal.

Across the country, staple foods include rice, wheat, and corn. In Udayapur, where Goma lives, 15% of people suffer from acute malnutrition, about 5% higher than the national average. Women and children are especially struggling to consistently eat filling and nutritious meals.

Goma’s neighbors regularly pass by her modest house near the forest to talk to her or ask for advice. “I’m no longer an elected representative, but always there for people,” she says. “I’m lucky to have the support of my husband and children; I go to work when I want and where I want. Some men constantly question their wives, like ‘where are you going, what you will get out of it, better to stay at home.’ Women should never be confined to their homes.”

Meet Alita: Weaving New Hope

Alita lives in a small village in the Rasuwa district, which sits at nearly 7,000 feet above sea level. This remote region is only a few miles from Tibet and mostly inhabited by the Tamang people. Here, many families are still recovering from a 2015 earthquake that caused widespread destruction.

“When the earthquake hit, people hid in the forest,” says Alita. “In the house next door, several people perished under the rubble.”

Because of the severe damage and the presence of water in underground cavities, the village was declared a red zone, making it impossible to rebuild any houses. Still, Alita had no choice but to stay. “We decided to stay here and rebuild everything we could. We needed land for our kitchen gardens, and moving elsewhere meant losing our land, which is our community’s main means of subsistence.”

Alita spends long hours working in the fields. Although her village may soon be connected to a larger irrigation system, she currently uses only a small hose to fetch water. She simultaneously takes on household chores like cooking, cleaning, and tending to her home.

Somehow, Alita still finds the time and energy to play an active role in her village. She serves as a member of the Water Users’ Collective, a project supported by Action Against Hunger and Sahara, which aims to improve access to water in remote villages and set up working groups to maintain infrastructure.

“When we were children, we grew up drinking water from this river,” she says. “Since then, many water projects have been unsuccessful, but now, the infrastructure has been finally set up. We need to keep an eye on things to make sure that all the houses are properly connected.”

After a busy day, Alita retires to her small workshop. There, time seems to fly by as she immerses herself in creative activities and enjoys a well-deserved moment of peace. Her dream is to be able to weave traditional garments and make a living this way.

“The people who stay in the village don’t have particular skills to earn a living,” she said. “Women work in the fields, but what we really need are different types of trainings to generate additional income.”

In her region, she says, members of the Tamang community wear a particular type of decorative cap. “Training could involve knitting caps and other types of fabric,” she says. “I want to devote myself fully to knitting and selling my clothes.”

Nepalese women like Goma and Alita across the country fight tirelessly for equality. Despite the obstacles, they courageously assert themselves, defying doubts and overcoming obstacles like the lack of resources or education. Their determination to reinvent and uplift themselves inspires not only their own generation but their children, too. By spreading awareness about the crucial place of women in society, Goma, Alita, and other women like them are paving the way for a fairer, more enlightened future in Nepal and beyond.

In March, Action Against Hunger advocated for women like Goma and Alita during the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). There, Action Against Hunger called on governments to promote universal social protection models to ensure everyone has access to basic services and rights, regardless of income.

About Action Against Hunger in Nepal

Action Against Hunger has been working in Nepal since 2005. Last year, our programs helped nearly 3,000 people across the country through programs designed to strengthen health care, build water systems, and improve nutrition services.