Violence Against Widows in Nepal

Abstract

Widows are a vulnerable population in Nepal. This study examined Nepalese widows’ experiences of violence, their coping strategies, and barriers faced in seeking help. Study participants were recruited from Women for Human Rights, an NGO in Nepal. A stratified purposive sampling approach was used to select 51 widows and 5 staff members for in-depth interviews. Twenty-seven women who experienced violence were included in this analysis. Data were analyzed and synthesized using a thematic analysis procedure. Widows reported a range of violent experiences perpetrated by family and community members that spanned psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. Women dealt with abusive experiences using both adaptive (e.g., attempting to move ahead, seeking social support, using verbal confrontation) and maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., suicidal thoughts or self-medication). However, they faced barriers to seeking help such as insensitivity of the police, perceived discrimination, and general lack of awareness of widows’ problems and needs. Findings highlight the need for interventions across the individual, family, community, and policy levels. Avenues for intervention include creating awareness about widows’ issues and addressing cultural beliefs affecting widows’ lives. Furthermore, efforts should focus on empowering widows, promoting healthy coping, and addressing their individual needs.

Keywords

widows Nepal violence coping help-seeking barriers

Violence against women is a global problem, with prevalence of physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence against women reported to be 35% worldwide (World Health Organization, 2013). Violence is also a major problem for women in Nepal, who are over represented as victims of violence compared with men, both within and outside of marriage (Alexander & Regier, 2011; Uprety & Adhikary, 2011). This includes physical, sexual, and psychological violence by husbands and relatives, sexual violence in political conflicts, and trafficking by non-family perpetrators (Maskey, 2003). Nepal’s 2011 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) demonstrated that 22% women aged 15 to 49 years reported experiencing physical violence at least once after age 15 and 12% reported experiencing sexual violence at least once throughout their lifetime. Estimates are even higher among formerly married women, that is, those divorced, separated, or widowed, with 28% reporting physical abuse since age 15 (Ministry of Health and Population [MOHP, Nepal], New Era and ICF International, 2012). Similarly, although likely an underestimate, sexual violence has been reported frequently among formerly married women, with 22% reporting sexual violence relative to 15% of currently married women and 2% of never married women (2%; MOHP [Nepal], New Era and ICF International, 2012). Yet most of the research to date on violence against women in Nepal focuses on currently married women (Budhathoki et al., 2012; Lamichhane, Puri, Tamang, & Dulal, 2011; Puri, Tamang, & Shah, 2011). Also, among estimates that do report on violence among formerly married women, such as those provided by the DHS, widows are often grouped with divorced or separated women. Literature from Nepal and other South Asian countries highlights problems such as discrimination, low social status, economic insecurity, restricted living arrangements, and inadequacy of policies and procedures to address widows’ needs (Coomaraswamy, 2005; Uprety & Adhikary, 2011). In addition, widows’ status as single but sexually experienced make them frequent victims of sexual harassment and abuse (Alexander, & Regier, 2011; Dahal, 2007). Dahal (2007) in her ethnographic research on upper caste conflict widows in Kathmandu, Nepal, described how widows were often displaced from their homes and communities due to discrimination and abuse, which significantly contributed to their poor psychosocial health outcomes (Dahal, 2007). Thus, maltreatment of widows is a significant public health problem. This study, therefore, focused on violence against widows in Nepal.

Violence Against Widows: A Theoretical Framework

In Nepal, structural violence plays a role in discrimination against women and can be observed at all socio-economic levels and across all ethnic groups (Kohrt & Worthman, 2009), which includes widows. The role of structural violence is evident in women’s underrepresentation in political, economic, and professional spheres (Lamichhane et al., 2011). Structural violence is operationalized as “processes historically rooted in economic, political, religious, and other cultural institutions that differentially enrich or deprive individuals of resources based on individuals’ membership in a specific group” (Kohrt & Worthman, 2009, p. 239). Social and religious patterns that enforce the lower status of women in the family and the society, low decision-making power, limited education, lack of access to resources, and information and shame associated with disclosing violence increase women’s vulnerability to various forms of violence within the family and the community (Lamichhane et al., 2011). All these factors may play a role in exposing widows to violence in Nepal.

An ecological framework (Bronfrenbrenner, 1977) can be useful in conceptualizing factors related to violence against widows in Nepal. The ecological model posits violence against women as a multifaceted phenomenon grounded in the interplay among individual, microsystem (relationship), exosystem (community), and macrosystem (societal) factors (Heise, 1998; Sabri, Renner, Stockman, Mittal, & Decker, 2014). For widows, individual-level factors include early marriage, low education, and lack of information about resources and poverty (United Nations [UN] Division for the Advancement of Women, 2001). In Nepal, many widows are unable to access relevant legal documents (e.g., marriage certificates and husband’s death certificates) for state financial support or inheritance (Womankind Worldwide, 2014). Such factors marginalize widows from mainstream society and increase their vulnerability to violence and poor health (UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 2001). The microsystem (relationship-level) factors include perceptions of widows as unwanted burdens on families and inheritance disputes, which can lead to various forms of physical, verbal, sexual, and economic abuse by the family members. Among exosystem (community level) factors, low social status, lack of social support, and discrimination against widows may increase their vulnerability to violence. For instance, in Bangladesh and some countries in Africa, widows suffer verbal abuse from community members in the form of words such as “whore” and “witch” (UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 2001). Lack of social support or protection by family members in the microsystem further contributes to widows experiencing violence by community members.

The macrosystem (societal level) factors include patriarchal ideology, victim-blaming attitudes, and acceptance of violence against widows as a way of life. Widows’ victimization in society is deeply rooted in cultural values that assign an inferior status to women as compared with men (Action Aid UK, 2014). Women without men are, therefore, vulnerable to violence in the family and community. Furthermore, victim-blaming societal attitudes contribute to re-victimization of women with traumatic life experiences such as loss of a spouse. In India, for example, religious–cultural beliefs play a role in deprivation, stigmatization, and violence against widows. Widows are often considered the purveyors of ill-fortune (an example of victim blaming). The sati system (widow burning), practiced in India and Nepal in former times, is an example of patriarchal beliefs, which can result in an extreme form of violence against widows (i.e., death; UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 2001). Due to cultural–religious beliefs, widows in India were forced to remain single and their hair was shaved off. They could not participate in celebrations and received only leftovers to eat (Shah, 2011). Due to such factors operating at multiple levels in their environment, widows in Nepal are vulnerable to violence.

Although the problem of violence against widows persists in Nepal, there is a dearth of research on the topic. Even after an extensive review of literature, we were unable to locate a single published article that focused on widows’ contextualized experiences of violence, coping, and barriers associated with seeking help. An understanding of these factors can be useful for developing prevention and intervention strategies. In this study, therefore, we (a) describe and contextualize violence against widows in Nepal, and (b) identify widows’ coping strategies and barriers to help-seeking.

Method

Our analysis included 27 women (53% of the 51 women in the parent study) who reported experiences of violence. These widows were over the age of 16; were members of Women for Human Rights, a single women group (WHR), a Nepali NGO dedicated to working for widow’s and other single women’s rights; and had been widowed for over a year (to reduce the possibility of emotional distress). In addition, the study included data collected from 5 WHR staff. The study took place in two stages including both rural and urban areas: Kathmandu valley, Surkhet, Chitwan, and Kavre districts. During the first stage of data collection, widows were asked about their experiences of discrimination and how that affected their health and their children’s health, about knowledge and access to legal entitlements, and about the support they received. Although experiences of violence were not asked about explicitly in this first set of interviews, many women shared emotional experiences and stories of violence emerged from the data as an important issue. Thus, using an iterative approach, based on the analysis of the first set of interviews, which suggested that violence was a salient experience affecting these women’s health, we added specific questions to get a more in-depth understanding of this abuse in a second stage of data collection. Table 1 displays the characteristics of the widows who experienced violence in our sample (n = 27).

Table 1.

Characteristics of Widows Who Experienced Violence.

	Participant ID	Age	Number of Children	Caste/Ethnicity	Education Level	Years of Widowhood	Cause of Husband’s Death	Type of Violence Reported	Perpetrators of Violence
1.	SKT01	24	1	Lower caste, Dalit	Bachelor	7	Accident	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family
2.	SKT04	34	2	Upper caste, Chhetri	Grade 10	13	Typhoid	Physical and sexual	Family
3.	SKT08	26	1	Upper caste, Chhetri	Grade 12	3	Accident	Physical	Family
4.	SKT09	33	0	Ethnic, Gharti magar	Grade 5	7	HIV/AIDS	Emotional, physical, and sexual	Family and community
5.	SKT13	30	3	Ethnic Thapa magar	Grade 8	2	Kidney damage	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family and community
6.	SKT15	44	4	Upper caste, Sharma	Illiterate	8	HIV/AIDS	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family and community
7.	KTM02	28	2	Ethnic, Magar	Grade 10	4	Wrong treatment	Emotional and sexual	Community
8.	KTM04	28	1	Ethnic, Thakuri Chhetri	Grade 12	10	Murder	Emotional and sexual	Community
9.	KTM06	30	1	Upper caste, Brahmin	Pursuing bachelor’s degree	12	Murder	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family and community
10.	KTM09	29	2	Upper caste, Bhatta	Grade 12	4	Accident	Sexual	Community
11.	KTM12	33	1	Ethnic, Prajapati	Grade 10	9	Sickness	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family
12.	KTM16	32	1	Ethnic, Maharjan	Grade 5	10	Accident	Emotional and sexual	Family and community
13.	KTM17	30	1	Upper caste, Brahmin	College	12	Murder	Emotional and sexual	Family and community
14.	KTM18	40	0	Upper caste, Mishra	Grade 12	15	Sick but not HIV	Emotional, physical, and sexual	Family and community
15.	KTM20	28	2	Ethnic, Newar	Grade 5	7	Accident	Sexual	Community
16.	KTM21	45	3	Upper caste, Brahmin	Illiterate	9	Conflict	Emotional and sexual	Family and community
17.	CHT01	28	2	Ethnic, Newar	Grade 9	17	Attack by tiger	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family
18.	CHT02	19	1	Upper caste, Gautam	Illiterate	1	Accident	Emotional	Family
19.	CHT03	29	2	Upper caste, Brahmin	Grade 11	2	Suicide	Sexual	Community
20.	CHT04	24	1	Upper caste, Brahmin	Grade 11	4	Conflict	Physical	Family
21.	CHT06	35	2	Upper caste, Brahmin	Grade 10	8	Sickness	Emotional, physical, and sexual	Family and community
22.	CHT08	34	2	Upper caste, Brahmin	Grade 5	5	Accident	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family
23.	CHT09	24	2	Upper caste, Chhetri	Grade 7	6	Accident	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family
24.	CHT10	36	2	Upper caste, Chhetri	Grade 8	12	Sickness	Emotional and sexual	Family and community
25.	KVR02	74	0	Upper caste, Brahmin	Illiterate	54	Murder	Emotional/verbal abuse	Family
26.	KVR03	38	1	Upper caste, Brahmin	Grade 5	23	Accident	Emotional/verbal abuse	Community
27.	KTM22	30	2	Upper caste, Brahmin	Illiterate	6	Sickness	Emotional/verbal abuse	Community

We used a stratified purposive sampling approach (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to achieve variation based on age (<30, ≥30 years), and length of widowhood (1-5, 6-10, ≤11), cause of husband’s death (conflict, illness, homicide/suicide), and educational attainment (<Grade 10, ≥Grade 10). The parent study focused on discrimination and health care issues facing mostly young Nepali widows, including sexual and reproductive health. Therefore, our sample included primarily high-caste widows of reproductive age. The caste system in Nepal divides society into social rankings based on ancestral lineages, with Brahmins (historically priests) and Chhetris (i.e., warriors and rulers) at the top of the caste hierarchy. “Untouchables” or dalit castes are at the bottom of the caste system (Kohrt et al., 2009). High-caste widows are thought to be especially restricted by social norms (Bennett, 1983; Galvin, 2005). They are expected to be good role models for other women in society and therefore adhere to traditional cultural norms. For instance, upper caste widows in Nepal are unable to remarry even if they are widowed as early as 10 years old (Kohrt et al., 2009). Early age of widowhood makes them childless burdens on surviving family members, which leads to their maltreatment and abuse (Kohrt et al., 2009). Therefore, we were particularly interested in high-caste widows.

After recruitment by a WHR staff person by phone or in person, interviews were held at WHR offices or in participants’ homes, depending on their preference. In-depth interviews were conducted primarily by one interviewer with master’s level training in qualitative methods. She was usually accompanied by one or two other study researchers who also asked questions or helped facilitate interviews. Oral informed consent was obtained prior to participation. All interviews conducted in Nepali were recorded using digital recorder and transcribed verbatim. Follow-up interviews with individual women were conducted in case that clarification or additional information was needed, based on the first interview. Interviews averaged 1 hr and all participants were given 200 Nepali rupees as compensation for transportation.

Based on semi-structured interview guides, questions were open-ended and interviewers were encouraged to probe and explore topics introduced by the participants. This qualitative information was supplemented by a short set of close-ended demographic questions. In the first stage of data collection, no specific questions regarding experiences of violence were included in the interview guide; however, since violence emerged as a recurring theme, questions on this topic were added in the second round of data collection. These included “Please describe any type of violence you experienced in home or in public,” “How do you cope with the violence you have experienced?” “Did you ever have sex with someone you didn’t want to?” and “Some people have said they have experienced verbal harassment or abuse. If you have had any of those experiences, can you tell me about them?”

Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis procedure. Thematic analysis is a method of identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns within data and is performed in six phases: (a) familiarization with data, (b) generation of initial codes, (c) search for themes among codes, (d) review of themes, (e) creating definition and names of themes, and (f) producing the final report (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Two coders read the transcripts and independently identified initial codes/categories (e.g., widows’ experiences of violence, coping and barriers to seeking help), and themes based on the emerging patterns in the data. For instance, under the theme “psychological abuse,” sub-themes reflected the roles of cultural/superstitious beliefs and overall community perceptions of widows resulting in psychological abuse of widows. Common themes and sub-themes were identified across data, grouped according to emerging patterns and named accordingly. Any inconsistencies or differences in interpretations were reconciled between the two coders. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Nepal Health Research Council and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institutional Review Board.

Results

Of the 51 total study participants, 27 were included in this analysis because they reported violence. Twenty-six of these participants were between 19 to 45 years old. Eighteen women were high caste (n = 18). Approximately 8 of participants were from ethnic/indigenous groups (n = 8; Adivasi Janajati), and 1 woman was from a lower caste (Dalit and Sunuwar, n = 1; Table 1). Participants described their experiences of violence as well as the context within which abuse occurred. We organized the results by types of violence experienced, followed by coping and barriers to help-seeking.

Types of Abuse Experiences: Both Family and Community Members Reported as Perpetrators

Psychological abuse

Cultural/superstitious beliefs and widows’ victimization

Widows were often regarded as ill-omens and responsible for the death of their husbands and therefore prone to be socially excluded (Houston et al., submitted manuscript). Due to such beliefs, widows faced verbal abuse in the form of blaming by family and community members.

When my husband died, suddenly I was blamed for everything. My in-laws blamed me saying—“If he had married the girl of our choice then he would not have had that accident.” They said, “My son (or my brother) died because he eloped with you.” If they would see me before going out, they would spit at me saying that that having seen my face, their work would either not be done or would be hampered. (KTM16: Age 32, Kathmandu)

Another widow described psychological violence in the form of family and community members shunning and blaming her for her husbands’ death.

After I became a widow, they said, “That whore—her husband is dead, don’t eat the food she touches, don’t walk with her, or sit with her. She did away with her husband, now she will do away with us too.” That is the kind of treatment I got. (SKT15: Age 44, Surkhet)

Community perceptions and widows’ victimization

Most women indicated that the loss of their husbands diminished their social status both within the family and the community. Widows described how misconceptions about widows being cursed contributed to stigma and bias against them and played a role in their mistreatment by community members. Psychological abuse often took the form of discrimination and demeaning treatment, including from other women.

Women also oppress widows and believe that “we can say anything to them or to their children.” In the village, they would abuse us in every way, and they think they can say all sorts of cruel things to children and their mothers. (SKT09: Age 33, Surkhet)

Abuse sometimes involved questioning widows’ character and name calling.

If we wear a nice dress, then we are called prostitutes and if we go to organizations for information [NGOs], we are called names—“Look where these whores are going.” And if we protest and ask them why they say such things against us, then they threaten to hit us with burning firewood and beat us up. (SKT13: Age 30, Surkhet)

Sexual abuse/harassment

Sexual harassment and abuse was described at the hands of both community and family members. Perceived loss of a husband’s protection was central to their vulnerability to sexual harassment, in addition to factors such as disadvantaged social status, lack of familial or community support, and lack of access to resources for safety and protection.

Women who become widows in the village have to face sexual abuse. At night time, any male can come to a widow’s house and attack her. Because we don’t have husbands . . . we are fair game, and anyone can try to touch us inappropriately. Maybe some women will have that kind of need and are physically aroused, but some are not. Even though they don’t like to do it, men force them to. (SKT09: Age 33, Surkhet)

Widows described their vulnerability to sexual abuse within their households in the light of cultural expectations.

In our ancient religious texts, our food and clothing are restricted for security and to keep the body and mind in peace. A widow should not wear clothes that attract others nor eat forbidden foods that create basic desires. But [in spite of these precautions] we have a proverb “The back door always remains open” which means that single women can also still be assaulted from within her own household. There are many cases where single women are raped by a male member of the family. (WHR01: Age unknown, Kathmandu)

Some women were routinely subjected to sexual advances by other men in the community, including unsolicited and unwanted offers for sex in exchange for financial support.

One person, who even knew that I have a family, asked me “Why you are you working so hard? Why don’t you just come when I give you a call? I will give you 50,000 rupees for a single night. I have not known anyone who is so stupid!” I was shocked. I felt like I had fallen off a roof when he told me the details of what he wanted from me. (KTM16: Age 32, Kathmandu)

Types of Abuse Experiences: Only Family Members/In-Laws Reported as Perpetrators

Perceptions/attitudes and widows’ victimization

General hostile attitudes and feelings, and widows being perceived as unwanted burdens, appeared to contribute to violence by in-laws. Some women experienced abuse by multiple perpetrators from the in-laws’ family. The following participant describes her experiences of physical abuse by everyone in the family.

Many of them beat me. They thrashed me without reason. It was like “the mouse eats the grain and the frog gets the punishment”—someone made a mistake and I become the victim. So, I took poison even though I knew I could die. I have been living my days with great suffering. (KT04: Age 34, Surkhet)

My sister-in-law used to beat me. She threw my toddler down and cracked her head. I had to endure such treatment a month after my husband died. I suffered a lot. My mother-in-law absolutely refuses to understand or show compassion, no matter how much you try to make her see reason. Her mother-in-law also treated her badly, so because of that, she became the way she is now. She has never spoken nicely to me. I have lived as a single woman bearing all this unkindness, both verbal and physical torture. (CHT06: Age 35, Chitwan)

Widows reported experiencing multiple types of abuse by in-laws—verbal, physical, and sexual. For instance, one widow reported being threatened, beaten, and raped by her brother-in-law’s son.

Greed for widows’ money/property

After the death of the husband, his property should be equally divided among the widow, her children, and unmarried girls in the family (Lily Thapa, President, WHR, personal communication, August 28, 2013). However, “chasing-off” and “property grabbing” from widows has been found to be a common practice (Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, 2013) as the in-laws often fear trusting the widow with the family property.

Economic abuse and other violence by in-laws were described in the context of trying to make widows leave the house and thus acquire their share of property or land. In-laws used abusive tactics to drive widows out of their homes or directly asked them to leave.

After the death of my husband, I received some money from his office. My father-in-law and brother-in-law assured me that they would register ownership of the house in my name and in the children’s name if I gave them the money. They asked for the money and I gave it to them. The next day after getting money from me, they created such a situation that it was impossible for me live in the house. They said if I continued to live in that house they would stab me with a khukuri.¹ Because of that situation, I was forced to leave the house. (KTM18: Age 40, Kathmandu)

Vulnerabilities stem in part from customs that dictate that women become part of a husband’s family after marriage and, therefore, they typically continue to live with their in-laws even after husband’s death. Due to low social status and dependency on in-laws, widows who are subjected to economic abuse by in-laws (e.g., their money and properties taken away) have few financial resources and are unable to fight for their property rights. Many widows described struggling to live in a hostile environment in the homes of their in-laws.

My in-laws wished we would have left this house and gone to live in Pasupatinath. They used to say—“Why is she still living here?” They wanted to throw us out to claim our property, but could not. We stayed put. (KVR02: Age 74, Kavre)

Women spoke at length of the ways their in-laws would pressure them to leave.

I was bleeding from my nose. They held my hair, pulled a bunch of it out and tried to kick me out of the house. They also snatched my earring and threw it, but I picked the earring up and ran away from that house. (SKT04: Age 34, Surkhet)

My brother-in-law used to drink at night. When we were asleep, he came walking near the bed carrying a sickle. He walked on my pillow and put a fire of burnt wood on my pillow. These are the things he did to torture me. My in-laws tried everything to make me leave the house. They wanted to throw me out. (SKT09: Age 33, Surkhet)

Coping With Abuse

Adaptive coping strategies

Resistance to abuse

Some women reported coping by distracting themselves from abuse and focusing on their future. They described deciding to be independent and to work hard to move ahead in life, as reflected in the following quotes:

They did everything to get me to leave the house . . . I ignored them and just moved ahead in life. Nobody can force us into doing things we don’t want to do. (KTM18: Age 40, Kathmandu)

A few women felt that they had gained respect in the community by moving on and having a positive attitude. One woman described,

I worked hard without showing fear and did not capitulate before anyone. So people who used to spit on me now talk with me when they pass by. (KTM16: Age 32, Kathmandu)

Another woman decided to be independent and avoided staying with her in-laws.

My in-laws didn’t get a chance to say more bad words to me. They lived there, but I did not go and I continued to live here with the little money I was given and made a living. (KTM21: Age 45, Kathmandu)

Seeking social support

Women who shared their experiences with other women sometimes felt supported.

When it got to be too much and I could not take it anymore, I started to share my problems with the women in the village. Even though they had husbands, they did understand what I was going through. They genuinely cared and did not to take advantage of me because I was weak. (KTM17: Age 30, Kathmandu)

When abuse became unbearable, I was extremely sad. There was a woman older than me . . . who was very sympathetic. She really stood by me and supported me a lot. She was the chairperson of the village paralegal committee. If it hadn’t been for her, it would have been very difficult for me. (CHT06: Age 35, Chitwan)

One participant was supported by her relative. She also sought help from the police.

My elder uncle’s son used to treat me badly. My brother-in-law gave him a tight slap. I need to take care of my small children and I need safety, so I went to the police station near my house and filed a report. (CHT01: Age 28, Chitwan)

Confronting/verbally reacting to abuse

Some participants reported using active confrontational coping strategies to deal with their abusers as reflected in the following quotes:

If I have made a mistake then punish me—but otherwise just because I speak out, you can’t blame me or accuse me of anything. That is what I have been fighting for. For this reason, I have been challenging people who behave that way. (KTM23: Age 39, Kathmandu)

At night, my nephew and few other boys came and started shouting, telling me to “send him out.” They were hitting things at my home. They were banging the windows and the back door. I took the rod that holds the door closed, and went out and said “What is happening? Who do you think is here? Come and get him yourself. When we can’t even support ourselves—how do you think we could support another person?” “Come and see for yourselves.” And then everyone ran away. (CHT01: Age 28, Chitwan)

One woman who was sexually harassed by a man verbally reacted to an invitation to have sex or to spend a night.

He asked me to come over for the night. I said, okay I am ready to spend a night with you, but in return you send your mother or sister to my brother’s place for two nights. I will pay for all their travel and pocket-money myself . . . After I said this, that person has not called again. (CHT03: Age 29, Chitwan)

Maladaptive coping strategies

Acceding to abuse

Many widows chose to endure violence experiences. Contextual factors such as pressure to endure abuse, feelings of helplessness, and a sense of futility appeared to contribute to these decisions.

Whenever anyone said anything to me, I kept weeping. I could not do anything. Where could I go? That is why I kept tolerating the injustice. Where would I go to seek justice and who would get me justice? Even if I sought justice, who would help me get it anyway? These were my thoughts. (KTM21: Age 45, Kathmandu)

Another woman shared that she did not know what to do and felt completely helpless.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to say, to whom I was supposed to talk. So I kept everything to myself. For 2 to 3 months, I endured this and just continued crying and weeping. (KTM17: Age 30, Kathmandu)

Another describes being pressured by society to endure abuse.

Society dictates that you should tolerate. That person is an important person and you are a small person, so you should tolerate. I tolerated today. I tolerated yesterday. It has been almost 2 years since I have been tolerating—how long should I tolerate? Sometimes I get so mad that I want to kill that person. (SKT13: Age 30, Surkhet)

Suicide/self-harm

Some women coped by harming themselves, as reflected in the following quotes:

I cried and then it used to subside for some time. I used to cry at my fate. I tried to end my life many times. (KTM16: Age 32, Kathmandu)

You feel bad for being treated like that. I am not a bad person. They treated me like a bad person. . . . You eventually find yourself helpless and hopeless and dying appears to be the most appealing option at that moment. Some women disappear. What happened to them? Where did they go? We don’t know. Are they dead or alive? Some even die without letting anyone know about it. We have seen such things. Others move ahead as single women and only a rare few of them marry again. Even when I was with my relatives [in-laws], I always worried that I was being a burden on them. But I couldn’t tolerate being treated badly by them. So, at such times, I too had thoughts about committing suicide. (KTM18: Age 40, Kathmandu)

Self-medication

Some women reported coping through self-medication or taking prescription medication.

If stress gets a little worse, then I drink sometimes. Sometimes people make snide and rude remarks like . . . “how she must be sleeping all alone, with the wall on one side and emptiness on the other side” or about what dress I wear to bed. When they say that, I do answer back right away, but then later on, it continues to needle me as to why they had to say such a thing. So, at such times, I drink a little. I have a friend. She tells me to have a small amount of alcohol as medicine at night and that it’ll make me feel better. (CHT03: Age 29, Chitwan)

I took medicine. How long? Maybe 2 to 3 months. After I was taking the medicine, I slowly started to get involved with single women. Then, I could control my feelings by talking to my friends and family. (CHT04: Age 29, Chitwan)

Barriers in Help-Seeking

Several women described a range of barriers in help-seeking such as insensitivity of the police, perceived discrimination, and lack of awareness of widows’ problems and needs.

At this moment I don’t know what to do. I don’t seek support from anyone or share things with them because they might say that I am not right, or they might not understand me since in the village people normally don’t talk openly about these things. There are just one or two people who are a little educated like me, so if there aren’t people who can understand these things, it becomes difficult to share. People here work in the fields all day collecting fodder for the animals and are not well educated, so they wouldn’t understand. They might even say I am making up a story. (CHT03: Age 29, Chitwan)

Some women were reluctant to approach the police based on their perceptions that police can be easily bribed and are insensitive toward their needs.

You can file reports . . . but, if the police do not see any advantage for themselves, they don’t take the report seriously. If we can give them money they will work on it, if we don’t give money then they hardly care. (KTM18: Age 40, Kathmandu)

Once I went to the district government office. The officer told me to hand my children over to my in-laws and leave the children with them. Nepali law is like that. No matter if we are widows or other women who are victimized, no matter how many children we have, we have to leave them under the sole responsibility of the in-laws and leave the house. In this situation, then the woman has no rights in her husband’s house or in her maternal house. Then, where should she turn? We should go either to Bombay whorehouse or live here as a prostitute? How am I supposed to survive? (KTM21: Age 45, Kathmandu)

A woman spoke about her reason for not reporting to the police.

The police—what can I say about the police!? You only make a complaint to the police if you have someone who you know or if someone calls on your behalf, then, only then the police will take action. Let’s not even talk about the police in Nepal. What can you say? (CHT06: Age 35, Chitwan)

Discussion

In this first study to report on the violence experiences of widows in Nepal, we documented a wide range of abuse spanning physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse. The perpetrators were both non-family and family members (e.g., in-laws). Perceptions of widows as unwanted burdens, superstitious beliefs that blame widows for their husband’s death and greed for widows’ inherited property emerged as key drivers of abuse of widows by in-laws. Widows’ abuse and exploitation at the hands of in-laws often in the context of property disputes have been reported in the literature from other South Asian countries (UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 2001). For instance, in India, many cases of witch killings in Bihar, India, involve some dispute over land with the victim’s husband’s family (Coomaraswamy, 2005).

Traditional cultural/superstitious beliefs and widows’ low status in society appears to drive abuse and mistreatment of widows more broadly. The influence of the cultural context on widows’ experiences of violence is consistent with previous literature on widows in India (Coomaraswamy, 2005). Cultural practices such as widow burning (i.e., sati), and social exclusion based on perceptions of widows as inauspicious clearly indicate the role of cultural/superstitious beliefs in enabling violence against widows in South Asia (Coomaraswamy, 2005), including Nepal. In patriarchal societies such as Nepal, social status of a woman is conferred on her through a man; hence, when the husband dies, his wife becomes a non-entity and suffers a social death (UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 2001). Our findings support the idea that a husband’s death adversely affects a woman’s status in society and increases her vulnerability to violence victimization. Our sample included primarily high-caste widows; the findings suggest that high-caste widows experience a decline in social status and experience abuse and discrimination by family and community members.

Widows’ utilized their personal strengths and resilience through their use of a range of strategies to cope with violence in their lives. Some widows coped by distracting themselves from the pain of abuse—focusing on being independent, and on building a future for themselves and their children. Research from India suggests distraction (i.e., engaging in other activities) or “reasoning with one’s self” are some of the ways women deal with stress in their lives (Pereira et al., 2007). Other widows in our study coped by sharing their experiences with women in the community. Social support from family, friends, or other members of the community has been a commonly used strategy for coping among abused women in other Asian countries (Naved, Azim, Bhuiya, & Persson, 2006; Singh, 2006; Takano, 2006).

Notably, only one woman reported seeking help from the police. Rather, we found informal sources of support were the primary coping resources for abused widows, consistent with findings not specific to the widow population (Decker et al., 2013; Panchanadeswaran & Koverola, 2005). Most were reluctant to seek external support due to lack of awareness of their problems indicated by overall community tolerance of violence against them, and general insensitivity of the police toward widows’ needs. Women reported barriers such as fear of being blamed and of not being believed. Fear of social repercussion has been found to be one of the barriers to disclosure of abuse (Decker et al., 2013).

Similar to the context of abused Indian women (Decker et al., 2013; Singh, 2006), some widows in this study chose to remain silent, tolerating abuse in their lives. Other widows confronted their abusers. Widows who were unable to do anything to change their situations or were forced to endure abuse, resorted to maladaptive ways of coping (i.e., self-harm or self-medication). Consistent with other findings, some women described thoughts of suicide/self-harm (Dillon, Hussain, Loxton, & Rahman, 2013; Knox, 2008) and self-medication (e.g., alcohol abuse; Kilpatrick, Acierno, Resnick, Saunders, & Best, 1997).

Although this study is an important contribution that focuses on rarely studied issue of violence among widows in Nepal, findings must be considered in the context of certain limitations. The widows in the study were sampled from four particular geographic districts in Nepal, were predominantly high-caste, and were all members of WHR. This limits generalizability of our study findings. Because most widows in the sample were primarily high-caste, we could not determine whether there were differences between high- and low-caste widows in terms of types of violence experienced as well as coping strategies and barriers to coping. Additional research with a larger sample size is needed to identify differences in violent experiences based on caste and would benefit from using both standardized and semi-structured data collection instruments. Women may not have felt at ease describing their experiences. Future research should use multiple methods to gather data (e.g., interviews with friends/family), and include other populations representing other demographic group of widows in Nepal.

Given the multiple types of violence and barriers to help-seeking described, the results highlight the importance of individual-, family-, and community-level interventions for preventing violence against widows in Nepal and the adverse effects of this violence on their safety and well-being. Findings suggest the value of social support for widows, and affirm the need to ensure access to violence-related support services for this vulnerable population. Individual level interventions may focus on prevention efforts for perpetrators of abuse, empowering widows, promoting healthy coping, and addressing their individual needs. Empowerment strategies (e.g., education, self-employment opportunities) may enable widows to achieve greater independence and improve their lives. Access, availability, and support from formal and informal sources could promote healthy coping, that is, widows are likely to prefer seeking help given appropriate resources more than engaging in unhealthy coping strategies such as self-medication or self-harm. One such intervention effort in India focused on mental health for widows of injection drug users; in this participatory strengths-based intervention widows’ actively participated in the action planning process to enhance their confidence, leadership skills, and capacity to take action to improve their lives (Devin, Kermode, Chandra, & Herrman, 2007). Family- and community-level interventions may focus on creating awareness about the problems of widows, and dispelling myths, misconceptions, and beliefs about widows.

Despite the value of social support, it is often insufficient to ensure an adequate living standard for widows (Mohindra, Haddad, & Narayana, 2012). Policies must be in place to support widows at all levels, and to minimize their barriers to seeking help. For instance, changing laws to protect widows’ property rights by making widows’ property non-transferable may help prevent economic abuse of widows in Nepal. Furthermore, violence prevention efforts must be developed to protect the rights of widows in Nepal. Prevention efforts that aim for social change in favor of women in general (i.e., address subordinate status of women and discriminatory practices against all women and girls in Nepal) would also help violence against widows.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by the Center for Public Health and Human Rights and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). Support for graduate students helping to oversee data collection in Nepal was from the Center for Global Health, also at JHSPH.

Notes

Author Biographies

Bushra Sabri is working in a research associate faculty position in the Commuity and Public Health Department at the School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. She has a background in social work, with extensive cross-cultural and cross-national experiences in research, health care, and social service settings. During her doctoral studies, she was a Council on Social Work Education Minority Fellow funded by fellowships from the National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH16089) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (T06SM058565-03). For her post-doctoral training, she was supported by a 2-year National Institute of Child Health and Human Development–funded Interdisciplinary Research Training on Violence Affecting Youth and Families Program fellowship (PI: Campbell; T32HDO64428). She has been involved in several quantitative and qualitative research projects focusing on risk factors and health outcomes of interpersonal violence among vulnerable populations. Her program of research focuses on culturally tailored risk assessments and interventions for survivors of interpersonal violence.

Shrutika Sabarwal has a master’s of science in public health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Population, Family and Reproductive Health. She has a background in economics and has worked with Population Council in India on various research projects relating to HIV/AIDS, intimate partner violence, and maternal and child health.

Michele R. Decker is an associate professor of Population Family and Reproductive Health, and director of the Women’s Health and Rights Program of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She blends her background in rape crisis counseling with training in social epidemiology. Her work addresses the structural and individual gender-based inequities that compromise women’s health and human rights globally. Her research focuses heavily on gender-based violence (GBV), including intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking, and its implications for sexual and reproductive health including HIV. She has worked in multiple global settings with both general populations as well as those made vulnerable by conditions of protracted urban poverty, and involvement in sex work and sexual exploitation. She is also involved in the development and testing of clinic-based harm-reduction intervention efforts to identify and support GBV survivors and mitigate the health impact of violence. She has served as an advisor to World Health Organization (WHO), National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and Futures Without Violence on these topics.

Abina Shrestha holds a masters degree from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. Her background is in Gender and Development Studies (GDS). She has been working in various research projects with gender dimension perspective such as occupational health and safety of street vendors, care arrangement for girls at risk, conflict affected families and children and health and human rights. She is also affiliated with different non-governmental organization of Nepal such as CWIN (Child Workers in Nepal), RUCODES (Rural Community Development Society), and the Department of Women and Children.

Kunda Sharma is the treasurer and is board member at WHR (Women for Human Rights, Single Women Group). WHR is a non-governmental organization based in Kathmandu and is dedicated to helping advocate and improve the lives of widows all over Nepal. She has been involved at WHR since 1998 and is mainly involved in the economic empowerment of Nepali widows. She also has a banking experience of 30 years in a government bank. She is also the chairperson of Aadhar, a saving and credit cooperative established under WHR.

Lily Thapa is the founder and director of WHR, a non-governmental organization based in Kathmandu that is dedicated to helping advocate for and improving the lives of widows living in Nepal. She founded the organization in 1994. Since that time, WHR has greatly expanded and now has branch offices in 36 of the 75 districts in Nepal, supporting more than 100,000 members and working closely with policy makers and the government to improve the lives of Nepali widows. She has won numerous awards for her achievements for widows including being named Ashoka Fellow (2001) and receiving awards such as Social Worker of the Year (2003), the Champions of Change Award (2004), Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2004), Women Manager of the Year (2006), and Best Entrepreneur (2007). In addition to fighting against widow’s stigmatization and discrimination, WHR leads education and training initiatives including income generation for this vulnerable group. In addition, she is a member of the South Asian Network for Widows Empowerment in Development.

Pamela J. Surkan is an assistant professor of International Health in the Social and Behavioral Interventions Program and an affiliate of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her background is in social and behavioral determinants of health with a focus on women’s and children’s health and mental health in marginalized populations. Her work has focused on the role of contextual and family influence on women’s own health and the effects on the health of their children. Some of these contextual factors include maternal depression, social support, and stigma. She uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods extensively and is currently co-instructing the qualitative methods and data analysis course series at Hopkins for graduate students, focusing on the design, management, and analysis of qualitative data in public health research.

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