Nepali widows’ access to legal entitlements: A human rights issue

Despite legal reforms, Nepali widows face barriers in exercising their property rights. This article provides a qualitative perspective on Nepali widows’ understanding of their rights and their ability to pursue legal entitlements due to widowhood. In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with seventy-six Nepali widows, four paralegals, and three key informants. They demonstrate that widows have limited success in exercising their property rights and seeking government benefits primarily because of a dominant patriarchal society, familial traditions, and bureaucratic restrictions. Nepali widows’ continued denial of property constitutes a human rights violation that Nepal’s new government should seek to redress.