Nepal

"Mother and father never showed me their tears. I knew they to sell a piece of land to buy gold and prepare the dowry money. I understood their fears. Many women who are married and go to their...

"I wanted to play with my girlfriends more than I wanted to go to school. I cannot blame my parents for not sending me to school. They did. When my father passed away I was 13 years old. I remember...

"The first question a lot of people ask me is if I know how to sing and dance. They attribute people with disabilities mostly with performance art. It is a stereotype used against people with...

"She is already very smart. Maybe a bit more than I am and that is what I want. A smart daughter. But the future seems difficult with all the competition. In the future, I want her to be happy. And...

(Part 1/2) "I am my parent's only son and because of that, I have received special treatment all my life. My parents are sheepherders. Rearing sheep is the generational occupation of our place. They...

"If I had chosen to go to school, my sisters would have to work at home. I made a sacrifice for them. I chose to truly understand the scarcity at home. Maybe my sisters would have too but I decided...

"We are coming back from the Tamakoshi. The water current was unlike anything we have seen before. So how would we catch fish? Maybe we will tomorrow if the river doesn't go mad. This is how we ‘time...

(2/2) "The day I left home was the saddest day of my life. I knew that with us leaving one after the other mother would have less and less support. She would have to face father’s wrath all by...

"Sometimes, I wish I could stay in school. It is because at home, Father is mostly intoxicated and he finds many reasons to fight with Mother. So it gets loud here. But school is quiet and I like...

“We only want our daughters to be able to fulfill their own dreams, not ours.” 

"I am a blacksmith. I mold and beat iron into kuto, kodaalo, haseeya and bancharo. People who are smart have shops that display and sell these tools in Charikot. They have taken this cottage labor...

"When I was a young boy, I used to have feminine traits. The seniors in my community would call me a Mauga. In my community, Mauga is used as a derogatory term to belittle and humiliate someone from...

“People have the right to part ways if they differ in their thoughts. My parents separated too. My father did not trust my mother so they found no grounds for a relationship. I witnessed the fallout...

(Part 1/4) "She did not know about the solar system. And there was this interactive thing online which I showed her and she was blown away. It made me think. Soon it made me realise that the things...

(Part 2/4) “I do not remember Father working. He was unwell most of the time due to which Mother had to manage the household herself. It was difficult for her to take care of the family. Father would...

(Part 3/4) “I only cry alone. I smile and keep quiet in front of people. It is only when they leave, I cry. Most of the time I cry for my mother. My mother was 16 when she got married to my father....