Unreported World highlights the tragic plight of Nepal's child widows, some of whom are as young as thirteen. Many face abuse and servitude for the rest of their lives, ostracised by their families and communities, and often forced to sell their bodies to provide food and shelter for themselves and their children.
Reporter Yemi Ipaye and director Katherine Churcher begin their journey in south-eastern Nepal. Nearly half the country's population live here and child marriage is prevalent. The team meets frail and fragile 14-year-old Gita, who was forced into marriage against her will by her parents when she was just 11 years old. At 13 she became a widow, and has been ostracised, treated with contempt and told that she's cursed. She says her parents are trying to get her remarried and that they sometimes beat her.
In a nearby town, Lahan, the team meets Sangita, a human rights campaigner who says she deals with child widows who have been sexually abused and others who have turned to prostitution. She says that child widows are seen as bad luck by the wider community and in-laws blame them for the death of their son.
Fifteen-year-old Bobita was widowed after a year of marriage and is resigned to a life of misery, waiting for her son to grow up and look after her. She lives with her in-laws and does all the household chores as well as looking after her nine-month-old son. She says her life is unbearable. Her in-laws say she is bad luck because of something she did in her past life.
The most respected Hindu priest in the area tells Ipaye that child widows are worse than adult widows and that the ancient custom of Sati, where a widow would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre, was better than being a child widow.
Travelling west to the Surkhet valley, Ipaye and Churcher meet women widowed by the country's 10-year civil war. One of them, Man Kumari, is nervous about speaking with her in-laws in earshot. She says she is despised by her community because she's a widow, called bad luck and prevented from attending community events such as weddings and festivals. She says she is forced to look after her in-laws and stay in the village for the rest of her life.
In Kathmandu, the team films an unprecedented protest by widows from all over Nepal. They are protesting against a new government policy which effectively means that men would be paid £400 if they married a widow. The widows tell Ipaye it will mean they are treated as commodities to be bought and sold by men. Ipaye meets the government minister responsible for the policy. He says it is an incentive to encourage the remarriage of widows, which is taboo in Nepalese society, and that he has no plans to withdraw it.
The team meets one more widow with a tragic tale. Manu lives on her own in a tiny bedsit. To survive, she has had to disguise her widowhood to her landlord and society. She cannot afford to look after her two children and has had to pretend that she is dead so that her sons can be looked after in an orphanage.
Before leaving Nepal the team travel to Pashupatinath Temple. A cremation is taking place. This was where many widows over the centuries would have committed Sati, by throwing themselves on their husbands' burning pyres. Although this practice is now outlawed, it's clear that in Nepal today some widows are treated as if they are living Satis. They are physically alive, but socially dead.
On TV
First Shown
| Date | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 13 November 2009 | 7.35PM | Channel 4 |
Last Shown
| Date | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 20 November 2009 | 2.35AM | Channel 4 |
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