KATHMANDU, NEPAL — The constitution here guarantees the right to marry anyone, but that didn’t matter when Manoj Kumar Ram, a 22-year-old Dalit man, married a woman from an upper caste. Instead, his wife’s family accused him of kidnapping her and Ram landed in jail. Ram’s wife, Babita Isar, says her father wanted to marry … Read more
KATHMANDU, NEPAL — Four years after a pandemic upended Nepal’s media sector and wiped out more than two-thirds of the country’s print, radio and television jobs, work for journalists remains scarce. Pay cuts for many people have not been restored – some journalists are even fighting in court to get the pay they are owed. … Read more
UPPER DOLPA, NEPAL — For three years now, the Nepalese government has not delivered rice to parts of Upper Dolpa, a district bordering China. As a result, people walk four to nine days to buy rice at the market, at prices that most people cannot afford. Rice in the market costs 150 Nepalese rupees per … Read more
BADHAIYATAL, NEPAL — In 2023, Jagdish Tharu’s farm produced three times more rice than expected. At a time of dried-up springs and prolonged drought in this agricultural area, this success surprised Tharu – and his neighbors. When they saw tall weeds growing in the fields, they predicted that Tharu’s field would produce a maximum of … Read more