Giving Compass' Take:

• Martin Bader shares the story of Ram Devi Tamang, a widow who was beaten and disowned by her in-laws after the death of her husband. She took her children to another village, established a new life, and was elected deputy mayor. As deputy mayor, she plans to improve conditions for widows. 

• How can philanthropy help support gender equality around the world? 

• Learn more about gender equality. 

The day Ram Devi Tamang became a widow, she didn’t just lose her husband. She lost her home, her savings, her business and the support of her extended family. Though he had died in a motorbike accident, her husband’s parents blamed Tamang for his death.

At the time, Tamang was just 25. She had been married for five years and had a four-year-old daughter and a baby girl of six months. Her husband, Prem Lama, worked for an NGO, and she ran a small-scale garment business. After he died, life soon became unbearable. Her in-laws gradually pushed her out of her tailoring business, beat her and called her names. In the midst of a country ravaged by civil war, she found herself increasingly singled out, harassed by her community and ostracized by her own family.

It soon became clear that her only option was to leave the village, taking along nothing but her two children and three sewing machines. That was 16 years ago.

Tamang’s experiences following her husband’s death echo the hardships many widows in Nepal face. There are about 500,000 widows in the country, according to government data from 2011.

After leaving her husband’s village, Tamang settled down in Banepa, 15 miles (25 km) east of Kathmandu. It was difficult: She had to care for her children and work without any support.

Tamang realized she could make a difference at the political level when members of the community asked her to run for the position of deputy mayor. She knew that if she held office, she could make a bigger difference in widows’ lives.

Against the odds, in May last year, she was elected deputy mayor of Namobuddha Municipality.

Read the full article about Nepal's widows by Martin Bader at News Deeply.