‘They told me I can’t receive anything because I only have a daughter’
13 Jan 2016

‘They told me I can’t receive anything because I only have a daughter’

Bimala Bika | Gorkha

“My daughter was born with a disability. Since my husband died 20 years ago, it has been me and my daughter against the world.

“Being a woman in this society is difficult. As a woman, you are born with the responsibility of a family. Your life begins and ends with the family. I lost my house and everything inside it in the earthquake. Like the rest, I stay in a temporary tarpaulin tent. I can’t go anywhere to work because there is a constant fear that anyone can enter it and my daughter won’t be able to fend for herself because of her mental impairment. I have no sense of security. I am scared of this generation. I am scared of the men.

“As woman in this village, I have no rights. I haven’t received the 15,000 NPR that was pledged to every family that lost their homes. All the times I went to the local authorities, they gave me a list of excuses. Then they told me I can’t receive any money because I only have a daughter, and there is no point in getting relief as I don’t have a son. Now I have started believing my daughter is a burden to me. But neither can I kill her, nor can I throw her away.