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(KATHMANDU, NEPAL) If you are a married Nepali woman, you likely live with your inlaws. When your husband dies, you are legally entitled to inherit the family property, and you may have nothing else. If your inlaws won't hand it over, you will need to hire a lawyer.
But good luck getting your case settled. In Neeta Dixit's small legal practice in the country's capital, she has one client whose case has been ongoing for 20 years.
"We win the cases," Dixit notes with irony, "but we can't get the property."
Ten years ago, the client Mihili Adhakari, came to a mutual agreement with her in-laws under which she would assume ownership of the marital home. Then they simply locked her out of the house. Her case has gone all the way to Nepal's Supreme Court.
"So if there is only one house, how can [my client] live in that house?" Dixit asks.
Dixit works alongside a handful of Canadian feminists who are working to entrench women's rights in Nepal's constitution.
After 10 years of insurgency, the country is rebuilding itself. A Maoist-led "People's War" abolished Nepal's monarchy and ushered in a string of prime ministers touting democracy mantras. It also resulted in 13,(X)O casualties. After winning an election two years ago, the Maoist government promised a new constitution. Then, in May, the prime minister abruptly resigned and a new prime minister was elected about two weeks later. Constitutional drafts remain on hold.
Canadian...