Reshma (name changed) was born on 5 Ashoj 2054 B.S. (September 21, 1997). Born into a poor family, she was studying in Grade 7 when she was married. After travelling by train for three days, when she reached her husband’s home, she found four children there who were around her own age. Far away not only from her parental home but also from her own country, she was terrified. On the very first night, her husband subjected her to various forms of violence. The following day, she was taken to her husband’s brother’s house.
The next morning, a man who appeared to be one of the village leaders told her, “The person you came with has already sold you for NPR 17,000. If you can, run away; otherwise, they will take you today.” Hearing this, Reshma decided that she had to save her life at any cost. Enduring immense hardship and risk, she managed to return to her home in Nepal.
After returning home, she resumed her studies. However, when she reached Grade 9, she had to drop out because her family could not afford the school fees. She then began supporting her family by working at brick kilns, as a daily wage labourer in agricultural fields, and as a domestic worker in other people’s homes.
During this time, a marriage proposal came from a nearby village. Exhausted by constant social stigma and comments, her parents eventually arranged her nikah (Muslim marriage). Even after the marriage, however, her husband never took her to his home. Instead, he stayed at her in-laws’ house. Thirteen days after the marriage, he pressured her to immediately move to Kathmandu. Reshma requested that he first go there himself, find work, arrange accommodation, and make the necessary preparations before they moved together. Her husband did not like her suggestion. Around fifteen days after the marriage, he physically assaulted her and left. He has never returned since.
I first met Reshma in 2022. During our very first meeting, one question she asked has stayed with me ever since. “Ma’am, if getting citizenship requires marriage, I am even ready to marry again. Society says I have been married twice, but I have neither found a husband nor a family nor experienced married life.” She then asked, “I am Nepali. My parents have citizenship certificates by descent. Then why am I stateless?”
Behind her question lay years of suffering. Society had seen her marriages, but she had lost both her husband and the family she had hoped for. Because she did not have citizenship, she could not open a bank account. She was deprived even of the right to keep her own earnings safely. Even at the age of 25–26, she was forced to endure physical abuse from her brother and sister-in-law. She continued to experience physical, psychological, social, and legal violence.
We repeatedly held discussions with the Ward Chairperson and the Chief District Officer. The Ward Chairperson’s lack of cooperation created numerous obstacles. However, through continuous coordination with the District Administration Office, support from the community, and institutional efforts, she finally received her Nepali citizenship certificate on 27 Bhadra 2080 B.S.
Two months ago, I had the opportunity to reconnect with Reshma through the IGNITE Project, jointly implemented by Mukti Nepal, the Nepal Disabled Women Association (NDWA), and CBM Global. While coordinating with the municipality to form Violence Response Groups under the project, it was suggested that Reshma also be included as a member.
It was then that we learned she had lost vision in her left eye after being accidentally pierced by a needle during childhood. After becoming a member of the Response Group, we also discovered that she still did not have a National Identity Card. The very purpose behind all the effort invested in obtaining her citizenship had therefore remained incomplete.
Once again, the obstacle was the same Ward Chairperson. “It is hard to believe that a woman from Madhesh, especially from the Muslim community, has remained unmarried until the age of 30. Bring an unmarried certificate from the ward office, and only then can the National Identity Card be issued,” was the response she received. She was deeply discouraged.
We clearly presented the entire sequence of events to the Chief District Officer: how she had been sold under the guise of marriage, how her second marriage also left her without any marital home or family, how the Ward Chairperson had repeatedly refused to facilitate her citizenship process, and how she had ultimately obtained citizenship as an unmarried woman through community support and institutional advocacy.
After several rounds of discussion, the process finally moved forward. During the Response Group training held on 4 and 5 Asar 2083 B.S., we accompanied her to the District Administration Office on both days. Finally, on 5 Asar 2083 B.S., she received her National Identity Card. The smile on her face that day is impossible to describe in words.
Sharing her journey with the training participants, she said, “I had almost given up hope of ever being officially recognised as a Nepali citizen. But with everyone’s support, that has finally become possible today.”
She expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the IGNITE Project team, the concerned government authorities, and everyone who had stood beside her throughout the process. Reshma’s story is not merely the personal struggle of one woman. It is also a serious reflection of our society, our administrative system, and the fundamental right to citizenship. Even today, many women like Reshma continue to ask the same question “I am Nepali, so why am I stateless?”
– Laxmi Kharel, DCCO Mukti Nepal