With the start of the holy month of Shrawan, Kathmandu’s streets are swarming with excited women and girls buying green and yellow bangles, materials to apply henna tattoo and beads. Devotees mark the sacred month by wearing special clothes and adorning their bodies, and sales of festival paraphernalia soar this time of the year. “We see the highest sales during the start of the festive season in Shrawan,” said Alsha Prajapati, a cosmetics shop owner at Asan. “More than 40 percent of our annual sales happen during the months of Shrawan, Bhadra and Ashwin.” According to Prajapati, prices of glass bangles range from Rs30 per dozen to Rs.300 per dozen while metal bangles cost from Rs.150 per dozen to Rs.1,000 per dozen.

Rudraksha is a seed traditionally used as prayer beads in Hinduism. It is associated with…

Status of Women in Nepal

Men and women are equal

A single statement applicable to all the women in Nepal cannot be made as different groups of women enjoy different status. For instance, Hindu women and the women belonging to indigenous ethnic groups have different rights and suffered from different modes of oppression. The latter groups enjoy more excess and control of researchers. Indigenous women have relatively a higher degree of social mobility, and posses freedom within the private sphere.