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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: A Maithil woman hides her face under a blue veil while talking to people in a remote village on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy, being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: A Maithil woman sits inside her home watching outside through the door of her home in a remote village on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy, being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: A young Maithil woman stands beside her home hiding her face under a blue veil in a remote village on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy, being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: Bobita Devi Mahara, 42 years of age, is seen through the door of her home in a remote village on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Bobita is a Maithil woman who has started to break the Maithil tradition which often keeps women inside their homes and forces them to hide their faces while speaking to other people. Bobita is working as a road construction worker since 2014, earning income to help her family, and especially to send her daughter to school. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: An elderly Maithil woman lays sick on a bed inside her home in a remote village on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy, being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: Bobita Devi Mahara, 42 years of age, fetches water to clean glasses from a water well set up in her home in a remote village on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Bobita is a Maithil woman who has started to break the Maithil tradition which often keeps women inside their homes and forces them to hide their faces while speaking to other people. Bobita is working as a road construction worker since 2014, earning income to help her family, and especially to send her daughter to school. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: A Maithil woman helps her sick husband to move inside their home in a remote village on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: A young Maithil woman cooks lunch at the entrance to her home in a remote village while covering her face from the presence of strangers as tradition dictates on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: A young Maithil woman holds her young son while other Maithil children play around the streets of a remote village on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, the role of Maithil women has been limited to taking care of children and of the household. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 24: A young Maithil woman walks a buffalo on the streets of a remote village where she lives on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, the role of Maithil women has been limited to taking care of children and of the household. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A Maithil woman walks back home in a remote village after finishing work on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Some Maithil women have broken traditional barriers, working outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A Maithil woman walks back home in a remote village after finishing work in road maintenance on July 24, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Some Maithil women have broken traditional barriers, working outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - MARCH 04: Maithil women paint pots with traditional Maithil motifs inside a workshop inside the Janakpur Women’s Development Center on March 04, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. The Women's Development Centre (JWDC), which pioneered the commercialization of Maithil art starting in 1989, today employs dozens of Maithil women in a variety of crafts, the produce of which are then sold in shops in Nepal's tourism hotspots and abroad. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A young Maithil woman receives an injection in her arm from a Maithil woman working as a nurse in a local clinic in a remote village on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A group of Mithila women works in road maintenance as part of the SNTRP project in a rural area on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23, 2015: A group of Maithil women sits while chatting to other Maithil women during their break working as road maintenance staff in a rural area on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy, being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A group of Maithil women takes a break from their work as road maintenance staff as part of a project supported by the International Labor Organisation while another Maithil woman covered with a traditional veil looks at them on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Local organizations with the support of the International Labor Organisation are running projects in remote areas of Nepal to empower Maithil women. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A group of Maithil women clear grass from the sides of a rural road where they work as road maintenance staff on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Photo © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A young Maithil girl rides on top of a water buffalo while taking care of the cattle in a remote area on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Photo © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - MARCH 04: Manjula Thakur, a 56 years-old Maithil woman, stands on the grounds of the Janakpur Women’s Development Center holding one of her traditional Maithil paintings on March 04, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy, being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23, 2015: A Maithil woman holds a pot filled with sand that she collected while working as road maintenance staff on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy, being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A Maithil woman stands under an underpass bridge while working in road maintenance while a Maithil man looks at her in a rural area on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Local organizations with the support of the International Labor Organisation are running projects in remote areas of Nepal to empower Maithil women. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A Maithil woman poses for a photo after collecting her monthly salary outside a local bank in Janakpur, Nepal. With the support of some local and international organizations, Maithil women are working outside their homes and earning income that helps them to become independent of their husbands as tradition dictates in rural areas of Nepal. Photo © Omar Havana
Public Story
Breaking tradition among Nepal's Maithil women
Credits:
omar havana
Date of Work:
03/01/15 - 07/30/15
Updated: 04/10/20
Like many women in the Maithil community in Nepal, Manjula Thakur found her life severely restricted and controlled by the male members of her family, in a community that follows deeply entrenched patriarchal traditions. "I used to stay at home all the time, with my head covered, doing the cooking and other household chores," says the 56-year-old.
The historical region of Mithila, which encompasses some 13 districts in southeastern Nepal, as well as most of North Bihar province in India, is home to approximately three million people in Nepal alone. The plight of Maithil women, however, has largely stayed under the radar.
Yet over the past several decades, Maithil women, such as Manjula, have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. And despite having suffered from severe discrimination and long-standing traditions that have largely kept them home-bound, these women are making significant strides in gaining rights and independence. “With the money I’ve earned, I’ve been able to send my children to school, build a toilet and even support my husband to buy a small plot of land,” Manjula says with pride in her voice.
Photography © Omar Havana. All Rights are Reserved
Part of the story was done while on assignment for The International Labour Organisation
Omar Havana
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