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It’s last minute. You want to wear something fancy to a party. But neither do you have enough money to buy a new dress nor the time to pick and choose from among the potentially endless varieties in the market. What do you now? Worry not. Now you can quickly rent a dress.

Anita Dahal Paudyal’s ‘A&S, Rent the Runway’, which started just three months ago, is the place to be to rent beautiful designer wares. The start has been modest, with just around 35 wares currently available for rent. Yet Paudyal sees huge potential in it.

Paudyal opened the store in Naxal with the idea of acting as a middleman between the owners and borrowers of dresses and taking a cut from the difference. Paudyal says she fell in love with the idea when she first heard of it back in April. “People buy dresses and wear it to three or four functions, after which they just sit in their cupboard,” she says. Especially with the popularity of social media, adds Paudyal, the value of a particular dress decreases drastically after it is worn once and its photos posted online. “Wearing it to another function and then taking and posting a photo in that same dress—it’s considered uncool.” But if they give out this dress for rent, they earn some money from it, which they can in turn use to rent another dress, she adds.

Another attractive point for Paudyal was the eco-friendly nature of the business. Fashion is one of the major polluting industries in the world. With recycling and reusing becoming popular, Paudyal questions why designer wears cannot be sustainable used as well. “If the industry creates so much pollution, we can also do our bit to reduce some of it.” Dress-renting is thus like killing two birds with the same stone.

If someone is interested in renting out their clothes, they can contact the store through its Facebook page or call 9862251241. Paudyal herself examines the dress. “It has to look new and there should be no damage,” she informs. Once the dress is approved, a contract is signed between the store and dress-owner. Anyone can then rent that dress for 20 percent of its cost price. After a dress is kept by the store for rent, it is usually sent for dry-cleaning, which costs around Rs 300. The rest of the rent price is divided between the owner of the dress (40 percent) and the store (60 percent).

The person borrowing the dress can keep it for up to three days. In the contract, it is made clear that if there is any damage to the dress, 70 percent repair cost will be borne by the person who took the dress, 15 percent by the store, and 15 percent by the dress owner. And if the owner of the dress needs the dress for themselves sometimes, they are free to take it back for personal use.

The store currently has 10 lehengas, eight gowns and 15 sarees that seven people have given for rent. For now the focus is women’s clothing but Paudyal says that soon she wishes to introduce rentals for men’s designer wears too.

Her target customers are aged 20-30. Usually, the youth have loved her concept and the energy with which they enter her store, she says, is contagious and makes her happy. However, there are also people around 40 years who have taken rental sarees from the store. Till now, nine people have taken dresses on rent, for anywhere between Rs 2,000-Rs 10,000. She hopes the sales to pick up in December, the peak of the Nepali wedding season.

There are many challenges for the new store. First, many have questioned why someone would want to wear a second-hand dress for an important function. Second, convincing people to give out their expensive dresses for rent has been difficult. Third, people are not always careful about the expensive dresses they are wearing. But Paudyal is optimistic. “It’s a new concept. Give it some time.”

Kuntal Joisher, a mountaineer, has been part of over 25 Himalayan climbing expeditions. He has been a vegan for the past 17 years. This year, he used a completely ‘vegan gear’ to summit Mt Everest on 23 May.

After two failed attempts in 2014 and 2015, he finally reached the top of Everest for the first time in May 2016 in a down suit. But he felt guilty using a down suit and mittens with leather palms. It was then that he decided that he would thenceforth climb only in vegan gear.

Joisher grew up as a vegetarian in India. But it was when he went to the United States in 2001 to pursue his Master’s degree that his roommate exposed him to the horrors of the eggs, dairy and leather industries. “After meeting him, I connected the dots that a piece of meat, a cake made with eggs, a glass of milk, a block of cheese, a leather belt, or the down jacket I was wearing all came from abused animals,” he says. When he realized that even as a vegetarian he had contributed to animal abuse and slaughter, he decided to turn vegan.

Going vegan is the bare minimum people can do for animals and the planet, he contends. However, when news spread about his expedition to Everest as a vegan, there was a lot of pushback from his friend and family circles. Joisher says, “They kept telling me that the vegan diet is nutritionally deficient as it lacks protein.” He wanted to dispel that myth, and climb Everest to show vegan products are not only compassionately made but also of the highest quality, for both nutrition and clothing uses.

The difficult part was finding vegan climbing gear, meaning gear without leather, down, and wool. When his climbing journey started, he could find replacements for down, leather and wool while climbing smaller mountains up to 6,500 meters. However, there were two pieces of gear that were a problem for bigger mountains: a one-piece climbing suit, and high-altitude mittens. Every single suit in the market was made from down feathers, he reveals. The mittens that protect fingers from frostbite were made of both down and feather.

In 2014, he had written to several companies including North Face, Mountain Hardwear and Rab, requesting them to create a synthetic vegan one-piece suit for his Everest expedition. All of them said it’s pretty much impossible. “I was dejected. I decided to make my own synthetic suit using synthetic Primaloft material. But I quickly realized that the end product would be so bulky and heavy I would look like a Michelin man. At the end of this exercise, I gave up. Doesn’t happen often, but I did,” he says.

When he was back from Everest in 2016, he again started his search for an animal-free suit because he was “not going to wear a dead animal” on his body again. He wrote to a company in Italy called ‘Save the Duck’. They didn’t have mountaineering gear in their catalog, but agreed to work on one for him, for they shared his vision. After eight months, they came up with the world’s first ever one-piece down-free suit for above 8,000m mountains. Around 50 per cent of the suit is made from recycled materials. For the mittens, he collaborated with Holyland Hiking, a trekking shop in Thamel. Biden Rai, the shop owner, is a climber too and he understood Joisher’s needs, and his animal-free mittens were ready in quick time.

Joisher knew he was risking his life as the suit and the mittens had never been tested in extreme conditions. But he felt ready. He went on to summit Lhotse in May 2018 using his animal-free gear. When he succeeded, he became the first human to summit any of the above-8,000m mountains as a 100 percent vegan.

Then, this year, he decided to climb Everest from the Chinese side, a harsher and tougher challenge than climbing from the Nepali side. He says he took up the challenge to show the world that vegan diets and gear are just as good, if not superior, to the non-vegan options. On 23 May, after 46 days of climbing, he made it to the top of Everest. This time he proudly flew the vegan flag knowing that no animal had to suffer for his dream to come true.

Talking about his gear, he says that the warmth and function are the two most important aspects for him. From his research, he has found that synthetic gear is cheaper than animal gear. As making synthetic vegan gear is more efficient in terms of used resources compared to non-synthetic non-vegan gear, there is significant cost saving.
“I definitely recommend climbers to switch to synthetic gear as it is warm, keeps you safe, and above all is good for the animals and the planet,” says Joisher.

How have you been taking your photos this fes­tive season? Let me guess: On your phone. But have you then printed them, or posted them directly on your Facebook?

Just six years ago, on festivals like Teej and Dashain, Lawa Kusa Photo Studio in Chikamugal, Kathmandu used to be jam packed. Studio owner Rajendra Joshi’s father had opened the studio in 1975 after studying photography in Banaras, India. Rajendra remembers a time when on the day of Teej women would start flocking to their studio from early morning.

“Even though phones had arrived by then, not everybody owned a good camera phone. People wanted good snaps and relied on photo studios for them,” says Rajendra. He remembers taking about 180-200 photos just on the day of Teej. During Gai Jatra, when the crowd passed by his studio, people used to shout loudly, “Rajendra dai, please come out and take a photo of us.” But now, people rarely come for a photo, ever.

Such is also the experience of Ravi Muni Bajra­charya, the owner of Muni’s Studio, which is just 4-5 houses away from Lawa Kusa. It was also Ravi Muni’s father who opened the studio in 1966 when he was just a little kid. He recalls coming back from school when he was in class 2 and doing home-work in that little studio, which still exists in Chikamugal.

“After clicking photos, people had to wait for about 15 days to get their color photos,” Ravi Muni fondly recalls. Back then, his father sent the reel to Bangkok for development. “Before 1983, this was how people got their photographs. A 10*8 colored photograph cost you Rs 20 to Rs 45 each; it costs Rs 150 to Rs 200 now.” Sometimes, photos destined for Kathmandu would reach Patan after they came back from Bangkok. The studio owners somehow had to find a way to make sure their customers got their photos.

“Before, there was a sense of anticipation as people waited for the development of their pho­tos, and that got me excited too. But now you can immediately see the result, which kind of spoils the fun,” says Rajendra.

Siddhi Ratna Bajracharya liked photography so much he started visiting libraries and reading photography books. In 1978 he opened his own Scenario Studio in Bagbazar. Back then people usually came for passport-size photos or family photos. “The first Miss Nepal 1994 Ruby Rana had visited my studio for a photoshoot for ‘Kamana’ magazine,” Siddhi Ratna says excitedly. Good cam-eras were expensive, costing anywhere between Rs 50,000-Rs 100,000—a big amount at the time. Even though the rich people of Kathmandu owned cameras, they would still summon professional photographers to their homes to take photos, he adds. Business was great and there was compara-tively less competition. Rajendra remembers big studios like Photo Con-cern, Hicola and Fuji Studios each doing roaring business. People had to visit studios for photos for their citizenship card, license, or for submissions to educational institutions. “Now, there is smart license, and even for citizenship, one does not need a photo,” says Rajendra, whose business has taken a hard knock. Many of Hicola’s branches have closed down while Photo Concern’s studios have shrunk in size. Sensing the inevitable changes, Siddhi Ratna closed his studio 14 years ago. His friends who also owned studios at the time said that he would regret closing a popular studio. He replied that it is they who would suffer if they refused to change with the business climate. “Soon enough, all my friends had closed their studios,” he says. “People do not even print their photos now,” says Rajendra. “They just take photos and upload them on Facebook, or store them on their comput-er.” Some still visit to get a few photos from their mobile phones printed in fear of losing important photos to viruses. “But selecting 1-2 photos from thousands in their phones is time consuming,” says Rajendra.Some studios have adapted too. Ravi Muni’s son Rishav and Siddhi Ratna’s son Sijal are now involved in event photography and digital marketing respectively. “The business now depends largely on my son,” says Ravi Muni. He believes that even though it is easier to work now, with more and more people owing good cameras, “competition has also increased exponentially.”

Too lazy to cook or too busy playing cards and flying kites this Dashain? We bring to you some luscious food and beverage delivery options so that your Dashain fun is never interrupted. Spend more time with your family and friends and less time in kitchen and traffic this festive season.

Foodmario

Foodmario, an online food delivery service, offers food cooked by home-based chefs. So you basically get home-cooked food at your doorstep even if you don’t cook! There are hundreds of home chefs who specialize in different healthy, tasty and hygienic homemade foods, which you can check in their individual ‘Foodmario’  app profiles. Just scroll through the app, click on the fare of your choice, and proceed to check out. They remain close from 2 am to 9 am, otherwise, you can order any time you like. The standard delivery time for Foodmario is one hour and 15 minutes. Order through their app or call  9801079255.

Mothers Kitchen and Catering Service

This lunchbox service in Ghattekulo, Kathmandu is courtesy of a mother and daughter duo. Deepti Agarwal handles the catering service while her mother designs the recipes. Indian dishes like thali, chapati, paneer, paratha, pao bhaji, chola bhaji are their specialties. They also have a Nepali chef working with them to give you Nepali dal, bhat, roti and vegetable options. If you crave street food, they deliver pani puri, papadi chat and samosa chat—again home-made and hygienic! Food is prepared when the order is placed so the food is freshly-cooked. Remember them especially for breakfast or lunch services. Call 9802008571 for more information. (Food choice and delivery time may vary with the time of the day.)

Foodmandu

Explore hundreds of popu lar restaurants in Kathmandu and Lalitpur with Foodmandu app. It is an easy and convenient way to enjoy what you love from your favorite restaurant without having to leave your place. So, if a guest suddenly arrives, you can order your favorite pizza or momo and entertain your guest without the hassle  of cooking. If you crave a pizza, just head to the app, check which restaurants deliver pizza, check the prices and sizes of pizza, select and checkout. Food will be delivered to you within an hour. Open from 11 am to 8:30 pm, you can order by calling 014444177 or order through the ‘Foodmandu’ app. (Foodmandu will be closed on the  day of Tika.)

Bhok Lagyo

Feeling too tired to cook and craving some burgers at 1 am at night, just when you have hit a purple farash patch? Then you can call Bhok Lagyo, which is the first late night food delivery service in Nepal. Usually food delivery services in Kathmandu do not open all night long but Bhok Lagyo does, from 4 pm to 4 am. Delivering within an hour inside Kathmandu valley, they have their own online multi-cuisine menu that has chowmein, burger, momo, fried rice, biryani, pizza, and much more! You can order through their social media or call them at 9801009335.

Cheers

Dashain is incomplete without liquor for some. However, your nearest retailer may not have your favorite Scotch or rum. Cheers, an online liquor store, will come to your rescue. It has a website through which you can select from an extensive collection of domestic and imported liquors. Also, it offers free delivery, right at your doorstep. Place an order here between 10 am to 10 pm for not just drinks, but also liquor glasses, mixers, syrups, snacks and fruit juices. You can pay through cash or card, after you receive your goodies. There is definitely no need to drink and drive this Dashain. Order online or by calling 014265008.

Reza Khanal, 24, is celebrating Dashain by going on a trek to the Tilicho base camp. Not long ago, she used to celebrate every Dashain in Kathmandu by visiting her extended maternal family. “But now, I know of so many people who are going on treks. I see this culture of trekking just before or after the day of tika taking root,” she says, perhaps because “it is hard to get a longish leave at other times”.Khanal’s experience is represen­tative of the changing nature of Dashain celebrations. Mohan Khar­el, 65, remembers a time when he used to be excited about visiting rel­atives to get dakshina (‘blessed mon­ey’). “Dashain meant new clothes, swings and good food,” he reminisc­es. “Now the festival is not the same. People have become much more materialistic these days.”

Now people do not necessar­ily wait for Dashain to buy new clothes. Suman Pradhan, owner of UFO (clothing store) Baneshwor, says sales are usually high during Dashain and Tihar, up by around 20 percent during Dashain for UFO Baneshwor. But “most grown-ups these days don’t wait for Dashain to buy new accessories. The sales bump that we now see in Dashain has mostly to do with insistent children pes­tering their parents to get something fan­cy,” says Pradhan.

Likewise, Ganga Laxmi Shrestha, 45, who has been running Baneswor Tailors for the past 27 years, says business is down this Dashain. “Peo­ple these days prefer readymade clothes. Also, many fancy tailors have opened up, increasing com­petition.”

More social, less religious

The changing nature of Dashain celebrations may also have to do with Nepalis’ increasing exposure to the outside world and great­er recognition of oth­er cultures. Chaitanya Mishra, a professor of sociology at Tribhuvan University, argues why Dashain may no longer be seen as the biggest festi­val of Nepal. “Earlier, Kath­manduites did not celebrate Christmas. Also, Lhosar used to be celebrated mainly by the Gurung, Tamang and Sherpa communities. But even people who are not from those commu­nities have started celebrating it. The same applies to other festi­vals like Dashain and Chhat,” he says.

Mishra believes the emphasis these days is less on the reli­gious aspects of Dashain and more on its social aspect. “It is more about social gatherings now,” says Mishra. “People still get tika from their relatives and visit tem­ples. But this might be because people like visiting temples in big groups, and not necessarily because they are religious.”

Bhagwati Dhungel, 76, concurs. “It seems those who put tika on their foreheads now are not doing it to keep our tradition alive but just for formality. And they go to temples to take photos and update their social media accounts.”

Younger generation represen­tatives agree. Paribesh Bidari, 21, believes “people celebrate Dashain more as a vacation.” When he was small, Dashain was all about flying kites, but now the kites have become a rare sight. Mishra, the sociologist, attributes this to the age group of the people who fly kites now being more engaged on social media. “People go out less, not just in Dashain. They are hooked on social media and online games,” he says.

Chicken more than goat

In earlier days, people used to eagerly wait for Dashain to consume meat. “Usually Dashain used to be the only time poor people could eat meat. However, that has changed,” says Mishra of TU.

Shyam Shahi, 42, who has been running Makalu Meat Shop for the past 10 years, says that his meat business suffers during fulpati, ast­ami and nawami before recovering again on the day of tika. “Many fam­ilies have started sacrificing animals in their own homes,” he bemoans.

But Shahi has also noted a curi­ous phenomenon. Earlier, during Dashain, he used to sell goat meat exclusively. Yet in the past few years goat meat has become so expensive that more and more Dashain meat customers have started asking for chicken instead. (This year, a kilo of goat meat could cost you up to Rs 1,500, while a kilo of chicken can be had for under Rs 350.)

Meat or not meat, Dashain is always a big deal for the likes of Sujesh Mathema, 23, and Alish Maharjan, 24, who have arrived in Nepal after a long gap. Mathe­ma returned from India after five years, and says he is eager to receive tika from his relatives. “I missed visiting relatives and friends and definitely, flying kites,” he says. Alish Maharjan, 24, who is back from France, after a five-year absence from Nepal, “can’t wait to get the rato tika on my fore­head and to meet all my friends this Dashain.”

So although people these days cel­ebrate Dashain for different reasons than in earlier times, some common elements have been retained in all these years. It has always been a festival to catch up with your loved ones, in Kathmandu or at Tilicho. To gorge on good food, chicken or goat meat. To buy new things, either for you or your family, any­thing from apparels to appliances. Many people may not be overly reli­gious these days. Yet they will find it hard to resist the unmistakable Dashain vibe.

Ravi Singhal and Prakash Neupane, two techie friends, used to have great difficulty finding a cab to get around Kath­mandu. And they used to wonder why no one in Nepal had thought of ride-hailing apps; after all, there were already many of them in India. It was with this realization that they came up with the idea of Sarathi. When they started their private company in 2016, they had 50 taxis. Now Sarathi has 1,500 taxis provid­ing services through the Sarathi app. You can now book a taxi through the app, a model that was intro­duced only this January. Before that, customers had to call 4217171 to book. They would give a pickup and drop locations and then a taxi was sent to the pickup destination. All the taxis ran on meter.

Ajay Poudel, who leads Sarathi, informs that earlier the custom­ers would be picked up from their locations and had to pay by the meter. “However, the fare was not always the same due to traffic jams. So when we introduced the base model earlier this year, we took the average of the meter rate and we made fixed rates for certain dis­tances. The customers can see the routes and fares when they book a taxi on Sarathi,” says Poudel. Sarathi has since its inception been taking 10 percent of the total fare from its drivers.

Sarathi had started small, and the founders didn’t know what they were getting into. “We failed to do our homework and did not antic­ipate so many customers,” shares Poudel. They were getting around 400 calls a day but only had 50 taxis and had to turn down many rides. The model needed to be changed.

The 50 taxis at the start were their own taxis. But now any taxi driver can download the Sarathi app and join. “Before this year, we were unable to come up with a system to include other taxis,” says Poudel. The new model can potentially accommodate all 10,000 taxis running in Kathmandu in the system. Poudel says they now have taxis in each chowk of Kathmandu. Right now there are 1,500 taxi driv­ers working with Sarathi, making a total of over 350,000 rides. By April 2020, the app developers plan to partner with another 1,000 taxis.

Although Sarathi is an app-based company, it still offers the option of booking a cab by calling. “Not everyone has a device with internet. Some have trouble using the app, and internet might be expensive for some. So we still get booking calls,” says Poudel. Most bookings these days are made through the app though. Every day, a minimum of 1,200 rides are booked through Sarathi, Poudel informs.

Poudel says Sarathi has been able to grow as customers believe it ensures a hassle-free trip. Before, they needed to walk a certain dis­tance to find a taxi, and haggle if the taxi drivers did not agree to go by the meter. But a taxi is only a phone call (or a tap) away now.

Raj Kumar Chaulagain, a Sarathi driver, gets 10-12 rides from Sarathi app every day. He says it is has­sle-free for drivers too as there are fixed rates and no haggling. “Before, customers used to haggle even for Rs 5 and now they give Rs 40 in tip,” he says. There is the added advan­tage of booking customers from the comfort of his home. Before, he had to wait long hours on the road.

Sarathi provides free Basic English language classes and teaches drivers how to use Google maps so that they can use the app easily. Poudel hopes each Sarathi driver will soon be able to earn Rs 50,000 a month just through the Sarathi app.

Now there are also other ride-hail­ing apps such as Pathao and Tootle in the fray as well. In the case of Pathao, cars double as taxis, says Poudel. Taxis have to get route per­mits and pass certain tests, and the cost of running a car is also lower than running a taxi, he emphasizes. “Still, their rates are higher than taxis on meter. I do not understand how the government allows this,” says Poudel. Yet he believes compe­tition is good and more ride-hailing apps such as Pathao and Tootle are the need of the hour

CWIN Nepal, an NGO which works to protect vulnerable children, used to have a mini-problem every time they organized some event: Where do you dispose the banners used at these events?

Then Rushka Sthapit, who used to work as an environmental officer at the office, came up with an ingenious solution: Why not make bags out of these banners? Thus started the story of Metta, which collects banners from events, makes useful products out of them, and sells them.

When she and some CWIN volunteers started making bags, they made only simple bags from CWIN cloth banners. Then they thought of making bags out of flex banners too. “Flex is a more toxic form of plastic. What we are trying to do is prolong its lifespan,” says Sthapit.

At the start in 2012, six women aged 20-26 years, who were identified by CWIN as “Youth In Need” were trained for the job. The bags they made were sold only within CWIN’s networks and the earnings given to these needy women, in an initiative that came to be known as “Banners to Bags”.

In February 2019, they changed their name and registered the company as “Metta” and are now commercializing it. Why? “Because it deserves greater commercialization,” says Sthapit. “The idea has not fizzled out after it started in 2012.”

Now you can buy Metta keychain pouches, clear bags, folders, box toiletry bags, side bags, and laptop bags which are sold via their Facebook page. Currently, they produce 80 products a month, with their best-seller being a bio-gas bag priced at Rs 300, informs Sthapit. This durable bag is made of material that used to be parts of bio-gas container.

Even though the Metta product prices are affordable—ranging from Rs 150 for keychain pouches to Rs 700 for side bags—they are struggling to capture the market. Sthapit says making customers understand that they are recycling flex banners which are otherwise very harmful to the environment requires a lot of patience. Nepali customers are not as enthusiastic as she would like them to be. “There are similar, competing products. The only thing that is different about us is that we recycle banners. But when we tell this to Nepali customers they give off “So what?” kind of vibe,” she adds. Thus most of their customers right now are expats. Sthapit says Nepalis’ perspective on why they should buy their native and sustainable products is changing “but very slowly”.

Another challenge is collection of banners from an event. Usually, all events organized in Kathmandu use banners, says Sthapit. She informs that when event organizers are asked to keep the banners, they agree to do so. But when they reach the event venue, they find that the banners have already been torn down and discarded.

“Keeping the banners safe is one extra thing for the organizers and they usually don’t bother,” says Sthapit. So, Metta collectors try to get there as soon as they can.

Events like the BIMSTEC summit in August 2018 generate potentially countless banners. Couldn’t banners from such official functions have been sourced through the government, for instance? Sthapit says it’s the same story. “Those who work at the level of handling these banners, including those from government officers, are least bothered about recycling or the environment,” she says.  

We went around Basantapur in the heart of Kathmandu asking middle-aged men what they think about paternity leave. Most of them didn’t know what it is. One man in his early 30s asked, “Is it today?” After we told them what it meant, some said it is useless to give such holidays, while some others were of the view that the number of paid paternal leave days should be increased. A few were just happy to hear that paid paternity leave is given in Nepal. Paternity leave is a type of parental leave granted to a father that allows him to be away from his job after or shortly before the birth of his child. The newly intro­duced Labor Act requires employers to provide 15 days of paid paternity leave and 98 days of paid maternity leave. The ear­lier Labor Act of 1991 had a provision of 52 days of paid maternity leave. Paternity leave had not been intro­duced then.

Globally, paternity leave is a hot topic of debate. About 90 coun­tries now offer statutory paid pater­nity leave, usually for a few days or weeks. According to a recent study by Promundo, a US-based organization, fewer than half the men took paternity leave that was offered to them. The research was carried out between 2017 and 2019 in seven countries and involved nearly 12,000 respondents. It shows that more than 80 percent men in India and Pakistan viewed chang­ing nappies, bathing and feeding children as a woman’s job. Fathers in Bangladesh even reported being ridiculed or taunted by other men or community members for doing these kinds of tasks.

There is no provision of pater­nity leave in India for private sec­tor workers, where companies like Zomato have gained publicity for offering such leave. This year, the federal government of Pakistan approved 10 days of paternity leave. Paternity leave in China can vary from anywhere between zero to 30 days. While South Asian coun­tries do not have long paternity leave, it can be as long as 16 months, with up to 80 percent of the salary, in Sweden.

Farendra Ratna Manandhar, a Nepali working in Australia, had a baby in November last year. He got two weeks of paternity leave while his wife received maternity leave of 18 weeks. “Two weeks is just not enough. Thankfully, I could get two additional weeks of unpaid leave,” he says. As it has been difficult for his wife to take care of the baby alone, they have even invited her mother to Australia.

Loaded debate

In Nepal, women activists, Nation­al Women Commission and Ministry of Women, Children and Social Wel­fare took the initiative to press the government to introduce paternity leave. Laxmi Pandey, the spokes­person and deputy secretary at the National Women Commission, says the introduction of paternity leave in Nepal is a good step. She says the law was passed to enable men to take better care of their wife and child.

“Women need rest for at least three months after delivering a baby, so maternity leave has been extended by the government. But if paternity leave were to be extended beyond 15 days, it could affect the functioning of offices,” she says. “Personally though, I wish paternity leave was given for 35 days, as there are many nuclear families in Nepal now,” Pandey adds.

Dr Ram Hari Chapagain, a pedia­trician at Kanti Children’s Hospital, disagrees. He says giving men longer paternity leave would adversely affect the functioning of offices. But he thinks 98 days of maternity leave is justifiable. “Paternity leave is given to men so that they can care for their wife and child. In my experience, it’s usually the mothers who come to the hospital for postna­tal check-ups and immunizations,” he says. Dr Chapagain adds that 15 days of paternity leave is reasonable because as soon as a baby is born, there could be more health compli­cations for the mother and the baby, whereas after a couple of weeks, there are fewer complications.

Some Nepali companies provide longer than 15 days of paternity leave. One of them is HLE Nepal, a business process outsourcing com­pany, which gives one month of paid paternity and 112 days of paid mater­nity leave. It also has a provision whereby unpaid maternity leave can be extended by up to four months and unpaid paternity leave by up to a month. The company has found that the policy has helped enhance a father’s experience. Nirayu Shakya, a mortgage broker with HLE Nepal, says that the leave helped him devel­op a wonderful bond with his baby and to give extra care to his wife. “It also sent a posi­tive message about the company to my amazed friends,” he adds.

Dispelling the blues

Pashupati Mahat, a senior clinical psychologist, thinks mothers and fathers are equally responsible for the development of the baby. He says our society views fathers as “the symbol of security” and moth­ers as “the symbol of love and care”. Mahat adds, “If a father is largely absent after childbirth, the moth­er and child can become anxious. Especially right after a woman gives birth, her estrogen level decreases dramatically and she experiences post-partum blues that can degen­erate into post-partum depression”. As such, it is important that her partner be there to provide her with a sense of security and support. Research also shows that children with absent fathers have a higher chance of going into depression.

Mahat thinks it would be a good idea to extend paternity leave, pro­vided men made good use of it. In his opinion, fathers should get at least six weeks paternity leave so that they can spend quality time with their wife and child. “However, some men might abuse the leave. It’s up to the family and society at large to ensure that paternity leave is not misused,” argues Mahat.