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Foreign employment has been heralded as a lifeline for Nepal’s struggling economy for a long time. The glossy statistics on remittance have painted a picture of collective prosperity. Yet the allure of economic gain masks a brutal reality that is far less glamorous, especially for women. Foreign employment poses challenges to women not only as those who travel to the destination country but those who remain in the country of origin as well. For those left behind in rural Nepal, the absence of male members of the family members often means isolation, economic vulnerability and an overwhelming burden of household responsibilities. For those women who dare to venture abroad, the promise of a better life is often replaced by exploitation, abuse and a deep sense of social alienation. This vicious cycle of suffering, silenced by the glitter of remittance dollars, exposes the dark underbelly of foreign employment.

Foreign employment, while conjuring the image of economic upliftment, neglects the profound social costs that come with it. As rural men migrate for work, women who stay behind are forced to take on dual roles. This not only thrusts them into challenging positions of managing households alone but also compels them to step into roles that are otherwise historically done by men which include overseeing finances and maintaining farms. 

In cases like these women are not empowered by their new responsibilities but instead overwhelmed. The workload increases with no increase in helping hands and support mechanisms. This dual burden leads to exhaustion and mental health challenges. In the context of rural women, who are marginalized by geography these challenges are compounded by lack of resources and social networks to cope with this shift. Their workload intensifies while their autonomy remains constrained by societal expectations and limited access in decision making roles within the family.

The narrative that women in rural areas are mere passive recipients of remittances is misleading. They are not passive beneficiaries as in reality they are managing the entire households and communities. But their labor, both emotional and physical, goes unacknowledged, perpetuating their marginalization.As men leave, rural communities face depopulation, and agriculture, the major source of livelihood for many families suffers. With fewer hands available to work on the fields, the fields lie barren, further eroding food security. Moreover, this situation places women in a precarious position of economic and social vulnerability. The absence of male members of the family increases their exposure to exploitation. Women in rural Nepal, now the sole managers of remittances, are vulnerable to manipulation and economic abuse from extended families or in-laws who may take advantage of their isolated position.

Financial success abroad does not necessarily translate into marital success at home. At times, the long separations caused by foreign employment stretch the familial bonds to their breaking point. Communication between spouses becomes infrequent, often leading to misunderstandings, conflicts over money and sometimes even divorce. There have been reported cases of husband/wife forging new relationships abroad or at home, disrupting their married lives. 

For many women, the emotional strain of running a household alone, coupled with societal pressures to maintain family honor could lead to several mental health issues. Any perceived failure such as financial struggles, household management or even relationship issues may be seen as personal failure further intensifying the mental burden. Depression, anxiety and loneliness are evident issues, but these women are often left to cope without any access to mental health care or even a listening ear. While the men abroad are hailed as breadwinners, women shoulder the emotional and psychological costs of sustaining the family integrity.

While the challenges faced by women left behind are severe, those who migrate for work face an entirely new set of struggles. It takes only a small mistake for the journey of economic dreams to turn into exploitation nightmares. Women migrating to countries in the Middle East or Southeast Asia for work, often in caregiving or domestic roles, are vulnerable to extreme exploitation. These sectors, characterized by poor working conditions, long hours, and meager pay, frequently expose women to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.

Migrant women, especially those undocumented or without proper legal protections, live in constant fear of deportation or retaliation, making it difficult to seek help or report abuse. The very systems that are meant to protect them, legal aid and worker’s rights organizations, are often inaccessible due to language barriers, cultural differences, or fear of losing their jobs. These barriers leave women trapped in exploitative situations with little recourse to justice. Adding to their plight is the severe isolation that migrant women often endure. Live-in domestic workers, in particular, are cut off from the outside world, living at the mercy of their employers. This isolation, compounded by the pressures of being away from their families, leads to significant mental health challenges, including depression and loneliness. The lack of social contact or support systems exacerbates their already precarious situation.

A particularly harsh reality for female migrant workers is the issue of unwanted pregnancies, often resulting from sexual exploitation. Many women, isolated and vulnerable, find themselves in situations where they are taken advantage of by employers or intermediaries. With limited access to reproductive healthcare, these women are at high risk of unsafe abortions and other health complications, jeopardizing their physical well-being and sometimes their lives. Destination countries frequently fail to provide adequate healthcare for migrant women, particularly those in the lower rungs of the workforce. In addition, cultural and legal restrictions around reproductive rights often prevent women from seeking the help they need, forcing them to resort to dangerous methods to terminate pregnancies or manage health issues.

The challenges faced by women, both at home and abroad, highlight the deeply gendered impact of labor migration. As women are increasingly called upon to take on new roles without adequate support, both within the household and in foreign countries, the social fabric begins to fray. Communities become depopulated, family ties strained, and the societal role of women burdened by unrealistic expectations. Critically, the focus on remittances while essential to the economy often overshadows these social costs. The long-term effects of migration on women are frequently absent from policy discussions, which tend to focus on the financial benefits rather than the deep social wounds migration creates. Migration is an inevitable economic reality for many Nepali families, but it need not come at the cost of women’s well-being. By recognizing the gender-specific challenges inherent in labor migration and addressing them through targeted policies, Nepal and its labor partners can ensure that foreign employment is a true path to prosperity, one that uplifts rather than exploits the women at its core.

World Toilet Day is an official United Nations International Observance Day and it falls on Nov 19. It’s aimed at inspiring people and communities to tackle the rising sanitation problem. Sadikshya Khadka of ApEx talked to officials from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur to find out how public restrooms are being made accessible and how each municipality is committed to enhancing service and overall user experience.

Dhurba Kumar Kafle, assistant spokesperson, Kathmandu Metropolitan City

In Kathmandu, we have categorized public restrooms into three models. The first one is privately owned and run. In the second model, we consult with private institutions to operate the restrooms. Here, we supply the essentials on an annual basis, and such restrooms can be found in malls, petrol pumps, etc. The third kind is built and managed by wards.  

We released a public notice recently urging people interested in investing in the building of new public restrooms to contact the metropolitan office. Additionally, after making restrooms in petrol pumps public recently, we have noticed a betterment in service and management of such restrooms.  

For public restrooms users, I would recommend they check for signs indicating whether the toilets are free of cost or chargeable before entering. We appreciate feedback on how disabled-friendly the restrooms are, cleanliness, and accessibility so that we can work towards making public toilets better.  We also have a section on our website titled ‘Public Toilet’ where there is a map displaying all public restrooms around the city, helping people find the nearest one. 

Damodar Suwal, information officer, Bhaktapur Municipality

In Bhaktapur, we have public toilets in busy places only, such as bus parks and tourist destinations where there is a lot of movement of people. We don’t think it’s necessary to build public restrooms in residential, local places. As Bhaktapur is Nepal’s smallest municipality, it’s easy to get from one place to another so a few public toilets are more than enough.  

There are 10 toilets in different locations across the city. Additionally, public restrooms are also available for use, both for locals and foreigners in different tourist service and information center offices of the municipality. We are working towards improving the service in the public toilets as well as maintaining standards of cleanliness. The municipality is also working on adding more public toilets in tourist destinations across Bhaktapur. 

Raju Maharjan, spokesperson, Lalitpur Metropolitan

Most of the public toilets in Lalitpur have been built and are being managed by the metropolitan office. We have partnered with Aerosan to ensure sustainable maintenance of the public restrooms. Currently, toilets are being built in Patan Dhoka, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and the UN Park. Two were recently brought into operation in Sankhamul Park and Jawalakhel. We have built public restrooms in main sites across the city. 

We have called upon wards to consider making more public toilets in their respective areas. According to their responses, we will be looking into building more restrooms. We have currently allocated the budget for building six new public toilets in Lalitpur. 

For institutions or individuals wanting to and capable of supporting the expansion of public toilets across the city, we urge you to contact the metropolitan office. As all public toilets in Lalitpur were built and operate on a smart system, there are a set of rules for proper use. We request users to carefully follow the instructions as well as help in keeping the toilets clean.  

Every home has its go-to meals. In Nepali households, it’s mostly ‘daal, bhaat, tarkari’, the occasional ‘roti, tarkari’, ‘khichdi’, and/or different forms of curries. We rarely deviate from this supposedly set menu, unless we have guests over or are eating out. I find home cooked meals comforting. I guess everyone does. But it can become mundane. We could all do with a little variety every now and then. This is where cookbooks come in handy. I have, over the past couple of years, amassed quite a collection of cookbooks. These, mostly hardcover, books are kept separately in a small shelf in the dining area. Looking at them makes me feel I’m able to prepare delicious, nourishing meals whenever I want to.

‘The Curry Guy Chicken’ by Dan Toombs and ‘Masala Memsahib’ by Karen Anand are two of my favorite cookbooks that I constantly reach for. These are mostly Asian/Indian recipes and as someone who likes a good curry and rice, I feel I don’t need anything else. But my family loves Nepali food. They find it easier to digest and more winter-friendly than oily, spices-heavy Indian food. I have come to realize that if you follow the recipes to the letter, it always comes out great. You are never disappointed. Earlier, I used to go with the flow, and what often happened was that I was never able to recreate a dish.

For Nepali cooking, I have for a while now turned to ‘Timmur’ by Prashanta Khanal. I first chanced upon the book at a dietician’s clinic. While waiting for my turn, I flipped through the pages and the full-page photos, taken by Nabin Baral and Gagan Thapa, caught my attention. The recipes are divided into sections, with a separate ‘Achaar’ segment as well. I left the clinic determined to buy my own copy the same day. I didn’t manage to, for various reasons. But the book was always at the back of my mind. Having tried my hands at making Indian curries and naans (through cookbooks, of course), I wanted to learn proper Nepali cooking too as much of what I knew was limited to what I had seen growing up.

I finally got a copy and it’s been a good investment. I’ve tried making many dishes and they have come out really well, so much so that my mother, who is an expert cook, complimented my cooking. As someone who grew up eating Nepali food, I was familiar with many of the recipes in the book but every time I made, say ‘kwati’ or Bamboo Shoot curry, it would taste different—I could never master the recipe. Timmur has made that possible for me. It has recipes for many of my childhood dishes, like ‘gundruk’, ‘aalu cauli tarkari’, and ‘khasiko bhutuwa’ among others, as well as many that I always wished I could make, like ‘yomari’ and ‘mula ko achaar’.

The thing about cookbooks is that they are easy to follow, unlike YouTube tutorials where you might lose track every few minutes and have to pause or rewind. Cookbooks also make for great coffee table books and can double as décor. I love having the one I’m using displayed on the kitchen counter or the dining table. Cookbooks, I believe, have made me a better cook, taught me some great hacks that have significantly lessened my time in the kitchen, as well as made me understand and appreciate different cuisines.

Winter means there is a certain dryness in the environment which leads to different health issues and problems. The dropping temperatures also makes you more prone to flu, allergies, and various other ailments. While everyone loves basking in the sun in the winter, no one likes being bundled up in layers of clothes and the bunch of issues that the season brings. ApEx spoke to four people to find out what they dislike about winter, how they deal with it, and what they think should be done at policy level to manage some of the environmental issues we face today.

Prasiddha Prajapati, 21

There is definitely more air pollution during the winter as it's the dry season and it’s worsening because of industrialization. There are more vehicles on the roads and what makes it worse is that the roads are dug up randomly and left in semi-constructed states which lead to a lot of debris and dust. Building constructions also add to the pollution. I think it can be minimized by the use of green nets to trap dust but that is seldom the case. If this continues, I fear it will be difficult for us to access clean air and water in the future. We are already being forced to wear masks and double boil and filter our tap water. I hope the government looks into this issue seriously and works on mitigating air pollution.

Rajin Khadka, 30

I think one of the main reasons for pollution in Kathmandu valley is deforestation. It seems to be worse in winter because it’s dry and also because people tend to light fires to keep themselves warm. There is also the issue of people burning waste in urban areas. I believe it will lead to many health issues if not corrected on time. As it is, respiratory problems, allergies, infections etc. are already on the rise. Older people and those with comorbidities are at grave risk and our government seems to be least bothered. It only springs to action when it’s already too late. I think we must take care of ourselves—get proper exercise, eat a balanced diet, and work on improving our immunity—if we want to stay healthy in the long run.  

Abhishek Bista, 37

The air pollution during the dry season makes me nostalgic of the times during my childhood, where there was less pollution and we used to spend our days playing outdoors. Now due to air pollution, it becomes very hard to breathe if you are out for a long time. On certain days, when the air quality is very bad, my eyes start to burn while riding my bike. Breathing polluted air on a regular basis has many negative effects on our bodies. Issues with the lungs and skin being one of them. Wearing masks and sunglasses are some of the ways in which I try to protect myself from air pollution but I fear these little things aren’t enough.

Ram Laxmi Lohala, 62

In winter it’s usually dry as there is little to no rain. And while that might come as a respite to many, in the light of the recent floods that wreaked havoc, it brings with it a different set of problems. Dry weather leaves us more prone to allergies and infections. It’s quite common for people to fall ill during the winter, and especially those who already have health issues face an even bigger risk. I believe drinking warm water, wearing proper clothes, keeping your homes well insulated, and watering the road outside your homes (if it’s dry and dusty) can go a long way in keeping you safe during winter. I’m also a big believer in getting your daily dose of vitamin D by sitting out in the sun—it can help prevent many issues.