Bloomberg New Economy
Nepal’s Women Evade Border Guards and Suspicious Husbands to Find Work Abroad
Despite a decades-long ban on women taking jobs as domestics in other countries, tens of thousands are emigrating every year.
Usha Kadari at home in the Nepalese village of Lalbiti.
Photographer: Catherine Davison for Bloomberg Businessweek
The 32-inch TV on Usha Kadari’s lap was a somewhat impractical carry-on during the 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) bus ride home to Nepal.
The gift was an instant hit with her family, though. Her husband showed it off to jealous neighbors, and her 11-year-old daughter, Uma, sat in front of the screen endlessly scrolling through TikTok videos after school.