19 years since the peace accord, no justice for conflict victims

Insurgency widows and victims complain of state neglect and speak out on empty promises.

Lalkumari Silwal was only 25 when her husband, a policeman, was killed during the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency. Despite being widowed at a young age, she raised her two children with courage and dignity. But what kept her going, she recalls, were her husband’s final words before his death: “Keep your own surname. Raise our children equally—never differentiate between a son and a daughter.”