Recognising Unpaid Care Work

Every morning, she wakes before the rest of her family. She boils water for tea, sweeps the aangan, prepares breakfast, and ensures her children’s uniforms are ironed. After sending them to school, she tends to her aging in-laws, cooks lunch, and manages the household—laundry, cleaning, shopping—all without a break. By evening, she serves dinner and cleans up. When exhausted, her fatigue is dismissed as "just what mothers do." Her labour fuels her home, yet she has no salary, no recognition, and no retirement plan. If she falls sick, the house crumbles into chaos. If she asks for help, she’s met with resistance—"Your mother and grandmother did it without complaining." Like millions of Nepali women, she works the longest hours but remains invisible in economic statistics.