Lalitpur, Jan. 15 -- Deepa was just 30 when her husband died of blood cancer. They had been married three years and had a 13-month toddler. When the earthquakes of 2015 struck, the house where she was living with her daughter and mother-in-law was destroyed. Deepa knew that her husband had some land so she attempted to get a loan to rebuild her home with that land as collateral. That was when she realised how difficult things can be for a widow.

"My two brothers-in-law and their wives refused to give me the deeds to the land and his citizenship," said Deepa, who is now 42 and lives in Lubhu, Lalitpur. "I was told that I didn't have the right to my husband's property."

Deepa, who asked that she only be identified by her first name, knew ...