Photo Feature:Pathshala- OUC Reportage Project 2010:

Life Between Signals

A photofeature by Sailendra Kharel

Women make up about 49 percent of the total population of Nepal, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics data. In Nepal they have been facing gender discrimination and are forced to live in a male-dominant environment.

The Traffic Police department under the Nepal Police has 125 women working in different posts. For about 16 hours of day, these traffic policewomen are seen in busy streets managing the traffic.

But in Nepali society these women have not got due recognition, nor have they received proper encouragement. In most of the cases, traffic policewomen are made to feel inferior when they have to enforce traffic rules, because most of those who drive on the roads are men.

Women have broken the glass ceiling and have ventured out of the kitchen. Traffic policewomen say that more and more women should be encouraged to take up these new challenges.