I Am Belmaya

synopsis

Dominated by her husband, her family and society, Belmaya is desperate for independence. But in much of Nepal, men rule and women obey. Here, in one of the poorest nations on earth, women are daughters, wives, mothers, dependents and, all too often, victims and slaves but rarely individuals in their own right. Born a Dalit (the lowest, ‘untouchable' caste), orphaned at the age of nine, poorly educated, and trapped in an abusive marriage with a baby daughter, Belmaya, 21, has given up hope of finding happiness.