The Women of Patan

For the last few days we have been enjoying some time in Patan and Kathmandu City eating delicious food, drinking good coffee, and meeting many amazing people.

We are staying in the city of Patan, one of the three sister cities in the Kathmandu Valley. It is known for its centuries old neighbourhoods and hundreds of significant temples and palaces. We love staying in this area and watching daily rituals take place. The community is alive with constant lighting of candles, praying, and painting and fixing of hundreds of years old stupas and temples.

Our neighbourhood in Patan 

On our first night back in the city, our friendly host informed us that the Chariot of Rato Machhendranath that had been moving around Patan for the past couple of weeks was going to be pulled by women the following morning. This would be the only time during the month or so long event where women would have the opportunity to pull the chariot. And so we woke up extremely early for us, yet not so early for the people of Patan, at 4:45 am. Our midwife friend Rashmi, who lives in this neighbourhood, guided us through the narrow, already buzzing streets of Patan to the square where hundreds were gathered, including hundreds of women already lined up to pull the chariot.

Cathy and Rashmi 

It is believed that this chariot festival has been around since the 11th century. Rato Machhendranath is the deity of rain. The idea behind the chariot festival is to move this massive 60-foot chariot throughout Patan during April-May. The festival is conducted before monsoon season to ensure a plentiful rainy season for the local crops. We witnessed true women power. Hundreds of women pulled on massive ropes, dragging the leaning chariot for over an hour. Following this scene of women power, heavy rain poured down into the city of Patan for over an hour.

The Candle Lit Walk for Buddha's Birthday

The following day was spent organizing and presenting the idea of Group Antenatal Care to nurses at a local hospital in Kathmandu. This was one of the activities MIDSON, the association of midwives in Nepal asked us to put on.

We wanted to go for a quick walk before dinner to unwind from the busy day. Our short walk turned into a cultural adventure when we met some women who were participating in a candle- lit walk. We were at Patan Durbar Square when we noticed dozens of women in groupings of different matching saris, lining up with unlit candles in their hands. Seeing all of the colourful saris and hearing the joyful buzz of women, we knew we had to find out what was happening. We sat next to a young woman in a bright pink sari embroidered with intricate geometric patterns and flowers. She shared with me that the women were different women's groups from throughout Patan, coming together for a candle-lit walk on the eve of Buddha's birthday. She explained the plan was to walk for about 45 minutes to different important Buddhist sites throughout Patan before all joining together for an organized program. She kindly invited us to join, and we just couldn't say no. Before we knew it we were wearing paper pins and walking with hundreds of women with candles in hand.

We spent the walk talking to this woman and her family and friends who were a part of this one women's group. She is a social worker who is passionate about sexual and reproductive health. She advocates for and teaches family planning, safe abortion care, and sexual health. We felt so privileged to be walking with such strong women. The walk was incredibly well organized with some of the best traffic control we have seen since being in Nepal. It was thrilling to have hundreds of women stopping traffic!

Although women are still discriminated against and viewed as lower status than men in this country, we have seen how strong and powerful the women are. We cannot begin to describe how grateful we are to all of the women who have welcomed us and shared with is these rituals, stories, and kindness.