Nepal is a very small country, people are from several different ethnic groups and castes (about 60) speaking over a hundred languages and/or dialects (Gurung,1998). According to a broadbased categorization, they come from two main ethno-origins. Tibeto-Burman and Indo-Aryan. Intra household gender relations and the social status of women vary between these ethnic and caste groups. It ranges from highly egalitarian relationship where the status of women is subordinate to men. Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups are more favorable to gender egalitarianism than Indo-Aryan groups. The male to female ratio in Nepal is 49.8% to 50.2% Nepalese women were found to contribute 50% of the family income as against 44% by men and 6% by children (Acharya and Bennett, 1981).
Nepal is one of the two countries in the world where the life expectancy of women is lower than that of men. The female expectancy at birth is 52.4 years as against 55 years for male (NHDR 1998). Though the legal age of consent is 16 years, many Nepalese girls are usually married off at a tender age. The average age at first marriage is 15-17.5 years and the total fertility rate varies from 4-6 depending upon the development region (UNICEF, 1996). The combination of the lack of knowledge about reproductive health and unavailability of family planning services lead these young anemic women to suffer from chronic energy deficit due to intra-household food discrimination and heavy workloads. These women have no institutional and/or familiar pre-natal and post-natal care and support, leading to one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. According to the Nepal Human Development Report, 1998, Maternal Mortality rate of 875 per 100,000 births among women aged 15-49, is one of the highest in the world.
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