Patriarchal practices such as the dowry system, early marriage, son-preference, purdah and segregation of women during menstruation (chhapaudi) are still widespread and disadvantage women. Nepal ranks 145th of 187 countries on the 2014 Human Development Index (HDI), placing it in the'low human development’ category,34 and the 2015 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report ranked Nepal 110th among 145 countries, behind Bangaldesh, Sri Lanka and India. The cases studies of 307 women migrant returnees who stayed at the shelter house run by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Pourakhi35 in Kathmandu during the period from July 2015 to June 2016 were coded and analysed.