Nepal, Mujeres

This series of two paintings—“Women with Child from Nepal” and “Rural Women Nepal”—springs from a deep commitment to give visibility to the untold stories of women facing extreme vulnerability. Both works explore the lives of women in a small village straddling Nepal and India, who live on society’s margins because of HIV/AIDS.

The husbands of these women, having worked in India, return unknowingly infected and pass the virus on to their wives and children. The tragedy is compounded by precarious living conditions, social ostracism by their community, and the entrenched caste structures that persist in the region. Through these paintings, I seek not only to document their suffering and exclusion but also to convey their resilience in the face of adversity.

In each painting, the female figure becomes a symbol of resistance. Rendered in oil, the canvases explore the tension between harsh reality and the humanity of these women, revealing their strength amid an unrelenting struggle. Expressive use of color and texture underscores the duality of their situation: perpetual suffering on one hand, and a dignity that cannot be stripped away on the other. Every brushstroke and form builds an atmosphere of struggle and hope—a call to reflect on social injustice and human perseverance.

These works aim not just to tell a story but to draw the viewer into a conversation about the invisible suffering of those ignored by society, inviting us to consider the conditions that perpetuate poverty and exclusion.