Sex Tips And Makeovers For Nepal's Virgin Brides

With no access to sex education, wedding nights for Nepalese women – and men – are often filled with fear. Corinne Redfern reports on a beauty salon initiative offering sexual enlightenment.

‘I didn’t know what sex was until I did it,’ Sajana Maharjan, 24, whispers modestly. ‘Nobody had told me how it worked.’ She was so scared on her wedding night, she made her older sister share the double bed in her new house – while her new spouse slept in another room. ‘We had sex a few days later, but it was a shock. I hadn’t realised it worked like that at all.’ Sajana’s husband, Bishowraj Lawot, 29, agrees that they were unprepared. Although, talking with an almost-empty plastic cup of home-brewed rice beer in his hand, he’s less redfaced when it comes to discussing it. ‘I wasn’t sure if we were doing it right,’ he laughs. ‘I was so nervous, I felt like I was falling off a cliff. But there was nobody I could ask to check, so we just had to work it out on our own.’

In Nepal, sex is a secret. Sure, it takes place – sky-high birth rates are testimony to that. But with female literacy estimated at 46 per cent, and minimal internet access, discussions surrounding what happens behind bedroom doors aren’t whispered, they’re non-existent. This would explain why more than 50 per cent of all pregnancies in the country are unwanted* and data suggests over 300,000 abortions take place every year. Local health experts believe this is down to a total lack of knowledge about how reproduction works.