KATHMANDU: Saindra Thapa (57), a resident of Sukkha Nagar of Butwal, whose husband Shankar — a Gurkha soldier — was killed while fighting for Britain, is glad now that she has a right to settle in the UK.

“British lawyers and Gurkha veterans took our side and ensured our rights,” said Saindra adding that she would also knock the door of British Embassy for her 19-year-old son.

Similar is the case of Chandra Kala Thapa Shrestha (42) of Bhimad of Tanahun, whose husband Yam Bahadur died in Iraq a few years ago. “I’ll utilise the UK visa rights to take care of my children,” said the mother of three sons.

Unlike Chandra Kala and Saindra, another Gurkha widow, Taisiri Pun (70), a heart patient from Chitwan, would like to fly to London to receive good medical care.

After allowing UK settlement rights to Gurkha veterans, the UK government has also begun granting similar rights to widows of the Gurkha soldiers killed in war, thanks to strong lobbying by a London-based legal consultancy Hoe and Company and Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organisation. According to Krishna Kumar Rai, vice-president, GAESO, they have succeeded in ensuring settlement rights for seven Gurkha widows in the past two weeks.

With this, the widows feel that the UK government announcement in May that it would allow only the Gurkha veterans, who retired before July 1, 1997 and completed four years of service, could settle in Britain with their spouses and dependent children under 18 years of age, is no more discriminatory against them.

“The May announcement was like rubbing salt in the wounds of hundreds of Gurkha widows struggling to survive here,” said a GAESO member. “But, we’ll continue fighting for equal rights for the elderly widows in order to end discrimination against them.” Other UK settlement rights winner widows are Banika Pun, Om Kumari Pun and Indra Kumari Khapung. The British government has granted them visa status of Indefinite Leave to Enter the UK (ILE). Under ILE, the widows will get all the rights, except the right to vote.

“Our relentless fight has paid off. The British lawyers and GAESO members will continue their fight till all Gurkha widows are treated fairly,” said Rai, adding that they were forwarding other documents to the British Embassy for the purpose. The British home ministry has informed GAESO that it will grant ILE visas to 27 more Gurkha widows soon.