The Advocacy Project is seeking $1,500 to help Backward Society Education (BASE), a partner in Nepal, organize training for 25 Tharu women who wash dishes in poor conditions and for a pitifully small wage. The training will enable the women to tell their story through stitching, gain confidence and - eventually - to demand better working conditions. After years of successfully advocating for the Tharu, BASE is confident that this pilot project can be scaled up and lead to serious social change.
Neema is one thousands of women and girls who work as dishwashers in Midwest Nepal. Neema's life is one of exploitation and anxiety. Her work day lasts up to 16 hours, for which she earns around $4. COVID claimed the life of a daughter, adding tragedy to hardship. There has been little publicity about the plight of dishwashers, but this silence is one reason they are abused. In the course of exposing the problem, BASE hopes to empower the dishwashers and provide them with more economic security.
Your donations will enable BASE to offer training in embroidery and organization development to Neema and 24 other women in Dang District. The women will receive $30 for each embroidered square. More important, working together will build their confidence and create friendships. They will emerge from training with a story-telling quilt, a strong message, a marketable skill, an association and an agenda. All of this should help Neema and the others to demand better working conditions and wages.
The plight of the dishwashers is less well known than other abusive labor practices in Midwest Nepal. But BASE is confident that successful embroidery training can put the dishwashers on the map and create a powerful model for social change. BASE will draw on its wide network of Tharu activists and influential President (a former Minister of Labor) to assist. AP will also promote the campaign through our online news service and US-based contacts. We are seeking partners in the US!
