Gender Equality Nepal Project #32055

Girls Wanna Run! Training Nepal's Generation Next!

by Women LEAD

Project Report | Sep 23, 2019
Nothing About Us Without Us

By Prakriti | 2018 YWPLI Alumni

Prakriti representing UNICEF in Sri Lanka

Nothing about us without us- what a fantastic slogan! The first time I heard it was in one of the presentations on the first day of 3^rd South Asia Parliamentarian Platform for Children. I was instantly hooked by its meaning and relevance as I have always believed in the importance of bringing youth voices to participate in decision-making that affects their lives.

My leadership journey began about a year ago when I was selected to participate in the Women’s Mock Parliament organized by the Association of Youth Organizations in Nepal and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). I was able to further develop my knowledge and experience in advocacy and politics by participating in Women LEAD’s Young Women's Political Leadership Institute (YWPLI).

Recently, I was able to put into practice by advocacy skills and passion for promoting young people’s rights when I was selected to represent UNICEF as a Youth Ambassador at the South Asian Parliamentarian Meeting in Sri Lanka. There I received the opportunity to raise the voices of youth and ratify the youth pledge for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. I was also able to join an informal network named “Nothing About Us Without Us” which advocates for the strong presence of youth voices within South Asian countries.

I am grateful to have participated in Women LEAD’s YWPLI program and the confidence it has given me to take represent young people on the international stage. With the demographic dividend of Nepal at its highest point of (with nearly 40.3% of the total population being youth), I strongly believe that sustainable change can only be achieved once young people have a seat at the decision-making table.

Prakriti with fellow youth representatives

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Jul 14, 2019
Dikshya's Eye-Opening Experience in Rautahat

By Dikshya Khadgi | YWPLI Alumni

Dikshya with a young woman filling out a survey

Earlier this year, a fellow Women LEAD Alumni, Siwani and I won a grant through Women LEAD’s Sujata Baskota Changemaker Award Initiative. In May, Siwani and I travelled to Gaur Municipality of Rautahat District to implement our community project The Safe Motherhood Initiative to document the reasons why women marry early and to promote safe motherhood practices.

Before we travelled to Gaur, I did research on the situation of motherhood and early marriage in the area. The research gave me some insight into the situation, but having lived my whole life inside the Kathmandu Valley, I knew what I had read was only a glimpse into the lives of women living in Gaur.

The trip exposed interactions and experiences that were very new to me, even though these experiences occurred on a daily basis in this part of Nepal. Walking down the memory lane, there were various striking incidents which stayed in my mind.

One particular distressing memory was during an interview during which I asked a young woman about her thoughts on early marriage. The young woman said, “All women in our region marry early, get pregnant early. If she is lucky she lives, otherwise, she dies early and her husband has the option to get married again.” I was aghast finding out that the life, dignity and worth of a woman were not valued, and that women were just regarded as child bearing machines. So many women were being robbed of their youth and a lifetime of opportunities.

However, amidst this bleak situation, a highlight of the project was visiting Mayor of the Municipality, Ajay Gupta, to get permission to implement our project. I was pleasantly surprised by the Mayor’s support of our project and willingness to co-operate by referring us to the District Health Officer who could give us information about the initiatives that were taking place to raise awareness of safe motherhood practices within the community. This gave me a lot of hope for the future.

The second wave feminists used ‘Personal is Political’ as a slogan to emphasize the relationship between personal experiences and larger socio-political structures. Through this project, I gained a much better understanding of what this slogan means. As Carol Hanisch says, “One of the first things we discover in these groups is that personal problems are political problems. There are no personal solutions at this time. There is only collective action for a collective solution.”

This project was an eye-opening experience for me, as it made me more aware about the underlying problems faced by women in Gaur and the collective steps that we need to take to overcome them, create an impact, and to honor women’s lives.

I am now more inspired and motivated than ever to fight for the rights of women in Nepal.

Kind Regards,

Dikshya

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Apr 15, 2019
My inspiring experience at the CSW in New York

By Sagoon Bhetwal | YWPLI Alumni

Sagoon at the UN Headquarters in New York

Dear Supporter,

From 8-13 March this year, I had the priviledge or representing Women LEAD at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

This was the very first time I had travelled abroad in an aeroplane, and my first experience could not have been any better. I always carry pride in being able to represent Women LEAD Nepal and having the honour of doing that at the 63rd CSW in New York is one of my biggest achievements so far.

From attending a session about harassment against women in parliament to meeting Bandana Rana, a prominent Nepali leader and the Asia-Pacific Vice Chair of the Convention on All Forms of Elimination Against Women (CEDAW)- a big inspiration to me and many youth in Nepal, every part of the trip gave me unique insights and memories.

I was honoured to have been selected to speak on a panel titled ‘Girls Political Empowerment during a parallel session run by Girls Learn International. It is very difficult to convince people what young girls like me are capable of, and this was a fantastic opportunity for us to share our thoughts and prove ourselves. This made us even more determined to keep on chasing our dreams.

Attending events led by Nepal and the government was another highlight of the trip. The media tends to only talk about the occurrence of these events, but being in a session with the Nepal Permanent Mission to the UN and actively participating in discussions about gender issues in Nepal provided me with unique insights into what is actually discussed during UN meetings.

This trip has made me more wise and hopeful, yet also more aware about how much more there is to be done in order for us to create an impact and achieve a more gender equitable world. As Paivi from the Ministry of Social Affairs of Finland, had stated during a session, 'The momentum for change is now.’ As Paivi from the Ministry of Social Affairs of Finland, had stated during a session, 'The momentum for change is now.’

Thanks for supporting the political aspirations of young women like me.

Kind Regards,

Sagoon

Sagoon Speaking About Girls' Political Empowerment

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