Many parents in Nepal refuse to send their daughters to school,
fearing girls are at risk from being abused which will affect theirs
and their families' reputations. How can children, especially girls,
change their environment and make it a safer place to be and study?
How would this impact on their educational lives?
Save the Children supports projects in Nepal that facilitate research
by children exploring ways to claim back unsafe spaces for
themselves. By sharing findings and interacting with local
government, school teachers, and parents, the children can begin to
mobilise support and change. An advocacy tool, the process can help
girls and boys to influence schoolteachers, students, parents,
government, and NGOs: children clearly have enormous potential to
improve their environment and take control of their own lives.
Girls in the Surkhet district of Nepal, for example, expressed strong
feelings of vulnerability in their community. Save the Children-UK
developed a project in which the girls carried out the research
themselves, exploring and analysing the types of space they occupied.
Using Participatory Rural Appraisal tools, the girls were able to
determine the characteristics of a safe environment and developed an
action plan to take back their 'space'. The girls used PRA tools to
map unsafe spaces within their village, venn diagrams to illustrate
their mobility, and team building tools; boys were involved in the
process only when the girls felt it was necessary.
In order to reclaim their 'space', the girls identified the need:
* for parents to recognise the importance of girls' education
* to avoid conservative traditions such as gender discrimination
within castes, between sons and daughters, and early marriage
* for girls to be able to demonstrate their ability within the
community
* for people to speak out against the injustices and oppression of
girls
* to raise awareness of girls' rights and enable their access to
equal opportunities
As a result of the process changes have been identified within the
community:
* The girls' group was consulted by community members on various
cases of abuse or mis-treatment of girls. In one case, a local
policeman kidnapped a local 11-year old girl. In collaboration
with other children's groups, the girls wrote a letter to the
local police commissioner, copying it to the village chairperson,
local NGOs, the Chief District Police Officer and the Chairperson
of the District Child Welfare Board, asking them to take
immediate action. The 11-year old girl was freed and the Chief
District Police Officer is conducting an investigation.
* Teachers and boys within schools and the community are paying
greater respect to girls than was hitherto the case. Boys who
were initially teasers now support girls' efforts to manage
change. Boys are beginning to advocate respect for girls through
drama. Support groups for girls who have faced abuse have been
established by local communities.
* Local government bodies believe the community groups provide a
strong support system for girls often citing the groups as
success stories, inviting them to events related to girls' rights
and safety, and in one case providing financial support for
future work.
Contributor(s): Irada Gautam, Sulochana Pokharel, Jasmine Rajbhandary
Jasmine Rajbhandary
Save the Children (UK)
Jawalakhel
Lalitpur
GPO Box 992
Kathmandu
Nepal
Tel: + 977 1 535 159
Fax: + 977 1 527 256
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
***End-violence is sponsored by UNIFEM and receives generous support from
ICAP***
To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type:
subscribe end-violence OR type: unsubscribe end-violence
Archives of previous End-violence messages can be found at:
http://www.edc.org/GLG/end-violence/hypermail/
