Women’s and Children’s issues

Posted: November 27, 2022 at 3:24 am

 

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Women and girls face significant discrimination in Nepal. It is very common for women and girls to work harder than men, often in physically demanding jobs. Many girls are not allowed to attend school or finish their education. Child marriages are still wide spread and the girls, often married too much older men, have no chance to create their own future. Domestic violence and sexual abuse are also serious issues. Most cases are not registered and there is rarely any effective investigation.

Many children from poor families in Nepal are used as cheap labourers. They work hard, seven days a week, and cannot attend school. Due to extreme poverty the parents have no other choice. As one of the 20 poorest countries in the world, homelessness is a huge problem in Nepal with many women and children living on the streets. They are at risk of violence, trafficking into the sex trade and many suffer from severe malnutrition.

In the following pages, you can see the main issues and short stories from women and children we have helped. Thanks to the work of The Women’s Foundation Nepal these women and children now lead happy and fulfilling lives.

Challenges of Menstruation

Posted: December 13, 2019 at 11:31 am

For around 50% of the global population, menstruation is a natural process of the own body during the reproductive years. Still about 8.8 million women and girls in Nepal are facing complex challenges like superstitions, stigma and discriminatory practices during their menstruation. One of these practices is called Chhaupadi. Chhaupadi is an old tradition, based on social and cultural norms, where it is believed that women are “impure” during their menstruation. Meanwhile they are banished from their houses and social activities, staying in isolated “menstruation huts”. There they are exposed to dangerous conditions, that may cause illness and sometimes death (GIZ, 2018). Nepalese law criminalised this harmful practice in 2017. Sadly it is still widespread in mid- and western regions of Nepal. In the Mid-western mountains, 71.2 % of women and girls stay in Chhaupadi during menstruation (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2015).

Another challenge during menstruation is the limited access to (affordable) sanitary pads, sanitation facilities and water (Unicef, 2017). Only 40% of girls who had experienced menstruation are using disposable sanitary pads and 13.5% are using strips of old cloth and other unhygienic methods (S2H2P, 2016).

training program – 1

Posted: December 9, 2019 at 2:23 pm

Vocational Training for Women

The Vocational Training for Nepalese Rural Women Program is a training initiative operated by The Women’s Foundation Nepal and funded by Marie-Schlei Verein (German Association). The program is designed to empower women in five rural districts in Nepal. The programmes focus on leadership, gender equality, micro-credits & savings and provide vocational education (in the areas of animal rearing, veterinary practices, animal healthcare, vegetable farming and shop management). This specific program has been running since 2010 and was expanded in December 2013 for the next two years, enabling hundreds of women to improve their lives.

See more pictures of the Training.

Sewing Training for Women

15 women are attending the ongoing sewing training at the Women’s Foundation Nepal. Congratulation to the women for successfully participating and completing the training. We heartly want to thank PILE et FACE for supporting this course and therefore realizing skill development for the participants. This training started end of 2019.

Shoe-Making Training for Women

Through the combined efforts with the support of Rotary Club of Healesville – Australia, the Women’s Foundation has organized the 3 months shoe making training for women which is aimed at increasing women’s access to skill for improving their financial independence, employment opportunities and aiming to boost their quality of life.

Women are learning the following skills:

  • Cut and paste the materials
  • Making upper part of the shoe
  • Fixing the golden lace for the border of shoe
  • Sewing the borders of the shoes
  • Measuring, Cutting and Pasting sole
  • Fixing heel of shoes
  • Making plain shoes with golden lace
  • At present, learning designs and embroider for making designed shoes

This training is helping women to empower economically, because it shapes women’s choices of occupations, jobs and places of work. It started mid 2019.

Screen Print Training for Women

This training will impart knowledge and skill on screen printing technology. The Screen Print Training has been started to build lasting solution to poverty and unemployment by securing economic sustainability for Nepalese women. Secondly, this training will make them independent and self-sustained to make their future better. The key of success of this project is to develop a new generation of women with better opportunity for sustaining their life.

This project was realized and organized through a supportive co-operation with the GLS Future Foundation for Development, Germany and started beginning of 2019.

Basic House Wiring Training for Women

With the help of a volunteer Kate Williams, we first established a partnership with Global Women Project (GWP). With their financial support, we were able to coach women in electricity. We got in touch with the directors of an electrical company for the training and a six-week course was organized.

The project intends to train students to be able to work effectively with low current (up to 50A) and low voltage electrical (up to 2230V) and electronic assembly work. After training students will be linked with work opportunities and business training in order to create their own business start-ups.

The project has started on January 2014.

health-activities-1

Posted: March 24, 2015 at 3:16 pm

Free Eye Camp and Cataract Operation Clinic

Once a year a free eye clinic held at WFN. It is financed and staffed by GLS Future Foundation for Development and Vision for the Future – Germany.  Women, children and men of all ages come to be diagnosed and provided with medication and free eyeglasses. The camp is targeting the many people in Nepal with untreated eye problems due to poverty and lack of access.  The team, consisting of Dr. Karl Brasse and Sister Anja, Wehrmeyer, and health team of  Netra Jyoti Sangh is providing eye exams and operations. For people suffering from loss of vision and cataracts, this has made an enormous difference in their lives. Now they can live happily and independently with their eyesight restored.

Eye Camp

Free Dental Camp

We believe in prevention rather than cure. With this motto, this Free Rural Dental Health Camp is one such special initiative of WFN team with German dental experts Dr. Edgar Laucer and Dr. Ines Bergmann to provide dental healthcare services to meet the immediate health care needs of the marginalized community in remote rural areas for 5 days at Ravi Opi and Tukucha Nala VDCs in Kavre district and 2 days at WFN Central Office, Kathmandu. This comprehensive health service includes – curative, preventive, primitive and referral, to a large number of people in selected intervention areas.

Imprint

Posted: June 3, 2014 at 5:46 am

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