The low economic, social, and political status of women in Nepal is due to economic, legal, sociocultural, political, and institutional factors. Women’s poverty is further exacerbated by caste and ethnic discrimination. While Nepal’s constitution guarantees equal treatment, discrimination against women persists.
The project aims to improve the socioeconomic conditions of poor, rural women, including those of low caste and from ethnic minorities through economic, social, legal, and political empowerment. Provisions include (i) strengthening individual capabilities to improve access to and control over assets, (ii) building group support to influence and hold institutions accountable, and (iii) reforming government institutions and processes to become gender responsive and to integrate previously marginalized women into development.
Economic Empowerment. This component focuses on increasing income, assets, and employment opportunities by starting viable microenterprises. The project will provide training, will assess the comparative advantage of such enterprises, and will assist in meeting women’s credit needs. About 30,000 women are expected to benefit.
Legal Empowerment. Activities will increase the knowledge and awareness of poor rural women about their legal and administrative rights and obligations and will also help to build an enabling environment to implement those rights. Support will also be provided to Tribhuvan University to prepare a specialized course and syllabus on the rights of women and other vulnerable groups, and training will be given to judges and prosecutors. Likewise, women's issues will be included in the curricula of secondary schools. Implementing legal activities will also be strengthened through alternative dispute resolution and by designating one female lawyer per district to provide legal advice and assistance to women and to the community.
Social Empowerment. The project will provide community-based literacy courses and activities to strengthen group cohesion. Support will be provided for establishing multipurpose women's centers to serve as venues for social activities and training. A household technology fund will be established to provide appropriate time-saving devices, and a demand-driven infrastructure fund will support community-based social infrastructure to reduce the time and energy women spend on menial tasks.
Institutional Strengthening and Project Management. To ensure smooth and effective implementation of activities in the three components, government institutions and processes must be more gender responsive. This component will support activities to strengthen the Department of Women’s Development, the Women’s Development Office, and local bodies to adopt and implement gender mainstreaming programs. An organizational audit of the department and district line agencies will be carried out together with intensive training and capacity-building activities.