Goal 5. GENDER EQUALITY
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful,
prosperous and sustainable world.
BACKGROUND
Most of the Himalayan Communities’ temperature goes down to minus 20 degrees Celsius in the winter, and the cold climate and lack of habit explain that members of the community do not wash their bodies, hands, or private parts on a regular basis. This still leads to fatalities among women due to common urinary tract infections. Moreover, until the 2015 earthquake and provision of menstruation management material by relief NGOs, most women did not use pads, and free bled or used ragged clothes to manage their periods.
We are planning to work on Menstrual Health Management and are looking for partners working in a similar field to organize workshops and awareness programs for women and men on menstruations, hygiene, and leadership.
OBJECTIVES
The MhM and hygiene project aims at giving women the means to ensure better hygiene for themselves and their children as well as to better manage their menstruations. It also aims at reducing the gender imbalance by initiating a conversation in the community about women’s health.
AWARENESS SESSIONS & PAD PRODUCTION UNIT
We will provide awareness sessions to the community about women’s health, hygiene, and leadership in educating their peers to wash their hands and private parts. The project will also provide attendees the opportunity to buy reusable sanitary cloth pads at a cheap price, provide training on producing them and eventually aim at encouraging the women to set up a local pad production unit to sell to the community at a minimum reasonable price.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
MENSTRUAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT (MHM) AND HYGIENE FOR WOMEN
BASIC-LITERACY EDUCATION IN ENGLISH, NEPALI, AND MATHS
BACKGROUND
Women are traditionally very discriminated against in most Asian societies and are considered less than men. Most girls are forced into early marriage, expected to serve their husbands, and very often victims of domestic violence whether married or unmarried; leadership roles in all realms of society (political, business, or religious) are reserved to men. In recent years, outmigration and climate change in most Himalayan regions have had devastating impacts on their workloads bringing workdays from 14-19 hours a day.
OBJECTIVES
The basic literacy project will be designed to provide women with basic literacy classes in English, Nepali and Maths centered around their main interest: guesthouse management. It will aim at giving women the tools to gain more respect and recognition from their families and communities, this way empowering them to become entrepreneurs in their own rights and take on more leadership positions in the community.
TEACHING CURRICULUM
The curriculum will be tailored to suit the women’s interests and aims at giving them the opportunity to learn in a non-formal, practical, and play-based way over the course of 12 months, 1h 45mns a day, 6 days a week. The lesson must be taught by a Tibetan speaking teacher so to understand in depth and more to develop their interest. The teachers will build upon women’s inside-the-classroom-experience and interests to develop further themes and activities to teach during the year.