Women for Human Rights


Women for Human Rights is an organisation which works to secure the political, social, cultural and economic rights of single women in Nepal. It was founded by Lily Thapa. It works in 73 districts and 1550 VDCs, with over 100,000 single women members.

Background

Gender discrimination is the stark and shameful reality of a country facing Nepal, a country that marches on the path of progress and aims to achieve modernity. Violence against women is pervasive and to this day, remains marked with acute poverty, inequality and marginalisation, especially in cases of single women. Research clearly indicates the horrific situation of the women in Nepal, caused by age-old norms of a male-dominated society. According to the 2011 Nepal Demographic Health Survey, 1 in every 5 women between the ages of 15-49, experience domestic violence at least once in their life. Despite the legal age for marriage being 20, 41% women are married before they turn 18. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal has established equal right to property for spouses, thereby prohibiting gender discrimination. The Civil Code of Nepal however, limits the rights of inheritance of unmarried daughters, as it is automatically assumed that once married, they will have access to property through their husband.

About

Women in Nepal are subject to heavy discrimination in various aspects of everyday life. Be it cultural or local traditions, or even certain laws and policies; women must face all manner of stigma-driven roadblocks. The situation of the widows is far worse, as they are unjustly persecuted and marginalized by the pervasive outlook of society. There also exist in prevalence, certain religious and traditional practices, in Nepal, which are detrimentally harmful for the physical and mental health of the women upon whom they are inflicted.
WHR was founded with the basic objective of encouraging single women to step out of the confines of their homes and share their sorrows, woes, fears and frustrations with counselors, as well as other women with similar problems. Initially, said sharing opportunities were provided at monthly forums, where experts from various developmental fields were invited to share their respective knowledge and experiences with the group. These sessions proved quite fruitful, as single women found solace and relief by sharing their problems with others, thus realizing a wonderfully conducive group atmosphere. After two years of such informal group meetings, WHR was finally registered as a formal organization in 1994. WHR defines ‘Widows’ as “Single women’, a change in terminology that has been put into force since the word ‘Widow’ is viewed with much disdain in Nepali society, thus inflicting a lot of humiliation and agony upon the women. Ever since its inception, WHR has strives to create an active, interconnected and dedicated network of single women, at both national as well as international level. Today, over 20 years later, WHR works in 74 districts and 1550 VDC’s. WHR has over 100,000 single woman members as well as 2000 single-women offshoot groups.

Objectives

The WHR work model functions within the framework of certain basic objectives. These are specifically designed to encompass broadly, all the major and minor endeavors of the organisation. The objectives are:
WHR works primarily with single women; inclusive of widows, wives of missing husbands, divorcees, unmarried women of 35 years age and above, as well as women separated yet not divorced from their husbands. WHR has developed various unique methods to give a strong voice to single women, so as to bring together widows of all categories from all sides of the conflict, to a level platform that is free from the shadows of caste, ethnicity or political background. WHR employs a well-structured strategic approach in order to ensure maximum effectiveness with which objectives are achieved.
The basic strategic work model of WHR envisages changing of traditional stereotypes and mind-sets that bar widows from participating and accessing resources. In addition to this, WHR also aims to change policies that are discriminatory against widows and provide them with their basic rights. The basic end to this is to bring about a widespread societal realization that widows make for valuable social capital. WHR’s strategic plan focusses on five framework pillars:
The key intention of this pillar is to help build a more tolerant society as a whole. It focusses mainly on socio-cultural aspects of single women and creates awareness, both amongst victims of cultural torture and perpetrators of such torture.
The major goal of this movement is the empowerment of single women, so that they form groups and networks, thus becoming actively engaged in income generation and the subsequent enhancement of their respective livelihood capacities.
This program involves using a strong advocacy campaign for appropriate regulatory framework to address human rights issues, enhance the capacity of single women groups and networks in peace building and transitional justice systems.
Through its de-centralizing approach, WHR enables single women groups and networks to articulate demands, improve their situation, secure rights from local bodies and service providers; the end goal being the transformation of said groups into self-governing institutions.

The Nepal Earthquake of 2015 and Relief Effort by WHR

On April 25, 2015, Nepal was struck by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, with an equally powerful subsequent aftershock on May 12. The pre-existing gender inequality in Nepal was only further accelerated by this calamity, and it comes as no surprise that women in particular, suffered the most in its aftermath. Over 87,000 people lost their lives, half of whom were women. Furthermore, 23,500 people were injured with over 8 million people being affected across 31 districts, 53% being women. Over 850,000 houses were either destroyed or damaged, 26% of which belonged to women heads-of-households. Also, health facilities covering 1.4 million women were drastically affected, 93,000 among whom were pregnant. The earthquake destroyed scores of houses, which left 92% of the women and their families under tents and tarpaulins. Research also suggests that 24.4% women in Kathmandu had lost their property papers, with as many as 49% women losing their citizenship certificates; with the replacement of such crucial documents being slow and scattered. Drinking water facilities also took a sizeable hit from the earthquake, making the situation even direr for the women, many of whom had to travel half an hour or more and que up for hours on end, for just a few litres of water. The bad water situation was superseded only by the damage to sanitation facilities, with 43% women reporting much damage to their toilets. Hygiene was a matter of high concern, with only 23% women having received appropriate hygiene kits, leaving 60% women in dearth.

Relief Effort

WHR conducted a rapid assessment survey of the earthquake-affected areas in order to identify the immediate community needs, status of environmental sanitation and other vital factors pertaining to subsequent relief effort. In collaboration with CARE Nepal, WHR initiated and implemented the Nepal Earthquake Response at Gorkha; the aim of which was to sensitize and enhance the responsive capabilities of earthquake affected communities. The collaboration, which began on May 1, 2015, also incorporated the active assistance 5 working VDC’s of Gorkha; namely Mirkot, Khoplang, Dhuwakot, Saurpani and Chhoprak. The Youth Wing of WHR was also actively involved in the relief work, taking control of the volatile situation, playing a major part in the various relief and aid teams. The extensive work done by the 7 teams in the regions of Gorkha, Dhading, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, was paramount in creating an efficient line of assistance for the victims.

Major initiatives and programs

Opportunity Fund

The Opportunity Fund has been created as a solution to the problems faced by single women and their children, by providing them with scholarships for education through formal as well as non-formal channels. This scholarship program is purposed at the upliftment of the children of single women who are at the risk of discrimination and violence. So far, the Opportunity Fund has successfully provided scholarships for over 1000 children, as well as to many women willing to pursue their higher studies. The Fund also helps remedy the socio-economic situation of many girl-children, by assisting them with their formal and informal education. The Fund has also supported the formation of “Sachetana” Youth Club, whose primary goal is raising public awareness regarding issues of single women in Nepal.

Aadhar-Credit saving program

Aadhar, which means ‘Support’ in Nepali, is basically a collateral-free micro-credit program that provides loans with low interest to single women. Aadhar is a crucial aspect of single women empowerment, as initiated by WHR, and it encourages more of single women entrepreneurs by serving as a backbone for small businesses. Aadhar caters to all women who are registered members of WHR, the priority however, being given to single women. The Aadhar program has been instrumental in changing the lives of numerous single women, who have been able to shed the coils of insufficiency and successfully started small-scale businesses, thus attaining economic independence. Overall, the Program has greatly raised the self-confidence and level of independence of single women; as many of them are now involved in self-sustaining activities like livestock-farming, agro-farming, mushroom growing, catering, grocery and tailoring shops, cart shops, among many others.

Single Women Entrepreneurs Group (SWEG)

The SWEG program is a vital organ of the Aadhar credit program, since its key goal is to provide single women with skill development training for various income-generating activities. The mode of operation employed by SWEG involves harnessing the skills and experiences of single women who are excluded from the mainstream job market, and developing those skills in innovative ways, thus creating employment opportunity in a conducive work environment. What began initially as a small business known as “Single Women Corner”, has now expanded its horizons in aiding hundreds of single women to become empowered. All of the skills/services taught in SWEG training have been mentioned in the above. A simultaneous accomplishment is the production and promotion of Nepalese handicrafts, the craft of which is taught as one of the courses under SWEG. Women from rural areas also produce indigenous handicrafts using the limited resources available that are made to order. Other like items include household, individual officially purposed items; as well as catering to hospitals and various other religious/cultural ceremonies. Apart from these, SWEG also conducts a full-scale catering service.

Chhahari-Safe Spaces

The meaning of Chhahari in Nepalese is literally, Safe Space, and the initiative provides a shade of solidarity to the single women. Chhahari spaces are created for vulnerable single women affected by conflict/disaster, and administers various skill development courses as well as counselling; all with the objective of raising the self-confidence and independence of single women, thus enabling them to reintegrate with dignity, in a society that they were once ostracized by. WHR regards women as vital elements of change, both in the process of societal as well as infrastructural development. Due to a lack of proper provision for the protection or service opportunity for single women, thousands of women are displaced and forced to work in the informal sector. Such circumstances have prompted WHR to develop Chhahari ‘safe spaces’, where women from all backgrounds and societal classes have a level ground upon which to nurture their skills and become self-sufficient. Chhahari also provides shelter for single women with small children and in need of temporary shelter. Each Chhahari shelter is equipped with 4 basic sections, namely: Healing Centre, Resource/Administrative Sector, Community Learning Centre and Economic Opportunity Centre. The purpose of this to ensure proper counselling, skill-developmental, child-friendly environment; that maintains an up-to-date database on all those it seeking its assistance. WHR has built Chhahari spaces in 5 developmental regions of Nepal, including shelters in cities of Kathmandu, Kavre, Surkhet, Dhankuta, Ropla, Gorkha and others.

Raahat

Raahat, meaning ‘Relief’, is purposed at the empowerment and rehabilitation of CAW and their children, from traumatic experiences; all of which is done by provision of various services such as psycho-social counselling, legal aid, scholarships, skill development and micro-credit loan schemes. For its legal provision, Raahat has developed a lucid Legal Booklet, containing vital legal information on provisions for conflict-affected individuals. For its most important function, Raahat maintains effective communication between the concerned Ministries of Nepal Government and CAW, regarding important matters like compensation, pension etc. Other bodies that Raahat is in constant network with are: Gender and Transitional Justice in Nepal organized by OHCHR, ICTJ as well as the Advocacy Forum. Other local NGO’s are also kept in the loop of activities, so as to facilitate exchange of information on justice for CAW during the transitional phase in the development of Nepal.
Raahat has developed a lucid and detailed legal toolkit containing useful information regarding CAW, government initiatives for them, as well as vital data on transitional justice. The document also includes a list of international organisations that provide support and counselling for women, especially CAW. The self-help aspect of the toolkit includes measures to be taken in case of violence, national and international mechanisms regarding justice in such situations.
The decade-long conflict that pervaded Nepal led to numerous violations of different rights as well as laws. Many of said violations took place in the case of women, and Nispakchya was established as a result, in the year 2014, in order to safeguard the integrity of and provide justice for, CAW. Being a common platform for women who had been victimized during the armed conflict, the initiative deals with the issues of these women and circulates information to the concerned stakeholders. The network of Nispakchya is spread over 10 districts in Nepal, with the end objective of encompassing the entire country.

RED Color Movement

The color red symbolizes womanhood and is the color presented to every young girl when she comes of age. But these very colors are torn away from her when a woman becomes a widow. Her ornaments are broken, her 'sindhood' is wiped away and she is forced to wear white for the remainder of her days. After the death of the husband a woman is labeled and marked as an outcast because of which, the white sarees that are forced upon her, which also serves as an apt metaphor for the dry and hard lives single women lead. The philosophy of the red color movement was this: the single women in the country should not be distinguishable from the rest just because of the color they wear. Several women stood in solidarity with this movement as a sign that it was time to do away with these social malpractices and to bring equality to all single women. The movement was the very personification of the WHR motto: No discrimination on the basis of marital status.
250 Young Single Women and 6 Elderly Single Women broke the social stigma and rallied for ‘Red Movement’ in Rupendehi. The Red Movement had been initiated by WHR since 2002 in Dhading. The Program was initiated with a rally which was later followed by felicitating single women with red colored bangles and vermilion. A major tool employed by this ground-breaking movement, was the Red Tika Challenge.

Red Tika Challenge

The red tika challenge was an online campaign aimed to raise awareness on gender inequality and the plight of widows in the country. The challenge asked people to post a picture with the color red and share it on social media and then further challenge more people to stand in solidarity with single woman by posting pictures of their own. The movement gained a lot of momentum and went viral on Facebook with more than 60,000 youths taking up the challenge as well as several public figures.
“The colour red symbolizes passion and life so our culture prohibits widows from wearing anything red. Women are forced to wear only white attire, which I believe takes a toll on their beauty. So, the main aim of this campaign is to change that mentality,” says Lily Thapa, founder of WHR Nepal, who herself kick started the challenge with #redtikachallenge.
“The campaign wants to drive home the message that the marital status of a woman should not decide which color she can or cannot wear, emphasizes Lily. The movement aimed to break age old notions and successfully managed to reach and involve the younger generation. “Colour is purely a woman’s choice. Society shouldn’t dictate it.” Said Lilly.

Major changes made in legislation

Despite legislative ratification at various levels, single women are constantly denied their basic social, political and economic rights. Their crucial roles in society as agents of change, peace-builders and sole supporters of their respective families, are hardly given adequate recognition. For a number of years now, WHR has constantly been lobbying and raising awareness regarding the dire situation of widows in the country, and as a result, has been successful in changing 6 major discriminatory laws against single women in Nepal:

Work done for Vaikalyas (Child/Under-age Widows)

The condition of Vaikalyas in Nepal are said to be even worse than that of the adult widows, with customs, practices and codes of conduct being far more stringent and suffocating. The child widows are the unfortunate recipients of heavy contempt and are ostracized as outcasts. They are labeled as 'cursed' and are blamed for the death of their husband. WHR, along with Pro Public, filed a petition for the rights of Vaikalyas in 2009. After 3 years of heavy demonstration and lobbying, the Supreme Court officially declared these traditions as ill-practices in 2012. The Supreme Court also directed the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare to establish a working committee, purposed specifically at the permanent elimination of any such practice.

Achievements

At international level
At National level