Teenage girls in this country are one of the most vulnerable groups in Nepal in terms of access to educational resources, decision-making power in their families and communities, as well as leadership potential. This is related to social norms in rural Nepal, where adolescent girls are often perceived as a burden, especially in families living in poverty. Their education is not prioritized, and their value as community leaders and drivers of change is not appreciated. The fact that they are a vulnerable group puts them at risk of early marriage, child labor, human trafficking, sexual harassment, and school dropout.
While the exact number of girls who marry early is not available, in our fieldwork we have been able to observe that it is a fact, especially among families with fewer resources. In addition, the rate of gender violence and the insecurity of women and girls also increase due to the low social status in which they find themselves.
To minimize these risks, girls need to be empowered to be able to negotiate their life circumstances. We see a real need to strengthen their skills development, and therefore our mission aims to mitigate these facts and make them the direct beneficiaries of this project.
Through education, we want to achieve a change in the future of girls and women in Nepal. By allowing them to study, we believe that women have a greater chance of entering the world of work, greater decision-making power, and the necessary resources to support their family and their community.
Likewise, we believe that with this tool we can contribute to:
• Prevent child marriage.
• Fight against trafficking in women.
• Eradicate dangerous customs like the Chhaupadi.
• Greater empowerment of women.
• Facilitate studies for girls for greater equality.
In collaboration with Nepaldala, currently, we have 12 girls in our project where we contribute to the financing of their lodging, maintenance, studies, and any other living costs in Kathmandu, with the greatest possible transparency.
The 12 girls we have with us currently are permanently from a very remote area of the Bajhang district in the Far West. They are studying in Kathmandu. They are chosen after rigorous study in the area. For this, we have traveled to numerous villages in the Nepalese Far West, spoken with local officials, schools, and relatives, and interviewed girls to see their family and personal situation, to give help to those who have the greatest need and can better take advantage of this opportunity.
Our goal is to ensure that the girls in our project complete their studies and in the future are empowered enough to improve their current situation and have better tools to face their future.
Mangala Kumari B.K.: (age: 19)
Mangala comes from Dhalaun which is about 5 days of walking from Bajhang. She is here with Avasar Nepal to study and acquire more knowledge. With 7 members in the family including 2 brothers and two sisters. My father is a farmer and we all work to help him in the field and that’s why we cannot go to school. Because our village is in a remote place, we do not have any facilities there.
Currently, Mangala has already moved on from our project and working in a pharmacy where she is earning a living for herself and her family in Bajhang. She says, now, that I have this opportunity to be in Kathmandu and study, I will try to do my best and go back to my village and serve there. I am currently waiting for my result for staff nursing, after which I will be able to legally practice nursing and help my community.
Rumala Kumari B.K. (age 16):
Rumala is from Kanda, Bajhang. She has 3 younger sisters and 2 brothers in her family. One of her brothers got lost last year during the evening and nobody has found him yet. Her mother passed away when she was small and her father got married again after which she feels that her life changed as her stepmother was always rude to her making it difficult for her to be there in the family. She feels fortunate that she could come to Kathmandu and study and fulfill her dream of studying more. She had made friends in her new school in Kathmandu and wanted to be a nurse when she grew up.
Bimala Kumari Bohora (age 16):
Bimala is from Kanda, Bajhang. She grew up in a family of 12. Most of her siblings are married which resulted in a big family. It was not easy for Bimala to go to school having such a big family where the education for girls is regarded as useless. Although Bimala’s family support her to study, the household chores of a big family were so much that she could barely give enough time for her studies. Bimala is now living in Kathmandu and studying PCL Nursing and wants to become a nurse after her studies.
Kabita Kumar Bohara (age 15):
Kabita is from Bajhang where she used to live with her aunt and her grandmother. Very good in her studies, but she wanted to study more her mother didn’t want her to study and help her with the household work and taking care of the family. She is grateful that her grandmother has always been a supportive figure in her education. She wants to become a doctor in the future and help the community she is from. She is a very talented dancer and a singer.
Iswori Kumari Nepali (age:12)
Ishwari is from Talkot, Bajhang. She used to live with her uncle and his family. After the family grew bigger in her uncle’s family, they could no longer take care of her. Iswari’s father passed away when she was one year old when he went fishing and drowned. Her mother eloped with another man leaving Iswari alone in the care of her uncle.
Ishwari feels very lucky now that she can study in Kathmandu. She is currently in class 3. She feels like her home as our other girls take care of her.
Chandani Bohora (Age: 14):
Chandani is from Dhalaun, Bajhang, and came to Kathmandu in 2020. She lived with her uncle and cousin after her father passed away when she was very small. Her mother got married again and left leaving them alone. She still feels very sad about it.
She came to Kathmandu with her younger sister Menuka. She feels lucky to be chosen to be here. She wants to be a teacher so that she can go back and teach as there is no good education in the village that she comes from.
Menuka Bohora (Age: 12):
Menuka is from Dhalaun, Bajhang, and came to Kathmandu in 2020 with her sister Chadani.
She is very happy to be here in Kathmandu and continue her studies. She always wanted to see what was outside her village. Just like her sister, she wants to become a teacher when she grows up..
Smriti Rokaya (Age: 11)
Smriti lives in Talkot, Bajhang with her mother who is a daily wage worker, and with her elder sister. Her mother works in the field for others and earns money daily to meet their needs. They have a small field where they plant vegetables so they don’t have to buy them. She is currently in class 3. Smriti has never met her father who went to India when she was very small and never returned. They don’t know if he is alive or not.
She feels lucky to be a part of the project and get an education in Kathmandu because it was like a dream for her. She wants to grow up to become a nurse.
Amrita Rokaya (Age: 11)
Amrita is from Talko, Bajhang in a big family including one elder brother, one younger brother, and three younger sisters. Her father is an alcoholic and doesn’t have a regular source of income and her mother is a housewife who stays home to take care of the family.
Although she wanted to go to school, she could not because she had a smaller sibling to stay home and take care of. She feels very happy to get the opportunity to be in Kathmandu and study.
