Women's Rights Conference

The organization I work for, Women in Good Governance (WIGG) held a 3 day workshop outside the city for local women political leaders this past weekend. It was on women's rights awareness and women's political participation in the government. The women all represented different political parties and some will be candidates in the up-coming elections for the Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. They are mothers and daugther-in-laws first and politicians second. This is in contrast to their male counterparts, who put their political lives at the top of their priority list. These women do politics more as a hobby (if their husbands will allow them to get involved). Women in Nepal work on average 16 hours a day, so they have little time to dedicate to political service. In the case of the women at our workshops, they find a way to do it because they believe participation is the only way to realize gender equality. Some are uneducated, some are from small villages, some are from what is considered "low caste" families, some are very poor, and most don't understand their rights as women or political actors. They don't have the technical knowledge as political leaders, but they have a deep passion about women's issues. They literally raise their voices and fists when they speak out at the workshops. I am in awe of their resolve and courage when they get together in groups.

My organization has a project to empower them with political knowledge so they have a good platform to win in the elections and the skills to influence lawmakers at the central level. We go all over the country doing workshops and distributing women's rights booklets, pamphlets and posters. We do street dramas in some places because the women are illiterate and can't read or understand the written materials. It is fascinating to see a villages response to a theatrical play on the grass in a village. It is a powerful tool that many organizations use here to educate different parts of society.

The workshop was a great way for Erika and me to interact with women from different backgrounds. They don't speak English and our Nepali is horrific, so we find ways to communicate with lots of hand gestures, laughs, and smiles along the way. They are always so intrigued by our presence- they don't understand why we have come to Nepal to help them, but they are so grateful that we have. They are so loving and friendly- hugs and motherly touches are just what we need after the end of a long, difficult talk session in the conference room.

It was experiences with women like the ones at the workshop that inspired Global Daughter. Without words, as women, we can naturally always find a way to communicate. There is an unspoken understanding between women (global daugthers) that is so undeniably powerful. We have been living in non-English speaking cultures for the last three years, but in that time we have never felt more confident about being able to express ourselves. Found in Translation.