UNIFEM participant talking with Dr. Paula Green
Sustainable Women's Development and Research Center (SWDRC) participant in group work
Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) participants during interactive work
Pro-Public participant in "solutions for change" group work
The group
After 13 years of armed conflict in Nepal and 13,000 lives lost, the country is starting to rebuild peace. Women in Good Governance, the NGO I work for in Kathmandu initiated a training workshop for women about the ways they can bring peace to their communities. It was sponsored by Karuna Center for Peacebuilding in Vermont, USA and participants were women from all sectors of civil society, NGOs, INGOs, International Embassies and women representatives from minority groups. The training highlighted the need for women to be a part of the peace process and post-conflict transformation. Through presentations, international examples, and group work, participants learned that they will play a vital role in real and lasting peace in the fractured country.
It was amazing to see the power and confidence of women at the workshop. All are working for women's causes and all have made personal commitments to the empowerment of oppressed women throughout the country. They are truly inspirational and if their strength and dedication is any indication of the future of Nepal, peace in the country is not merely a dream.
Women in Nepal are the greatest untapped resource in the country. That has never been truer than in the context of peacebuilding. If they are included and consulted in all peacebuilding processes, the country will be able to move forward and restore stability; if they are not, Nepal will only be able to scratch the surface of peaceful development. As the foundation of the community and the rock of the family structure, to train one woman about peace, is to train a whole village. The goal is to do that on a national scale and utilize the compassion, sensibility and leadership of women to bring about real peace.
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