When was the last time you had to walk two miles for water? (water so contaminated it could literally kill you.)
Showing posts with label development in nepal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label development in nepal. Show all posts
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Where do you get your water?
In a project I did for Women in Environment in Nepal, we rebuilt and repaired artisan wells, dams and road culverts for 5 districts in the southern Terai region. In these areas we made field visits to see how new water sources and pumping methods would benefit the community. The following pictures are what we found.
When was the last time you had to walk two miles for water? (water so contaminated it could literally kill you.)
When was the last time you had to walk two miles for water? (water so contaminated it could literally kill you.)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Trafficking is Real.
Women and Girl's Trafficking in Nepal is a prevalent practice throughout the country. Girls are literally plucked from small villages as their parents are promised that they will have a prosperous future "working abroad." Some parents believe that their daughters will find domestic work in India, but some know they will enter the sex trade in major Indian cities. The girls, too, are scammed by "traders" into thinking they will find employment and wealth in the big city. Most are uneducated and desperate and they are taken advantage of by people who have no conscious or humanity.
It is a sad reality for poor families in disadvantaged corners of Nepal. Girls are often seen as a burden for parents- some would rather have them "disappear" than feed and take care of them. So they send them to their fate in back alleys and brothels in India. Here they are abused, raped and treated like animals. They are alone, scared and literally trapped.
Many anti-trafficking organizations based in Kathmandu are working to recover missing girls and rehab those that have been exposed to the sex trade in the past. They perform undercover-type activities to catch sex traders and infiltrate trafficking networks. In some operations, the organizations set out to stop tourist buses and micro vans that come from Nepal and cross the border into India.
One of the producers we work with in a border city to the West relayed to me this story a few days ago. He was on a bus from Kathmandu to the border and about 5KM before the border check area, the bus was stopped by a group of women literally in the middle of the road. They boarded the bus and showed papers that proved they were with Maiti Nepal, one of the most well-known anti-trafficking organizations. They demanded to see ID papers from all those on the bus. They said they were checking for girls who were being trafficked into India. As they checked everyone, they discovered that a man was on board with two young girls, who were neither his daughters nor family members. The girls were questioned outside the bus and it came out that they had been taken from their village a few days earlier by this man who promised to find them work in Calcutta. The man was taken into custody and the girls were escorted back to Maiti Nepal headquarters in Kathmandu for observation and counseling.
When I was hearing this story it gave me chills. This NGO has taken the initiative to attack a problem that the government has been unable to address. And in doing so, they have highlighted the immense need for continued efforts by the government to end this appalling human rights violation. The laws against traffickers are too lenient and the money that changes hands in the web of the sex trade industry in Nepal is the dirtiest money around. People are paid off, families are lied to by both authorities and traffickers, and at the end of the day, girls are still vanishing.
It is a sad reality for poor families in disadvantaged corners of Nepal. Girls are often seen as a burden for parents- some would rather have them "disappear" than feed and take care of them. So they send them to their fate in back alleys and brothels in India. Here they are abused, raped and treated like animals. They are alone, scared and literally trapped.
Many anti-trafficking organizations based in Kathmandu are working to recover missing girls and rehab those that have been exposed to the sex trade in the past. They perform undercover-type activities to catch sex traders and infiltrate trafficking networks. In some operations, the organizations set out to stop tourist buses and micro vans that come from Nepal and cross the border into India.
One of the producers we work with in a border city to the West relayed to me this story a few days ago. He was on a bus from Kathmandu to the border and about 5KM before the border check area, the bus was stopped by a group of women literally in the middle of the road. They boarded the bus and showed papers that proved they were with Maiti Nepal, one of the most well-known anti-trafficking organizations. They demanded to see ID papers from all those on the bus. They said they were checking for girls who were being trafficked into India. As they checked everyone, they discovered that a man was on board with two young girls, who were neither his daughters nor family members. The girls were questioned outside the bus and it came out that they had been taken from their village a few days earlier by this man who promised to find them work in Calcutta. The man was taken into custody and the girls were escorted back to Maiti Nepal headquarters in Kathmandu for observation and counseling.
When I was hearing this story it gave me chills. This NGO has taken the initiative to attack a problem that the government has been unable to address. And in doing so, they have highlighted the immense need for continued efforts by the government to end this appalling human rights violation. The laws against traffickers are too lenient and the money that changes hands in the web of the sex trade industry in Nepal is the dirtiest money around. People are paid off, families are lied to by both authorities and traffickers, and at the end of the day, girls are still vanishing.
Initiatives taken by Maiti and other NGOs are hopeful. The rehabilitation programme at Mathi is famous. Women staying in the Center even produce handicrafts as a way to earn a living wage. Global Daughter is in touch with the Center and will more than likely be selling a few of their products on-line soon. Supporting this group means saying "no" to sexual exploitation and saying "yes" to empowerment. It is not enough to rehabilitate their spirit, we must offer them a new way of life. By becoming a working artisan, they are given the opportunity to retain stable employment and appropriately integrate back into society. The Center encourages women to be financially secure by teaching them a variety of income generating skills.
We look forward to being associated with this group and joining the fight against domestic violence, trafficking for flesh trade, child prostitution, child labor and forms of exploitation and torture.
For more information about Maiti Nepal, please visit their website at: http://www.maitinepal.org/pages.php?option=About%20Us
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Nepal-India Treaty Needed to Curb Trafficking
This from Nepal Kantipur Report:
KATHMANDU, Nov 5 - It is not possible to provide justice to survivors of trafficking and to punish traffickers unless there is a bilateral treaty between Nepal and India, a regional conference concluded.
"Countries in South Asia should have a common legal standard to trace and punish traffickers," said Sabin Shrestha, an advocate associated with Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD). "For Nepal, special bilateral treaty with India is a must to combat human trafficking."
He said this at the Regional Meeting for Media, Lawyers and Professionals organised by United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
According to Shrestha, Nepal is the country of origin and India is the major destination of human trafficking. The current agreements between the two countries do not include human trafficking. As a result, it is very difficult to produce adequate proof to punish traffickers.
"Only brokers are getting punishment not those who buy our Nepali people," Shrestha said. "If there is proper extradition treaty or common standard legal provision, it would be easy to punish both brokers and buyers involved in human trade."
According to him, till date, evidences documented in India are not accepted as proof in Nepal. For example if an NGO rescues a Nepali woman from an Indian brothel, Nepali authorities do not take this as proof.
There should be a record of those leaving for India and coming from India, which would make it easier to trace traffickers, he said.
Due to lack of sufficient proof, legal protection and support mechanism as well as social stigma and threats from traffickers, survivors of trafficking do not register their case with the police. He also said that the very few incidences of conviction have deterred survivors.
According to one study carried out by FWLD, only in about 33 percent of the registered cases is there a conviction.
International Labor Organization estimates that about 12,000 women and children are trafficked from Nepal every year. However, police records show that during 2006/07 only 112 cases of trafficking were filed with the police, while the number during 2005/06 was 97 and it was 72 in the year 2004/05.
Aruna Thapa of UNIFEM said that SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution, 2002, also has provisioned for bilateral treaty. "But this has not been followed up, due to which traffickers go scot-free as Nepali authorities cannot take action against Indian criminals involved in human trafficking and Indian authorities cannot punish Nepali traffickers," said Thapa.
KATHMANDU, Nov 5 - It is not possible to provide justice to survivors of trafficking and to punish traffickers unless there is a bilateral treaty between Nepal and India, a regional conference concluded.
"Countries in South Asia should have a common legal standard to trace and punish traffickers," said Sabin Shrestha, an advocate associated with Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD). "For Nepal, special bilateral treaty with India is a must to combat human trafficking."
He said this at the Regional Meeting for Media, Lawyers and Professionals organised by United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
According to Shrestha, Nepal is the country of origin and India is the major destination of human trafficking. The current agreements between the two countries do not include human trafficking. As a result, it is very difficult to produce adequate proof to punish traffickers.
"Only brokers are getting punishment not those who buy our Nepali people," Shrestha said. "If there is proper extradition treaty or common standard legal provision, it would be easy to punish both brokers and buyers involved in human trade."
According to him, till date, evidences documented in India are not accepted as proof in Nepal. For example if an NGO rescues a Nepali woman from an Indian brothel, Nepali authorities do not take this as proof.
There should be a record of those leaving for India and coming from India, which would make it easier to trace traffickers, he said.
Due to lack of sufficient proof, legal protection and support mechanism as well as social stigma and threats from traffickers, survivors of trafficking do not register their case with the police. He also said that the very few incidences of conviction have deterred survivors.
According to one study carried out by FWLD, only in about 33 percent of the registered cases is there a conviction.
International Labor Organization estimates that about 12,000 women and children are trafficked from Nepal every year. However, police records show that during 2006/07 only 112 cases of trafficking were filed with the police, while the number during 2005/06 was 97 and it was 72 in the year 2004/05.
Aruna Thapa of UNIFEM said that SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution, 2002, also has provisioned for bilateral treaty. "But this has not been followed up, due to which traffickers go scot-free as Nepali authorities cannot take action against Indian criminals involved in human trafficking and Indian authorities cannot punish Nepali traffickers," said Thapa.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
This is GOOD news...
I know most posts on this blog seem to show the negative aspects of Nepal's development. Good news and stories of progress do exist. This bit of news is fantastic and all Nepali's should find hope in between the lines. It is one area that the medical community in Nepal can be proud of....
Maternal Mortality Drops
Nepal's maternal mortality ratio has decreased significantly in the past eight years due to reduction in fertility rate, iron supplementation, increase in skilled birth attendance, and substantial increase in the coverage of antenatal care, UNICEF said Friday .
While the maternal mortality ratio was 539 per 100,000 live births in 1998, it came down to 281 per 100,000 in 2006, according to latest studies, the UN body said.
"Nepal is in line with meeting the Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal mortality ratio," John Brittain of UNICEF said.
Nepal intends to reduce this by three-fourths of the 1990 level. Nepal's rate is better than that of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia. Sri Lanka is the best country in the region in terms of maternal mortality ratio where the figure stands at 43 and Afghanistan is the worst with 1600 per 100,000 live births.
The maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die at childbirth per 100,000 live births. In Nepal, 19 percent of births were attended by skilled birth attendants and 18 percent delivered their babies at health facilities in 2006 compared to 11 and 9 percent respectively in 2001, UNICEF says.
Key challenges that remain in this area include unmet needs for family planning and birth spacing to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and also lack of emergency obstetric care services, modern equipment and well trained personnel, said Ms. Gillian Mellsop, the UNICEF country representative in Nepal in a statement.
UNICEF supports the government in its policies in the health sector and has called for maternity services to be made free for all women in Nepal to help encourage attendance at good quality, well staffed health facilities nationwide, said the statement.
UNICEF Friday released a report Progress for Children: A Report Card on Maternal Mortality according to which more than 99 percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, with some 84 percent concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
source: www.kantipuronline.com
Maternal Mortality Drops
Nepal's maternal mortality ratio has decreased significantly in the past eight years due to reduction in fertility rate, iron supplementation, increase in skilled birth attendance, and substantial increase in the coverage of antenatal care, UNICEF said Friday .
While the maternal mortality ratio was 539 per 100,000 live births in 1998, it came down to 281 per 100,000 in 2006, according to latest studies, the UN body said.
"Nepal is in line with meeting the Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal mortality ratio," John Brittain of UNICEF said.
Nepal intends to reduce this by three-fourths of the 1990 level. Nepal's rate is better than that of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia. Sri Lanka is the best country in the region in terms of maternal mortality ratio where the figure stands at 43 and Afghanistan is the worst with 1600 per 100,000 live births.
The maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die at childbirth per 100,000 live births. In Nepal, 19 percent of births were attended by skilled birth attendants and 18 percent delivered their babies at health facilities in 2006 compared to 11 and 9 percent respectively in 2001, UNICEF says.
Key challenges that remain in this area include unmet needs for family planning and birth spacing to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and also lack of emergency obstetric care services, modern equipment and well trained personnel, said Ms. Gillian Mellsop, the UNICEF country representative in Nepal in a statement.
UNICEF supports the government in its policies in the health sector and has called for maternity services to be made free for all women in Nepal to help encourage attendance at good quality, well staffed health facilities nationwide, said the statement.
UNICEF Friday released a report Progress for Children: A Report Card on Maternal Mortality according to which more than 99 percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, with some 84 percent concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
source: www.kantipuronline.com
Thursday, August 28, 2008
THE SEWING MACHINE PROJECT
Global Daughter aims to provide women artisans the best opportunities to be creative and productive. That is why we have initiated a project that will supply the women of Janakpur Arts and Crafts Center with a brand new sewing machine. Half of the proceeds from the new "I want to be a Global Daughter" shopping bag will go to a fund to purchase a modern sewing machine for the women's workshop in Janakpur, Nepal.
They currently have 3 dinosaur-old second hand machines, two of which need to be repaired. The Center does not have the money to repair the old ones or buy a new one. This has effected production volume and that effects the women's income. A new sewing machine not only creates more opportunities for the women artisans, it also contributes to the growth and potential of the Center. And that is what we want to see with all our producers. We want to invest in their lives and establish long term relationships.
One quality sewing machine can make a big difference to women artisans whose livelihoods are connected to their handicrafts. So, join the project, pick up a Global Daughter cotton shopping bag at the next house party or wait to purchase when our online boutique is launched in September!
A bag that tells a story......
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Peacebuilding Workshop
Women Take the Lead: Building Sustainable Peace in Nepal
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Erin Meets with U.S. Ambassador
I was lucky enough to be a part of a women's interactive luncheon with Nancy Powell, the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal. She invited women leaders of NGOs and prominent activists to discuss ways in which the U.S. government could help support women members of the new constitution-making body, the Constituent Assembly. She pledged the financial and technical support of the U.S. government for capacity building and training of the newly elected women leaders.
It was an honor to be sitting there with the most influential and active women in Nepal talking about the future of the women's "movement." The Ambassador has taken a keen interest in the participation of women in the political sector and it is encouraging to know that she has the support of the U.S. government behind her. Nepal will need their assistance, as well as the assistance of other countries if it is to be successful in drafting a democratic, inclusive and sustainable constitution in the next 2 years.
It was an honor to be sitting there with the most influential and active women in Nepal talking about the future of the women's "movement." The Ambassador has taken a keen interest in the participation of women in the political sector and it is encouraging to know that she has the support of the U.S. government behind her. Nepal will need their assistance, as well as the assistance of other countries if it is to be successful in drafting a democratic, inclusive and sustainable constitution in the next 2 years.
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