From April 16th to 20th, a Social and Behavior Change Communication training program was held for 40 adolescent girls from Nawalpur. With the belief that it can help them to strengthen  connectedness to their communities and build social cohesion and sense of belonging. At the same time, they were provided a platform to engage with the Ministries of Gandaki Province. During the visit, the girls highlighted various critical challenges faced by young girls in the region, such as physical and emotional abuse, early marriage, and a lack of adequate menstrual hygiene facilities in schools. The peer educator Sabnam Sunar presented a memorandum consisting of 25 points to the Honorable Khagaraj Adhikari, Chief Minister, calling for greater investment in infrastructure, effective enforcement of child protection laws, and the creation of committees to address issues affecting women and children.

Former peer educator Rejina Gharti Magar presented the Story of Change book of Girls Empowerment Program, while Mr. Tilottam Paudel, the chairperson of Jcycn, presented booklets and other IEC materials of Jcycn to the Chief Minister.

During the dialogue between minister and girls, various concerns were raised by the peer educators. Peer educator Mansu Neupane highlighted the importance of services that should be provided to senior citizens, while Regina Ghartimagar expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the pads and the lack of proper disposal facilities available after use.  “After using the pad, there is no toilet available for the management,” she added.

A member of Parliament from Gandaki Province, Padma GC expressed her gratitude to all the peer educators for their contribution to their community. Honorable Khagaraj Adhikari then highlighted the ongoing plan for the curriculum that is being included in the secondary level. He also shared about the policy of mental health, campaign of mental health, and psychosocial counseling prepared by the government.

Furthermore, peer educator Ichha Gurung presented a memorandum to Minister of Social Development and Health of Gandaki Province Hon. Paancha Ram Gurung. The attention of the minister has been brought to the attention of the 22-point demand covering the rights of girls and children to ensure their proper growth and healthy life. In the attention letter, it is mentioned that self-protection, leadership development, and motivational programs should be conducted at all local levels to empower children and reduce violence. The government has been requested to run the ‘Girl Insurance’ program.

The girls brought up a range of issues and requests during their interaction with Hon. Minister Gurung, highlighting areas of concern and expressing their desire for positive change. Peer educator Sabnam Sunar said that girls are suffering due to incidents of domestic violence. “Girls are victimized even by their own words,” she said, “There should be an environment to prevent such incidents and get justice for the victims.”

Goma Pandey, a peer educator demanded that all girls should be provided with free sanitary pads. She said that the government’s decision to have a nurse in every school should be implemented. In addition, peer educator Mansu Neupane called for an increase in the government’s allocation for children’s meals.

Sashi Karki Chhetri, a peer educator, has submitted a letter to Hon. Roshan Bahadur Gaha Magar, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Law of Gandaki Province, outlining 17 demands focused at protecting and promoting the rights of women and children. In response, Minister Gaha Magar has pledged to take all possible measures to address the demands, emphasizing his commitment to empowering girls, promoting child friendly policies, ensuring adequate nutrition, and protecting children’s rights as mandated by law. Minister Gaha Magar recognized the importance of children and youth as a national asset and expressed his willingness to work towards fulfilling the demands of the group of girls campaigning for child empowerment.

The event showed the government’s commitment to prioritize people’s rights and work towards addressing their concerns. Minister Gaha Magar distributed certificates to all the participants during the closing ceremony of the three-day social and behavioral change and leadership development program held in Pokhara.

The peer educators were also able to participate in an exposure visit to the Kopila Nepal Organization in Pokhara. Our peer educators shared their learnings and progress made through their girls’ empowerment program and exchanged ideas with the organization’s visibility and recognition but also allowed the Kopila Nepal organizations to learn about our girls’ empowerment program and the work Jcycn have been doing in Nawalpur.

 Letters of Memorandum submitted by girls to Ministries

1. We request that investment be increased to enhance various capacities for the human development of girls, in addition to the construction of necessary physical structures such as roads, schools, and health centers within the province.

2. We are pleased with the introduction of the Children Act in our province, and we urge the arrangement of various committees and mechanisms at the local level for its proper implementation.

3. Alongside the formation of girl and adolescent concern groups in schools and health institutions, we suggest that arrangements be made for school staff nurses, health workers, and psychologists to provide health and other subjects in each school.

4. To make the city safe and child-friendly, the initiative should be taken to build various infrastructures that are disabled-friendly, girls-friendly, and suitable for transportation.

5. We recommend the formation of a separate sub-committee for girls and adolescent girls within the mechanisms under this ministry.

6. We suggest the initiation of building girl-friendly and sanitary pad disposable toilets in schools, as the quality of sanitary pads is poor and the availability of toilets for management after use is inadequate. Moreover, a policy should be adopted to provide training to make reusable cloth pads for girls and women at the community level.

7. We propose the arrangement of separate desks for girls and a children’s helpline at each local level, with proper staff and budget to address the problems of children.

8. The campaign to promote child-friendly local governance, youth-friendly, and nutrition-friendly should be extended to all local levels. Additionally, a nutrition corner should be built in all health institutions and offices.

9. We recommend the initiation of necessary policy arrangements for inclusive education, health, and meaningful participation of children with disabilities.

10. We suggest making school education completely free, with books that include practical and moral subjects, as well as rules and laws related to children and adolescents.

11. All physical structures within the province should be made child-friendly, girl-friendly, disabled-friendly, senior citizen-friendly, and gender-friendly.

12. We propose ensuring the meaningful participation of children and girls in the creation of laws, rules, and regulations related to children and adolescents in the local and state governments.

13. To end incidents of mistreatment and injustices faced by girls, including child marriage and atrocities, all local levels should create and implement a child and girl-friendly environment, with continuous monitoring and evaluation under the leadership of this ministry.

14. An efficient and expeditious investigation and judicial process should be put in place to safeguard access to justice for girls and adolescents who are victims of violence, online risks, or other crimes. Moreover, a fair implementation mechanism must be arranged to protect the rights of children and adolescents.

15. Facilities should be provided to ensure adequate nutrition for all pregnant women, as they require proper nutrition right from the start of their pregnancy. Moreover, the budget should prioritize the time within the golden thousand days and ensure proper management.

16. Arrangements should be made to ensure that all children have access to sufficient quantities of food through school lunch programs. If children’s nutritional allowance is not available in any district of the province, then the authorities should take the initiative in coordination with the Union Government to provide for it.

17. We recommend providing equal access, opportunities, and gender equality for girls in technical, secondary, and higher education.

18. Self-protection, leadership development, and motivational programs should be conducted at all local levels to empower girls and end violence.

19. We propose the implementation of a girl child insurance program to protect their lives.

20. A mechanism should be arranged to ensure the investigation and judicial process of violence against children and girls, online risk and other crimes, and for the fair and speedy implementation of the judicial process to ensure the access of girls and youth to justice.

21. In today’s era, prioritizing the protection and well-being of girls and youths in sports and adventure fields should be our utmost priority. By addressing these issues, we can increase the participation of girls in sports.

22. The state government should formulate and implement a strategic action plan to end child marriage and other harmful practices.

23. An initiative should be taken to create and disseminate information that enables all children to easily access social security benefits in the absence of parents or guardians.

24. Easy arrangements should be made for birth registration with the identification of children from special backgrounds.

25. We express our joy at establishing a Girls’ Learning Center for girls in coordination with Devchuli Municipality and Kawasoti Municipality by Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal in partnership with KANALLAN Switzerland. We recommend taking initiatives to establish similar resource and learning centers at every local level within this province.