Movement Building for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Young Women and Girls

Background

Women Development Society (WODES), in partnership with Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (NCBL), facilitated an empowerment workshop for 20 young girls in the Kathmandu district on June 4th, 2016. The workshop was aimed at educating the young women on the importance of grassroots women’s movements and the positive changes they can create in society. At this event the girls participated in an activity facilitated by NCBL interns Ms. Shannon Seeraj and Ms. Kathryn Redwood. Following the activity, the girls were presented with scholarships and school supplies by WODES Founder and Coordinator Ms. Purna Shova Chitrakar and other members of the team.

Activity

The girls participated in an activity called “Power Flower”. The girls were asked to name categories that alter power dynamics in Nepal. The petals of the “Power Flower” were labeled with different categories in which people face oppression and discrimination. Some of the categories that were raised by the participants were caste, gender, income and religion among many others. The next step of the activity allowed the girls to analyze how much power they had as individuals within each of the categories. The girls placed a dot on each petal of the “Power Flower” according to how much power they felt they had in each category. The closer the dot is to the center, the more they felt that they belonged to the group that possessed more power. For example, in Nepal, in the gender category, women will be further from the center than men.

The girls then shared their positions for discussion. This allowed the group to understand that everyone experiences life and oppression differently based on multiple factors. It was then explained that it is important for grassroots women’s movements to understand that a “one size fits all” approach excludes groups of people, and that it is important to have an intersectional approach. A question and answer period was held after the flower power activity, and this allowed for the interns and NGO representatives to answer any questions the girls may have had. Questions that the girls had included what the purpose of the activity was, what discrimination in Canada looks like, as well as general discussions about the Nepali context.

Intersectionality in Nepal

Nepal is a multicultural country, with over 110 recognized languages and more than over 110 ethnic groups. Intersectionality is a concept that looks at different forms of oppression and acknowledges that people can experience multiple different forms of oppression at the same time, and that they change depending on the person, as well as the situation. For instance, women in Nepal face oppression relative to men, but a disabled woman in Nepal will have a very different experience with oppression than a normative bodied woman. If a movement does not take this into account, than the most marginalized in society will fall through the cracks of activism and action. To empower everyone, a movement must be inclusive and sensitive to the fact that we experience oppression differently.

Challenges

Some challenges experienced in this workshop were initial shyness from the participants and a language barrier between the participants and the facilitators. At the beginning of the workshop the girls were a bit reserved and shy when asked to share their power flower or categories of oppression. Ms.Chitrakar began to encourage the girls to share, and helped bridge the language gap between the Canadian NCBL interns who spoke English, and the participants who spoke Nepali. As girls slowly began to share their opinions, other participants became more comfortable which allowed for an open discussion later on.

Conclusion

Through this activity, the girls learned about the importance of intersectionality in women’s movements and activism. With this knowledge, the girls can promote and partake in responsible and inclusive activism in their own communities. Understanding intersectionality also makes it easier to empathize with marginalized members of your community and to come up with solutions to challenge oppression.