Women's Empowerment for Sustainable Peace and Human Rights

This initiative recognises Nepali women's potential to act as key peacebuilders, and seeks to build on this potential through training and empowerment.

Description

IHRICON has developed the programme taking into account the large quantity of human rights violations, including those of women’s rights, particularly in connection with the Maoist People's War. Furthermore it perceives a need for women to promote and build their own capacity for conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

The initiative involves the formation of women’s groups, including training and empowering them in human and women's rights and humanitarian laws; negotiation with the conflicting parties on rights violations cases at the grassroots level; improvement of communication skills; improvement of the negotiation and mediation skills of grassroots women's groups; and event monitoring.

Aims / Objectives

To start a peace movement from the grassroots level through women.

How it is Articulated

Training, production of posters (made by the local people with the initiation of IHRICON and put on the wall in public places with the aim of raising awareness), advocacy, a folk song competition on human rights and peace, street drama, interaction and public hearing.

Achievements / Learning Points

Groups formed during programme's implementation periods have been actively engaging in mediation and negotiation processes on human rights violations and domestic violations, especially violence against women at the local level. The peace movement has been increased through peace rallies and demonstrations against violence have been organised. Good communication skills have been developed such as the production of posters, street dramas and peace songs etc. Human rights awareness has been increased from the grassroots level.

Geographical Area of Operation

Mostly in Nepal's mid and far-western regions.

Funding Resources

Canadian Cooperation Organization (CCO).

Stories

Despite initial scepticism, an IHRICON project entitled "Women Peace Volunteers" has achieved international recognition. IHRICON's application to a donor agency was accepted at first, but the agency later lost its enthusiasm, claiming that because the initiative was developed entirely by IHRICON without external expert assistance they could not be certain of its success. Another donor agency was eventually found, and the project took place. It was a great success, with a large number of participants taking advantage of it. Subsequently, other organisations in Kathmandu approached IHRICON for further information about the project, and replicated it elsewhere in Nepal. More recently, peacebuilders from Burma, Indonesia and Cambodia visited IHRICON and the location of the original project. They now plan to launch the same initiative in their respective countries.

Associated Organisations

National and Local: 4 district (Sindhuli, Gorkha, Dang and Kailali) branch organisations of IHRICON. It has networking with most of the human rights and media organisations in Nepal, Alliance Nepal, Civic Solidarity for Peace, Beyond Beijing Committee, Women Peace Network, Federation of Nepalese Journalists, Nepal Press Institute.

South Asian and International: South Asian Small Arms Network (SASA-Net), Regional Citizen Peace Commission- Regional Member Nepal, SAARC NGO women for Peace-Focal Point for Nepal, International Action Network for Small Arms (IANSA).