Celebrating International Women’s Day in Nepal

Rukmini Foundation celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8th along with the rest of the world. ‘Be bold for change’ was the theme for this year, and we believe that this is very important, especially for a country like Nepal where gender discrimination plays a big role in why many girls and women miss out on education. It has an effect on the household, society, schools, politics and all other sectors in Nepal…as it does in other developing countries.

Women of all ages from the surrounding communities attended this program

Our foundation’s mission is to eliminate gender discrimination by empowering girls through education, and to further raise awareness about gender discrimination and its effects, the foundation collaborated with Shikharapur Community School, Shikharapur CLC, Niwano Peace Foundation and different partner schools to create a program that would allow girls and women to be bold to express themselves. We also wanted this program to be a fun event for everyone and to share joy with each other. 135 people took part in this program, with 80 women from the local communities adding their voice, songs, and laughter.

One of the very special moments of the event was how the students of Shikharapur Community School prepared a song about women’s rights.  The girls from the arts program (Kalaa) started, and then we got other women participants involved as well. It was great to see them sing songs, dance, and play games.

Even though the day is known as Women’s Day, we felt it was important for both boys and girls to celebrate it. With this thought, the foundation organized an Essay Writing Competition among the students of Grade 8 and 9 from its 5 partner schools. A total of 24 students participated in this competition where the topic was International Women’s Day: Importance of Women’s Education. The Principal of Kamadhenu Secondary School and a Teacher of Panchakanya Secondary School played the role of judges. Both of them are Lecturers of the Nepali Subject at Shikharapur Community Campus. The entries were of Setidevi Secondary School, Talku Ms. Sanjita Balami secured 1st position, Mr. Basudev KC from Setidevi School Sokhel secured 2nd position while Monika Maharjan of Shikharapur Community School secured 3rd position. Chairperson of Rukmini Foundation Nepal and Coordinator of Jury Committee felicitated the students with the prize and award certificate.

The day turned out very successful, and those who attended said that they not only felt appreciated and empowered, but also learned and had fun. We would like to thank all of our staff and volunteers who made the event possible. Mostly, we would like to thank all of the bold girls and women who shared their voices to stand up for women’s rights.

Special thanks to:

• Ananda Puri (Lecturer)
• Lalita Lamichhane (Shikharapur CLC)
• Nisha Bisunke (Shikharapur CLC)
• Sarala Adhikari (Social Worker)
• Niwano Peace Foundation
• Shikharapur Community Learning Center (CLC)