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CHALLENGING THE CUSTOMARY DIVIDE STRENGTHENING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY AGENDA IN NEPAL UN WOMEN’S MANDATE AND NETWORK UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs world wide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality. UN Women works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 WALKING TALL 7 Kalpana Kathayat, Bajhang A ‘CHELI’ WITH CHOICES 15 Purnima B.K., Bajhang THE PINK BICYCLE 25 Rita Devi Chaudhary, Kailali PICTURE PERFECT OUTCAST 33 Sabitra Acharya, Kailali THE OUTLIER AFTER THE INSURGENCY 41 Sita Sodhari, Kailali Preface Nepal’s Comprehensive Peace Accord, which ended ten process; recognizing sexual violence as a component years of armed conflict in the country, created avenues of the crimes committed during the conflict; and for the foundation of sustainable peace. Within this upholding international obligations to end impunity. backdrop, the Government of Finland and UN Women- It was implemented by UN Women-Nepal and the Nepal, together with local partners, international aforementioned partners in the the districts of Bajhang, development organizations and UN agencies committed Doti and Kailali in the Far Western Development Region to collaborate and support the Government of Nepal of Nepal. (GoN) in the effective implementation of its first National Action Plan (NAP) for United Nations Security Council The implementation of the SIWPSAN project Resolutions 1325 and 1820, which was adopted in 2011. demonstrated that transformative changes in the lives of women and their families are achievable when Thus, in 2013, the Government of Finland supported broad, multi-pronged approaches focusing on both UN Women-Nepal in implementing the project, women’s agency and structural factors simultaneously. Strengthening Implementation of the Women, Peace It showed that enhancement of women’s capacity to and Security Agenda in Nepal (SIWPSAN): Towards exercise their active agency through economic and social Implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) empowerment and promotion of their leadership and on UNSCRs 1325 and 1820. The project emphasized participation in decision-making structures - combined women’s participation and the inclusion of gender with an enabling environment for their participation in perspective in all aspects of peace building; ensuring peace building to address their protection, prevention, that the special needs and priorities of conflict- relief and recovery rights – deliver life-changing results affected women were considered in the state building that are enduring. Given these, it is possible to learn from the experiences Violence; and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion of women whose lives have been transformed and who Working Group of the International Development are now transforming the peace and security agenda in Partners’ Group. Special gratitude goes to the five the country. It is for these reasons that the Government women whose stories of change are shared in this book. of Finland and UN Women-Nepal decided to document and publish true stories of women that inspire, provide Sustainable peace can be achieved when women evidence to their worth as change agents and enlighten and girls have access to the pathway of recovery and duty bearers on how to engage women as effective rehabilitation and can effectively act as leaders and partners. Along this line, the Government of Finland inspiration for the work ahead. Much work remains and UN Women-Nepal sincerely acknowledge the to be done and UN Women-Nepal will sustain its work contributions of the project partners, especially the with the GoN and other partners to ensure that women Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction; Ministry of Women, and girls continue to play a key role in peace, security Children and Social Welfare; Department of Women and and governance processes. Given the endorsement Children; Local Development Training Academy; Training of a gender-responsive Constitution, the adoption of Centre Nepal; Dalit Help Society (Bajhang); Creative the second NAP on UNSCRs 1325 and 1820, and the Development Society Nepal (Doti); Backward Society positioning of more women in local administrative Education (Kailali); Saathi; Search for Common Ground; entities as a result of the recent subnational elections, Krishna Consultancy Pvt. Ltd; 1325 Action Group; Story women now have greater space and agency to Kitchen; United Nations Development Programme; participate in all aspects of conflict resolution and peace International Organization for Migration; Peace Support building. Working Group; UN Taskforce on Conflict Related Sexual 4 CHALLENGING THE CUSTOMARY DIVIDE Introduction ‘Challenging the Customary Divide’ puts together the stories of groups, mothers’ groups, local committees and political parties five women whose economic and social well-being were improved have significantly increased from 20 to 74 per cent in the project and later became leaders in their respective fields through their districts. A total of 269 conflict-affected women and former women participation in the post-conflict rebuilding of Nepal under the combatants benefitted from entrepreneurial capacity development project Strengthening Implementation of the Women, Peace and trainings, 94 per cent of whom reported that their economic and Security Agenda in Nepal (SIWPSAN): Towards Implementation social conditions consequently improved. Prior to the 2017 local of the National Action Plan on UNSCRs 1325 and 1820. Like the elections, Inter-party women’s alliances were established in 17 SIWPSAN project, the book is an initiative of UN Women-Nepal with Village Development Committee (VDC) of the three districts of the support of the Finland Government. Province Seven to advance women’s leadership in local political structures. Similarly, 44 per cent of women beneficiaries of the The book provides a glance at how the aforementioned SIWPSAN project held key decision-making positions in such transformation happened in the lives of the women and how structures and 88 per cent of VDC women leaders have been their individual transformations affected their lives and those of actively participating and guiding local decision-making on women, their families and communities. Together, the stories provide a peace and security. ‘human face’ to the vision of change that gender equality advocates endeavor to achieve through the incorporation of gender The SIWPSAN project has created a robust foundation for perspectives in the post-conflict peace and security agenda of meaningful and sustainable local implementation of the women, Nepal. The stories also share insights on the challenges women peace and security (WPS) agenda in Nepal through creative usually face and how they may maneuver the positioning of gender engagement of multiple stakeholders, especially groups of equality and women’s empowerment concerns into the mainstream marginalized women. Being one of the first projects to have been agenda of peace and security in their respective localities. implemented based on Nepal’s first NAP on UNSCRs 1325 and 1820, the project facilitated accelerated and sustained progress on WPS The book captures the women’s memories of exclusion, struggle, initiatives in the country, especially at the local level. It brought loss and fear and how they found empowerment through the about economic and social improvements in the lives of the women interventions of the SIWPSAN project. Ultimately, it is a book about beneficiaries; demonstrated effective approaches to achieving women’s true stories of courage, hope and reconciliation, and of such change; enabled government, communities, non-government building the foundation for a better and safer Nepal. and civil society organizations (NGOs/CSOs), and women’s groups to engage in productive partnerships around WPS; and produced The SIWPSAN project was implemented from 2013 to 2016 by knowledge products, including this publication, that will help to UN Women-Nepal with funding support of the Government of further advance initiatives and decision making on WPS beyond the Finland and the cooperation of the Government of Nepal (GoN), completion of the SIWPSAN project. local partners, international development organizations and UN agencies. One year after the closure of the project, women and girls May the experiences and insights shared by the women in this have been visibly at the forefront of peace building, re-integration book continue to illuminate and expand pathways to sustain the and conflict resolution efforts of Nepal. Through the SIWPSAN inclusion of gender perspectives in the peace and security efforts of project, the participation of women in youth networks, women’s

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