“Since being elected I not only speak for myself, but I can fight for the rights of others now” 

Married when she was just 12, Parwati saw the future that lay before her as a Dalit woman in Nepal.  In 2017, Parwati ran in the elections for a ward member position in the Doti district and won. Through the PAVE project, Parwati learnt about her rights, had leadership and skills-based training and is now standing up for the rights of other Dalit women.

“I had to go through many hardships. I didn’t have money to buy soap back then. One time, I spent 50 rupees to buy soap and my father-in-law hit me with a stick for spending that money.”

“At 15 they pressured me to try and have a child. I was tired of life. I started farming and after six years I got pregnant. But even then life wasn’t better. There was hardly any food. They would give me rice and salt to eat.”

“I never thought that society would treat me well at some point in my life. I thought my life was done.”

Whilst still a young woman, Parwati heard about some local training for Dalit women to learn about their rights. She attended a skills training course where she learnt how to sew, allowing her to start her own business and gain some financial independence. But it was what came next that gave her a chance to make a real impact in her wider community.

In 2017, Parwati ran in the elections for a ward member position in the Doti district of Nepal and won. Parwati and the 7,000 other Dalit women entering politics for the very first time were part of a seismic shift in the representation of women and Dalit women in decision-making spaces, a major step towards true democracy and gender equality in Nepal.

But, with many of these women remaining illiterate they were left still unable to meaningfully engage in decision making.

“In my first two years as ward member I didn’t know what I could achieve politically. Then this project began and we learnt about our rights, we got leadership training and skills-based training and business grants.”

“I have done a lot for women in my community already. I have always involved women in various activities. I have helped teach adult education to women. All the women know how to write their names now. I have done lots of social work. I worked with HIV+ women. I have spoken up against gender-based violence.

“Since being elected I not only speak for myself, but I can fight for the rights of others now. I am proud to be at this position today where I can support other Dalit women.”

Now I am in a position of leadership. I can decide when and how to spend money. I can buy and eat whatever I want.”

“All these trainings and work has made me lose all fear. I have no fear. I have now built a house with my own money.”

“I want other women to know that as women our responsibility is not limited to the kitchen and taking care of children. We have to understand our rights. We have the right to be politically active. We have the right to get an education. We have the right to fight our rights. We have the right to property. I think all women need to understand this.”

Since 2019, Womankind has been working with three of our Nepal-based partner women’s rights organisations: Women for Human Rights (WHR), the Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) and Tewa to support marginalised women (Dalit women, widows and women with disabilities) to play an active role in local politics and decision-making through the Participation and Voice for Excluded Women in Nepal (PAVE) project, operating in five districts of Province 7 in the far west of Nepal.