Increased Female Participation through the follow methods:

Involvement in Leadership Roles and Processes

Women from the grassroot community levels are reaching the leadership positions at the local government units including the social and political sectors. They have received memberships and are actively participating in local level planning processes including their active participation in users’ committees, Tole Lane Organization (TLO), Community Forest Committee, different level of ward committees like health, hygiene and sanitation committee and other ward level groups. Furthermore, some of them are in the key leadership and decision-making positions. They are also involved in political parties and have received the candidacy ticket for election where some of them have won the local elections in the past. All of this indicates that at the community level women leadership is being
established through our efforts.

Increased level of awareness at the community

Different project implemented by Jagaran Nepal has helped the community members to increase awareness in different areas of human rights, women’s rights issues, participatory planning, and budgeting with increased access to information and knowledge through the established of resource centers.

Improved voice and agency

Networking, coordination and collaboration for a common and collective voice for women’s right issues have improved among the most disadvantaged women and men, from and within community.

Below are few examples in figures that demonstrate the increasing participation of women through

Jagaran Nepal’s efforts:

• Under the Jagaran Nepal projects, from a few district’s women’s groups, out of 900 direct beneficiaries/House Holds (who are organized into groups and empowered) as part of the project, 630 (70%) women are involved in political activities, 350 (39%) claimed the election tickets for local and provincial elections, 145 (17%) women got the elections tickets and out of that 61 (7%) women were elected in various positions. Similarly, a total 13 women out of 900
  were nominated in provincial proportional representation list.
• Among 61 elected women at local level elections of 2017, 12 women members became legislative committee member of local government. 7 women are elected in leadership positions like deputy mayor and deputy chair head, and 8 remains members who are holding position of other sub-committees like monitoring and local judicial committee.
• Nearly 150 women are working effectively in different social mechanism like school management committees, user’s committees, Tole Lane Organization (TLO) and other local co- operative organizations.
• Gauriganga Municipality ensure the 50% women’s participation in users committee, where among the three major post (President, Treasurer and Secretary), one major post must be held by women.
• Many of women elected representatives from Jagaran Nepal’s working areas like Kailarigapa, Gauriganganapa and Pachdewalbinayaknapa municipality are holding major position for various thematic committees including legislative committee, social development committee, Organization Development Committee, CSO’s and CBO’s coordination committee in local government beside Deputy Mayor and Deputy Chair Head. Due to our intervention in enhancing their leadership abilities, they have been working effectively and enjoying their dignified life as elected women representatives.

Access to Local Resources:

Regarding women’s access to local resources, currently women have started to inquire with local representatives about budget designated for Women, Children and Disadvantaged groups and budget allocated for women’s empowerment and how they can access them. Similarly, our efforts at advocacy have also increased the total pool of resources that is separated for women at the local level government for their economic empowerment.

For example, women groups have been so far able to receive total Rs. 7,081,000 for their empowerment activities. With such funds, they carried out different capacity building trainings on women’s rights to other women of their communities. In addition to that, other projects has collaborated with government offices for increasing women’s access to their resources. For instance, women in Illam got 10,000 chickens for poultry farming from District Development Offices for Agriculture and Livestock. Total 50 women benefited from poultry farming. Furthermore, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Illam has also provided pickle making trainings to women members of the project. District Office of Cottage & Small-Scale Industry from Illam also expressed its commitment to provide technical support for entrepreneurship development training for women members of the project.

Skill Development and Income Generation:

Under Jagaran Nepal’s different project activities, 177 (158 women and 19 men) people participated in the skill development and entrepreneurship trainings. Post training, most of the women had established their own small-scale business and improved their own economic status. On average, all of them started to earn ranging from Rs.5000 – Rs.25,000 per month. For instance, member of women’s empowerment groups like Chandra Kala Gautam, Jeevan Devi Shrestha, Basanti Rajbanshi, Kanchan Biswas earns nearly Rs. 10,000 – Rs. 15,000 as monthly income through their bakery products, small general story and hotels. Due to the project’s continuous advocacy and effort towards women’s economic access and skill development, their awareness regarding the skill development is increasing continuously. Currently, members of women’s empowerment groups are now interested to take other different kind of skill based training organized by local government and other CSO’s. They are able to demand and ask budget and programs to the local government and other related stakeholder.

Impact Sustainability and Handover

• Local Government for example Sidingwa Rural Municipality gave a written commitment for
  allocation of budget to women empowerment group, which was a group that was formulated
  under our project activity.
• Due to Jagaran Nepal’s intervention, women group had been formulated and registered in Jhapa
  district and the local government their allocated budget of Rs. 4,25,000 for that particular
  women’s group in FY 2075/076.
• Due to project intervention, in project working districts of the project, different women groups
  are been formulated and registered with the local government. This is key change in women’s
  leadership and decision-making issue as women are taking the initiative to reach out for
  resources.
• Respective local government are going to add value of those women’s groups which will support
  more leaders to emerge from the groups while also increasing their access to the local level
  resources.