When Prativa Subedi, founder of the Women's Awareness Center Nepal (WACN), began working with women in poor villages of Nepal, she found they are caught in a vicious cycle perpetuated by lack of education and opportunities, and pervasive prejudice against women. Nepal's male-dominated society relegates women to the lowest rank and subjects them to exploitation and violence. Women are confined to home and farm where their work, raising and supporting families, is not recognized by society.
From birth, girls are discriminated against. They are often seen as an unwanted addition to be tolerated until they are married off. Most are deprived of an education because they must help their mothers with chores. The common attitude is that education for girls is a wasted investment.
Deprived of equal opportunities in all aspects of society, Nepali women lack bargaining power, a political voice, and self-confidence in their inherent skills.
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But by founding the Women's Awareness Center Nepal in 1991, Subedi (right) found that women can become confident and competent leaders when given the opportunity to emerge from their homes and lead their communities.
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Above: Scarcity of clean drinking water remains one of the major problems for villagers in Nepal. The Women's Awareness Center Nepal has tapped local water sources to set up outlets throughout their project areas. A young girl in Sankhupatichaur village (above) enjoys the benefits.
Photo by Sujoy Das
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