Youth and women speaking out against poverty

Sarmila Vick, a member of the club, says, "After the establishment of the club in the village, it is running a campaign on similar social issues." That is why child marriage has dropped to zero and now the situation of child marriage with the consent of the family has come to an end.'

19-year-old girl Sarmila is studying in class-12 in nearby Janjivan Mavi. 40 youths and teenagers from the village like him participate in the club. Janjivan Mavi admits students in classes 11 and 12, but does not conduct regular classes. There is no regular class in the school. That's why many friends come to India to work by enrolling," she said, "but now, after the club's campaign, as many teenagers as possible have stopped going to work. Instead, we are taking the initiative to conduct classes in schools.

Club has launched an awareness campaign to end child marriage, chaupadi and untouchability in the village. Young people talk about such social malpractices, explain to parents who don't understand in the village, hold discussions in fairs . Also, the club is not only taking initiatives for social reform, but also for personality development and capacity development of the youth.

'We requested the budget from the club to the ward office . With the same budget, we did various programs for the development of the youth's capacity, Sarmila says, "Youth should be represented in all programs and activities from the planning of the ward, but that was not the case in the past." This time we are under pressure to cover.'

After federalism, the local level and ward offices are also powerful. There is a budget, there is also the right to make a program. But their priority is not youth, women or other social development . Kalikot, which has the largest population of Karnali region, has more problems. Poverty is rampant . You don't make a living from the products you make . Locals are forced to go to India to work for a living.

'Village men go to India . Not to earn, but to live . He stays for 4/5 months, then he comes back even if he has money to return home," says Chief District Officer of Kalikot Ganesh Nepali, "If he collects two money, he comes home with that." According to him, about 30 percent of the total population of the district lives outside the district. The rate of intellectual migration from the district is increasing.

Those who live in the village lack awareness, fear and terror they do not speak against the injustice. But lately Dalit Mahila Sangh has been systematically awakening women and youth to seek and demand their rights in the field of civil rights under the 'Haamro Awaaz, Haamro Rozai' program. The project has formed civil working groups for Dalit, women, youth and civil rights in 16 wards of Khandachakra and Raskot municipalities and Narharinath and Sannitriveni rural municipalities. Program coordinator Ramesh Nepali said that more than 4000 youth, women and active citizens across the district have joined the anti-abuse campaign through these various networks. He said that the campaign has brought awareness about the voice and rights of youth and women in the shrinking civic space.

'The village is untouchable . But no one says that they should not be touched, and no one even goes to the police. "Domestic violence happens, but it does not come out, women have endured it," said Tekendra Biswakarma, coordinator of the Khandachakra Municipality-level Citizen Action Group, "Women still live in Chhaupadi". Educated women have not been able to revolt. We have given an organized voice against such injustice.

Ward no. Janaki Goral, a member of the 4 Change Women's Group, says that awareness has spread in the village due to the campaign. "Even though we know that this is wrong, it has become possible after this campaign took a collective initiative," she said, "and now we women are also able and aware to ask for our rights."

program coordinator Nepali Accordingly, those youth clubs, women's and Dalit networks formed at the ward level have worked to spread awareness about the rights of local common citizens. He has made people aware to speak against social distortions, injustices and inconsistencies, and he has also spread awareness about local development and construction plans.

'The campaign as a whole is inspiring ordinary citizens to ask for their rights, youth and women are encouraged to organize themselves and talk about their problems,' said Maoist leader Devsingh Vick, who is also a member of the Citizen Action Group, 'this campaign will help the ward offices to organize women, Dalits, It has become a practice to invest in children and youth development programs. He says that the local level has not invested in the development of people in the

district. "Poverty is such that only a few people here can eat their produce throughout the year," he said. '

He himself is a former representative. But he has experience that it is difficult to allocate the budget from the local level to work in the field of Dalit, women and youth.

'Wada has a budget . That is the tradition of allocating for roads, water, irrigation and building construction,'' he said. Young people don't walk ? The question arises that . That's why there is low investment in human development.'

Collective commitment against abuse

When the youth, women and leading citizens of the village started an awareness campaign against abuse, it has also touched other stakeholders, political parties and people's representatives. The people's representatives have also made a collective commitment to end such injustices.

People's representatives of all four local levels, officials of district coordination committee, heads and representatives of other governmental and non-governmental agencies have also signed a collective commitment against corruption and such commitment letters have been published in public places at the local level . Bishwakarma, the coordinator of the Citizen Action Group, said that a collective commitment letter was issued declaring no violence, no encouragement and protection of violence, no caste discrimination and no untouchability, no no, no encouragement and protection and declaring the local level free from caste discrimination and untouchability.

The local authorities have made a law for the upliftment and empowerment of the Dalit community by ending caste discrimination and untouchability. Khandachakra Municipality, Sannitriveni Rural Municipality, Raskot Municipality and Narharinath Rural Municipality have passed the Dalit Empowerment Act and have reached the stage of implementation.

These local levels ensure the participation of Dalits in the jobs created by the municipality through the Dalit Empowerment Act based on the principle of proportional inclusion, prioritize the interests and participation of the Dalit community in development, eradicate caste discrimination, untouchability and protect and commercialize good customs, culture and skills. Arrangements like allocating .

Similarly, to end the discrimination and untouchability of the Dalit community, awareness programs targeting not only Dalits but also non-Dalits, arranging free education for Dalit students from primary to higher secondary level, arranging scholarships in higher education, assisting in the treatment of serious diseases, encouraging inter-caste marriages. In order to modernize and commercialize traditional skills, the municipality has also included programs such as managing proper resources and tools.

Sannitriveni rural municipality executive member Bharat Bishwakarma said that a policy was passed to declare tolls, settlements, wards and municipalities untouchable through the Dalit Empowerment Act.

'The Act calls for the establishment of a city-level caste discrimination and untouchability elimination committee,' he said, 'now those committees have never been formed.' -break When raising voice against the violence, even the youth, women and leading citizens are not comfortable in the remote villages, sometimes there is a situation where their lives are insecure for speaking loudly. Keeping this situation in mind, human rights defenders have been appointed in villages through the local level under the project. Active members of youth club, women's network and Dalit network have become human rights defenders of the village.

They have been given special training and identity cards. Program coordinator Nepali informed that 68 human rights defenders have been assigned to these four local levels alone. Human rights defenders have been given letters of appointment by the local level. Since they have an identity card, it has become easier for them to speak in any criminal activity against mawanta in the society," he said.

Dalit women open a cooperative

There are dozens of banks and financial institutions in Manm. Banks and financial institutions are accessible only to those who have money. Banks and financial institutions are open for those who do daily transactions of lakhs and do business by investing large capital . But for the poor, Dalits, Dalit women and the disadvantaged, the facilities of such banks and financial institutions are not available. In this case, the Dalit women of Tadi village near the headquarters have opened a 'Dalit Women's Agricultural Cooperative Society' in the village.

Khandachakra municipality ward no. The women of Tadi village in the 4th have opened a cooperative organization under their own investment and leadership to work for savings, credit and entrepreneurship of Dalit women. Nearly two hundred families live in the village.

There is not much land for farming . Although there is a school in the village, those who have studied do not live in the village. Either there are unemployed people in the village, or only the old people and children . Most of the men in the village go to the village to work after the farm work. Most of them go to India. After the men go to work, the burden of the house remains on the shoulders of all the women . 'There is no employment, there is no source of income,' says Janaki Goral, the co-secretary of the cooperative, 'We started saving when we realized that the cooperative becomes a helper to save money and avoid trouble.' Women have become share members .