Project profile — Samaan Aawaaj: Intersectional democratic spaces in Nepal and Bangladesh

This project aims to improve equality and enjoyment of human rights among grassroots, Dalit, Indigenous, and religious minority women and girl’s rights holders living in poorest, most marginalized conditions in Nepal, Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific. The project seeks to increase meaningful participation of an estimated 950 minority women living in poorest most marginalized conditions in public leadership, decision-making and democratic processes. It also aims to increase transparency and accountability in inclusive, gender-responsive public planning and service delivery for minority women and girls’ rights holders. This is done through training of an estimated 740 responsibility holders, 670 elected officials, 10 networks and 390 community based organizations and women’s rights organizations (CBO/WROs). Project activities include: (1) training existing and potential duty bearers on feminist leadership; (2) expanding capacities and connections between existing and potential women leaders; (3) conducting awareness and learning campaigns in support of women’s leadership with community stakeholders; (4) conducting intergenerational dialogues with political parties and leaders on women’s leadership potential; (5) facilitating workshops with local governments on power analysis, critical self-reflection and feminist leadership; (6) training women leaders, community based organizations, women’s rights organizations and networks on inclusive citizen-led accountability practices and advocacy; (7) training local media on investigative methods for promoting accountability; and (8) facilitating dialogues among minority women leaders, women’s rights organizations, civil society organizations, networks and local government institutions.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased meaningful participation in public leadership decision-making and democratic processes of grassroots, Dalit, Indigenous and religious minority women living in poorest most marginalized conditions in Nepal and Bangladesh; and (2) increased transparency and accountability in inclusive, gender-responsive public planning and service delivery for Dalit, Indigenous and religious minority women and girls rights holders in Nepal, Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific.

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