Rainbow School, Kathmandu

24^th December 2022

In Nepal, girl's issues are rampant but the efforts to minimize them are very scarce. Young school girls, lack companionship and finds no one to share their emotions when they feel psychologically down. In Nepalese society, we find that there are inequalities between boys and girls under various pretexts. To solve these inequalities and problems; meaningful participation and empowerment of the girls is needed.

Rainbow Volunteer Club selected 150 girls from different community schools and slum communities; and organized week long rich training activities and handed over pink coloured girls' bag containing essential supplies to keep themselves clean during their periods.

One of the participants of our activity Anita Lama of Shree Nepal Rastriya Nirman Secondary School said, "In our school we have girls committee but it is not like what we do it today. There are no ways we can share what we feel." Recalling her father and mother's separation she burst into tears. She said, "When my father and mother got separated I think that was their personal issue and I was very young. But, society blames my mother and takes the decision of my father with ease. I had heard many times people saying I am like my mother." Why Girls and women have to face these?

In twenty-first century; everything has been modified and has been changed. Nothing is same as in the century that passed. But, the mindset of people who discriminate between boys and girls had remained the same in Nepal. Adolescence in girls is a decisive age for all girls; the decisions taken during this period shape her life as well as that of her family. So, it is a turbulent period. Thus, we organized activities to implant sense of freedom in young girls to express themselves.

Aqua is 24 years old volunteer who joined the session with girls at Rainbow School. She was an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. She told, "During my first period I was an orphan girl in a center. There was no shoulder of my mother or my sister that I could lean on. But now I am grown up and independent. That is why I feel proud to be a part of the session working with you all and sharing my feelings as a family."

At least 7 incidents of sexual crimes against women and girls are reported in Nepal. Nepal Police received 2,534 cases of rape in 2020-21 against 2,144 in the previous year, which shows an increase of 18.19 percent. Do you know hundreds of cases are unreported every year because people fear to express it because the society considers it differently? Victims of such violence have no courage to come up to express it.

Anju Thami, BLING Project Lead Says " I am very happy to accompany our girls because young girls are like a flower. They are very fragile, and gorgeous like an angel whose wings are invisible. I speak life to many young girls what she might not have a say. I believe the world would be a better place for all of us. Every girls need to live, she has to thrive! Whenever she feels heartbroken, I WISHED TO BE NEXT BEHIND HER TO GUIDE WITH LOVE AND COMPASSION. 

17 years old Goma Adhikari from Manohara Basti slum community said, "It is the first time we are participating in such an activity in our life. So it is a very new thing for all of us. But, the session is warm and caring, and the useful things that we are going to need for our life are being shared. We are very happy to be a part of the program."

The adolescent girls staying in slums from sub urban area severely lack reliable resources to build knowledge regarding their health-related queries. They lack basic sanitary supplies to keep themselves comfortable during their periods. We know it is because they are not conscious about periods, and safety. 

We are putting on our effort to raise awareness about different girl's issues working with community school girls and slum community girls. Especially young teenage girls of 12 to 24 years are encouraged to join our sessions. We believe girl's safety should be the way of our life. We hope our society will be more aware about girls of today. We wish all the young girls today be like our sisters and mothers. Let's BLING!

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