Tag: SARC

By Neya Krishnan

As I write, I am currently on my Qatar Airways flight from Kathmandu to Doha, marking the culmination of a truly extraordinary set of eight days in Nepal with the Tufts South Asian Regional Committee. From delicious thalis to unparalleled hospitality to informative and meaningful interviews, my time in Kathmandu has been filled with learning, wonder, and joy.
I came to Kathmandu looking to research the various factors that impact sexual and reproductive health in Nepal and the facilitators and barriers to access to reproductive healthcare and education in rural vs. urban regions. Over the past week, I spoke to various NGOs, community leaders, and ~unexpectedly~ various student activists who held a surprise menstrual health day flash mob in Patan Durbar Square. My conversations with these individuals who deeply care about the causes they advocate for, from undergraduate students to the founders and directors of major NGOs, inspired me and allowed me to crack beyond the surface of the reproductive health issue.

My first interview was on Tuesday with Jagadishwor Ghimre, country director of Ipas Nepal, an NGO focused on promoting the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls in Nepal through policy advocacy, training workshops, and more. One of the most interesting insights Ghimre offered was that policy decisions on abortion and contraceptive use in the United States have broad and far-reaching impacts on the funding of organizations such as Ipas in Nepal. In fact, Ghimre closely monitors changes in US policy, especially a potential Trump presidency, to plan accordingly for budget changes within Ipas. Later that day, I met with Dr. Suman Rawal, Disaster Risk Management Coordinator at ADRA Nepal, an NGO working in more than 50 Districts across all 7 of Nepal’s Provinces with programs that relate to Maternal and Newborn Health, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Family Planning among several other health realms. One notable insight Dr. Rawal revealed was ADRA’s role in supporting women during earthquakes by building several reproductive health camps and distributing dignity kits, even as recently as November 2023, in the Jajarkot district following the Karnali earthquake.

The next day, I attended a session one of our team members, Ishika, was able to set up with UNICEF in Nepal’s United Nations House, and through that, I made contact with Ajay Acharya, a program analyst at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA is a branch of the UN that fights for universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights across the world. My conversation with Ajay and his colleague Dr. Yilma Alazar offered fascinating context into the relationship between intimate partner violence and sterilization as a means of contraception, as well as considering Mother’s Health Groups and Father’s Health Groups as a way of encouraging discussion on taboo topics related to reproductive and sexual health, specifically in Muslim and rural communities.

A series of invaluable perspectives on the reproductive health question in Nepal came unexpectedly one day as we were riding in a taxi back from an interview with UN Women Nepal and noticed a group of students outside of Patan Durbar Square holding signs related to menstrual health. I immediately asked the taxi driver to stop and went outside to ask the students dispersed across the square why they were there and what they were advocating for. Here, I spoke to Shrijana Gautam, president of an NGO called We for Change, who organized this major event in collaboration with AFH Nepal for Menstrual Health Day. The number of men in attendance was refreshing, and hearing their reasoning for attendance- specifically, their desire to fight for a more just future for their mothers and sisters, was impactful.

My last in-person interview was with Anand Tamang, founder and president of CREPHA, a nonprofit consultancy and research organization with expertise in reproductive health, abortion, gender, and development research. Anand highlighted the interconnectedness of research and policy impact. Interestingly, the effort CREPHA made in surveying and collecting quantitative data on abortion led to the legalization of abortion in Nepal in 2002.
One of my favorite non-academic highlights of this trip was getting our own personal tour guide of Kathmandu in Hanshika, a Tufts student who was an invaluable part of our research trip and is originally from Kathmandu. She kept us from getting scammed by taxi drivers, confidently negotiated down prices with shop vendors in Thamel and Bhaktapur, and brought us to her home, where her parents welcomed us with delicious food and complete warmth. I had a blast exploring Kathmandu with Ishika, Jewel, Priyanka, and Hanshika, and I’m so grateful to every person who made me feel welcome in Nepal, from the front desk workers at the NGOs I visited to the staff at the Boutique Heritage Home. Kathmandu, cheers to you until we meet again!!

By Jewel Kyaw

Our first few days in Nepal were filled with sightseeing temples and trying delicious local dishes. I was charmed by the monkeys that watched us from the trees, some of them showing off the food they took from unsuspecting tourists. After our weekend full of mountains, we were ready for the interviews we had scheduled for the upcoming days.

On Monday, we got ready to head to the office of the Association for Craft Producers. ACP is a not-for-profit Fair Trade organization dedicated to the social and economic empowerment of low-income artisans, primarily women from underprivileged backgrounds. The mission of ACP is to provide comprehensive support through design, market, management, and technical services to artisans, which not only supplements their family income but also gives them the skills to start their own enterprises.

When we arrived, we were greeted by Soni, whom I had emailed leading up to the trip. She informed us that we would get a tour of the facilities before the interview. We explored the vast 43,000 sq. ft. building that housed 80 staff and in-house producers. Besides the offices, there are different units for specific crafts like felting, weaving, pottery, glass, and more. Neya was able to make a bowl on the pottery wheel with the help of the technical skills expert. The glass unit was the newest addition; the artisan we met inside explained to us that she started as a general unit producer but attended a glass sculpting workshop ACP held with a visiting glass expert. She was able to continue learning more about glass and now leads and manages the glass unit at ACP. She proudly showed us the beautiful glass turtle she finished before we came in.

As we walked around the buildings, we saw how they posted their fair trade principles on every wall, from the cafeteria to the stairwells. Our tour guide even showed us their strategies to be more environmentally friendly. All of the building have gutters connecting them that carry rainwater into a giant underground water tank below their courtyard. They use the water for dying raw materials and have special tanks that process the dyed water to be properly disposed.

After the tour, I was able to interview Revita Shrestha, the chief executive. She explained to us one o the biggest challenges at the start of ACP, was convincing women to leave the home. Many of them carried generational knowledge of handicrafts, but faced barriers from being able to start their own businesses and sell their crafts. They could not get loans from bank due to not owning enough property for collateral and face social stigma if they did not dedicate all their time to their domestic responsibilities. Shrestha continued by bringing up that one of the biggest barriers was internal, the lack of selfconfidence.
By being able to learn technical skills at ACP, the women artisans were able to start generating income along with balancing a family and farm. As a result they gained more confidence but also respect from their families. Shrestha told us stories of women that created their own businesses started to employ their husbands and family members. They stepped out of the traditional structure where the men are the primary income earner.

Outside of technical skills training and distributing raw material, ACP is able to support their artisans through social wellness programs. There is an education allowance that encourages artisans to send their daughters to school and a higher education scholarship that pays for the tuition of the top scoring girls. ACP is able to economically empower the artisans and uplift their role in the community.

I learned so much about ACP, but also the gender dynamics within communities in Nepal from Shrestha. I felt incredibly grateful to see their expanded facilities and greet the artisans. After the interview, we were treated to an amazing lunch in their cafeteria where we met some new artisans that traveled into the city to learn.

We were excited to hear that the ACP’s store, Dhukuti, was not too far from where we were staying. Hopefully sometime this week we will be able to visit the massive store filled with crafts.

By Hanshika Neupane

As an international student, embarking on a research trip to Nepal, which is also home to me is truly an experience to write about. As I write this blog post from the heart of Nepal, with the hustle and bustle of the city, the ringing of bells from nearby Temples, the chitter and chatter of neighbors greeting each other loudly, and fruits and vegetables vendors out in the street selling the freshest produce right outside of our homes, I am filled with a sense of both familiarity and strangeness. After spending a year studying in the United States, coming back to my homeland has been an extraordinary experience. When I first landed, this place felt equally foreign. I had almost forgotten the smell of the air, the chaos in the streets, the noise, and familiarity in people’s faces. I had missed being able to talk in my mother tongue. As a FGLI student, having spent all my life in Nepal, I waited all my life to escape from this chaos. But almost a year later, when I was presented with the opportunity to return to Nepal for research, I couldn’t have been more excited.

Along with four of other SARC members traveling to Nepal, we embarked on this academic as well as cultural experience. The first two days after our arrival in Kathmandu was full of showing my friends around the city. As a local person to Kathmandu, I knew I had to take them to my favorite spots around to give them the most authentic experience. Be it taking them to Swayambhunath also known as monkey temple to witness monkeys eating ice cream and sipping on boba tea, or leading them through the bustling streets of Thamel to experience the lively nightlife, or altering the menu for “life-changing momos”, I was committed to giving them a genuine taste of Kathmandu.

Our research trip was an intense and enlightening experience, deeply rooted in the exploration of women’s issues in Nepal. As five women researching various aspects of women’s lives, we found ourselves frequently bonding over our shared experiences of growing up in South and Southeast Asian households. These conversations added a personal dimension to our work, enriching our understanding of the cultural nuances that shape women’s experiences in the region. These conversations only further enhanced my passion for the research topic I am looking at. Despite being born in Nepal and having an intrinsic understanding of the caste system and its pervasive hierarchy, talking to experts on history and sociology has been profoundly eye-opening. The caste system in Nepal is deeply ingrained, with the term “Dalit” referring to the lowest social group in this hierarchy, historically known as Shudra and often labeled as untouchable. I am passionate to explore the Dalit movement post-1990, following the restoration of democracy, focusing specifically on Dalit women who constitute 15% of the population. This demographic has often been excluded from historical narratives, particularly in the context of political upheavals.

Throughout our trip, we had the privilege of meeting with a diverse array of experts, professors, and officers from various UN departments, including UN Women and UNICEF. These interactions provided us with valuable insights into the systemic issues affecting women in Nepal, particularly those from marginalized communities. I had the opportunity to visit organizations and speak with anthropologists and authors who work heavily with digital archives and repositories. One of the most impactful experiences was coming across a photobook that collates photographs of Dalit lives and resistance spanning the last six decades across Nepal. This powerful volume, enriched with essays exploring the economic, social and political dimensions of Dalit struggles, highlights the historical presence and contributions of Dalits in Nepali public life. The conversations I had with the authors and translators of this book has further increased my interest in the role of visual media in advocating for social justice and definitely enriched my research on the lived experiences and resilience of Dalit women in Nepal.

This research trip has just not been about academic inquiry, it has also been about the commitment in whatever tiniest ways of rectifying historical imbalances and contributing to ongoing efforts towards justice and equity in Nepal.

By Ishika Gupta

On May 15th, our South Asian Regional Committee (SARC) group left Boston for Nepal. Though excited, the five of us were filled with anxieties about our trip – with a 17 hour layover in Doha, we were in for approximately 35 hours of travel. Though I was nervous, while in Doha our group bonded quickly, and when we landed in Nepal, it was clear that we felt comfortable with each other and our minds were more at ease.

My first impression of Nepal was characterized by the hospitality we saw right outside the airport and during the first days of our trip. Hanshika, one of the members of our group and a Nepali, ran into her school friend, Ayushka, on the flight. She was immediately very friendly to all of us, and waited patiently for the entire group as we spent time applying and paying for visas, and standing in the immigration line. Ayushka offered to take pictures of our group, and as soon as we stepped out of the airport, we saw her family waiting enthusiastically for her arrival. As Hanshika spoke with the cab drivers, Ayushka’s family also welcomed us to Nepal and wished us well.

Though we did have a difficult start to our trip – having to change hotels – the Nepali hospitality continued throughout the first days of our trip. As we ate breakfast the first morning in our new hotel, we chatted with the owner as she welcomed us and gave us recommendations on what to see nearby. Hanshika, though a member of our group, has become our wonderful tour guide – showing us all the best spots, explaining Nepali customs to us, and answering our silly questions. We are also so excited to meet her family over dinner! So, even though I was anxious in the days prior to our travel, due to the supportive dynamic of our group and the hospitality I have experienced in Nepal, I am feeling more stress-free and excited about continuing our journey. Having heard stories about my parents’ travels to Nepal growing up, I have wanted to visit this country for so long, and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to do so.

On our first two days here in Kathmandu, we explored the city, and even took a day trip to Nagarkot and Bhaktapur. Since it was a weekend, we were unable to conduct any interviews and instead took the time to become acquainted with our surroundings. On our first day, we walked around the Durbar Square in Patan, strolling through the countless shops and admiring the beautiful architecture. We were able to step inside a couple of temples, where we observed the intricate carvings, as well as religious statues decorated with fabrics and designs of numerous colors. Then, we stepped into a small museum, which housed several religious artifacts and exhibited the history of the square, as told by Henry Abrose Olfield, who was a British doctor and artist in the British residence in Kathmandu from 1850-1863. Afterwards, we had a discussion on the duality between this history, that of such a prominent landmark, being told by a British man, while so many stolen Nepali artifacts sit in British museums. After this and a quick lunch, we went to one of the most famous tourist attractions in Nepal – the Swoyambhu Machachaitya. Here, we saw many of the known colorful Nepali flags and temple, seen in many postcards and media across the world. Walking around, we saw the view of the entire city of Kathmandu. Especially at this location, I felt so appreciative of this opportunity! On our second day here, we took a day trip outside of the city, going to Nagarkot and Bhaktapur. In Nagarkot, we were able to see a scenic view of the mountains and enjoy a delicious lunch. Afterwards, we were able to walk around the town of Bhaktapur – where we were able to view the former royal palace and temple. We also walked around through the markets, and all bought postcards of important landmarks we had seen thus far.

Overall, though we haven’t formally begun our research, these first couple days have given us the opportunity to become acquainted with our surroundings in a more meaningful way, something that will most certainly aid us in our further academic pursuits. I look forward to my first interview tomorrow, which will be with Economic Development Professor Binayak Krishna Thapa at the Kathmandu University School of Arts, as I seek to explore my research topic: the exclusion of informal workers from Nepal’s social protection systems.