First round of ward level discussion was held in 10 target wards of Icchakamana and Kalika Municipality of Chitwan with key stakeholders including the local government representatives from February 10 to March 7, 2020. The discussion were held with the main objective of developing leadership capacity of WOCLAP members and trained LRPs, ensure meaningful participation of Chepang women in the local planning process and enhancing accountability of the local bodies towards the marginalized communities. The event provided effective platform to the young Chepang women leaders to showcase their leadership capacity. Majority of the WOCLAP member identified lack of access to the information about participation in the local planning process as a major challenge. Household responsibilities, social issues (child marriage, polygamy, alcoholism), inadequate capacity building and income generation programs prioritizing Chepangs, and lack of access to development services (road, education, health) were other challenges identified. In response to the challenges identified and discussed, the ward chairpersons of all 10 wards committed to prioritize Chepang in the planning process and development services in the days to come. They also committed to allocate budget for the women empowerment programs, and construction of the community buildings and encouraged Chepang women leaders to come up with the proposal for the same. To improve the access to information of the Chepang women, one of the WOCLAP session was organized on ICT for Chepang women leadership promotion on December 24, 2019 at Kalika Municipality in collaboration with Women in ICT.
Media Coverage Links:
1. https://www.nepalikoaawaj.com/2020/03/11753/?fbclid=IwAR055SLOzORiKay50c7tqVhBOzRc1csmXpOL_LjVHEkEinWiRKlX4ZrvDqI
2. https://lokpriyakhabar.com/2020/02/22889.html?fbclid=IwAR0Z2p90UgsK5j5hSEUg7WJ7nZx5mSkGJKOtsG-N2Fu1MGIM323C_FkVFSI
3. https://lokpriyakhabar.com/2020/03/22927.html?fbclid=IwAR2SxKsZvo_7F32cYh-ncIW-0or6SD-DorPrOk-xt3OO1Mi738LUttdmeSU
4. https://shubhasamachar.com/archives/481?fbclid=IwAR3tenJyNCwIq59REAIm2_qDaFJKDm4vcb1cZuK8OEzsitOM4ipsBvi84Do