Gender equality in Nepal, three months on…
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Sharmila Nepali, Shirisha Tamang and Shrijana Giri, are three Nepalese single mothers, recovering from the earthquake and on their own, rebuilding a life for their families. Their stories are featured in the Gender Equality update, along with news and key facts summaries related to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the emergency response after the earthquakes in Nepal.
In its third edition, the UN Women and OCHA-led Gender Working Group’s bulletin highlights the formation of a Core Group made out of eight civil society women representatives to implement and disseminate the Common Charter of Demands of Women’s Groups. Developed with UN Women’s facilitation, the Common Charter includes demands in the areas women’s representation and leadership, food security, shelter and sustainable livelihoods, prevention of violence against women and girls, and special programmes for women.
The bulletin also reports Nepal’s Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), confirming that women, as over half of the overall population, constitute the single largest disadvantaged group who have been most adversely affected across the key sectors. It is reported that about 26 per cent of the damaged houses belong to female-headed households, and with women holding more than 54 per cent of unskilled jobs in the tourism industry, they are likely to be the first to lose their jobs.