Nepalese girls are born into a society in which their rights and their ambitions are secondary to those of boys. This has always been the cultural way and although things are slowly changing within city areas, the villages largely remain the same. Girls are almost always married off at an early age with little or no education, therefore, having no independence, income of their own, and certainly no land rights.

With poverty, education, healthcare, and opportunities lacking, there are some in Nepal trying to turn the tide to give women and girls access to the things that we all take for granted.

The Women’s Foundation Nepal being one of them. WFN is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which was established in 1988 by a group of professional Nepalese women. Their mission is to work toward a violence-free society by helping women and children in Nepal who are victims of violence, abuse, and poverty.

WFN provides woman and children with a safe ‘shelter home’ and cover all their needs, for example, access to educational opportunities, skills training, and ultimately gaining a real job. They are also provided with medical, psychological, and legal assistance when needed.

The Maheela Cooperative, a fair-trade organization run by the WFN produces scarves, textiles, and necklaces which gives many of the women, after leaving the shelter home a place to work while their children can play at the WFN’s Child Care Center or study at the WFN’s violence-free school. The handicrafts are then mainly exported to Europe and US/Canada to help to fund many of its projects.

The WFN is active in many additional ways to support the women and children of Nepal, by training the women in rural areas with trade skills, providing micro-credits, legal assistance, and even scholarships for poor children to empower women and children to shape their future.

Maiti Nepal The word denotes a girl’s real family, the family that she was born into. The word holds sentimental value, especially for a married Nepali woman. She then solely belongs to her husband and his family forever. However, Maiti Nepal is a home to all women and girls regardless of the marital status. A safe haven for those whose rights are exploited, violated and neglected by the rest of society. It was a battle to find such victims a home for their own protection from the social evils that gave birth to this organization in April 1993.

Maiti Nepal was born by a small handful of people like teachers, journalists, and social workers committed to combating social crimes such as domestic violence, trafficking, child prostitution, child labor, and various other forms of female exploitation including torture. Its focus has always been to prevent trafficking for forced prostitution, rescuing victims of the flesh trade, and rehabilitating them. This social organization also actively works towards providing justice for the victimized women and girls through a criminal investigation, waging legal battles against the criminals. Since its inception, it has drastically brought attention to human trafficking issues with its strong advocacy locally, nationally, and internationally.

Asha Nepal focuses on human rights. This organization is working actively for the social and economic empowerment of Nepali woman and children affected by sex trafficking and sexual abuse. They are a small charity run completely by volunteers in the UK. The small team of trustees with a deep personal commitment to transforming the lives of the victims of these crimes are aided by a dedicated, salaried team of staff operating in Nepal itself. These teams operate in partnership with each having its own board of trustees. Asha Nepal is registered in the UK with the Charities Commission and in Nepal with the Social Welfare Council.

Raksha Nepal is a humanitarian organization which has been working on behalf of sexually exploited women and their children since 2004. Protection from trafficking and sexual violence for those women and young girls working in the so-called informal entertainment sector, i.e. massage parlors, dance bars, and cabin restaurants. They do this by giving knowledge, awareness, and socio-economic status. Raksha Nepal is also involved and advocates ridding the society of compulsive prostitution.