As we write this blog, a team of SIS staff and friends is in Kathmandu, adjusting to the altitude and jet lag, meeting with local partners, and preparing to travel to the countryside. As we were thinking and praying about them, we saw a devastating article on gender discrimination in Nepal.
The article, from the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs, highlights how malnutrition is just a symptom of a much deeper problem. In Nepal’s cities and villages, women and girls are often undervalued and, as a result, neglected or even exploited. The article says:
Women live hard lives from day one, born with no fanfare, contrasting starkly to the six-day celebration to mark the birth of a boy. Walking along the road from one village to the next, women and girls bear the weight of baskets of apples, rocks or bags of rice, while men and boys tag alongside unburdened.
You can read the entire article here.
While the article points out a social ill, we celebrate tremendous progress in the areas where we work. Team Nepal’s travels will take them through villages where, because of SIS education and economic empowerment efforts, families are learning to treasure and nourish their young women and girls.
We look forward to their return, when we can learn about how women and girls are transforming their villages, contributing to their families’ wealth, and showing a watching world that valuing women is better for everyone.