Quality education for all
Achieving universal and equitable access to quality primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational education is one of the most important developmental challenges facing the international community and is the fourth Sustainable Development Goal.
Without education, the sad reality is that many disadvantaged children are condemned to a life of poverty and unemployment.
Education in Nepal
In Nepal, many factors limit access to education, with rural, female and disabled children being particularly disadvantaged. In a country where poverty rates remain high, education is not always considered a priority. This is especially true in rural areas, where the nearest school is often 2-3 hours away.
Likewise, girl’s education is not always valued because of traditional cultural values which emphasise the role of women in performing domestic duties, meaning that only around 57% of women are literate.
Many disabled children — up to 60% — receive no education whatsoever because of the view that they are inherently unproductive. These differing structural and cultural barriers to education often combine to disadvantage, in particular, disabled girls and those living in remote areas.
Our work
Because of the gravity of the problem, Seven Women has prioritised providing equal and quality educational opportunities for all. Literacy and numeracy programs are the first step that we take to empower disabled and marginalised women. Our vocational training then provides women with an education that ensures their life long economic security.
Through providing employment to disadvantaged women we create inter-generational benefits by ensuring that their children are also educated. To help overcome the obstacles to receiving education in rural areas, Seven Women recently launched a scholarship fund which will provide for the long term education of fifty children from Nuwakot village.
Not only is education a fundamental human right, but it is also a vital tool for ending gender inequality and breaking the poverty cycle.