Interaction Program on Disability Friendly Local Mechanism and Promotion of Access to Justice for Girls and Women with Disabilities at the Local Level._Bagmati Province

Bhaktapur, Nepal

4th June 2023

Access Planet Organization in the funding support of Women Fund Asia (WFA) Leading from the South (LFS) conducted half-day interaction program on “Disability Friendly Local Mechanism and Promotion of Access to Justice for Girls and Women with Disabilities at the Local Level”. Thirty-five participants including the local level people’s representatives, the government officials working at the local level and the organizations of persons with disabilities from four different municipalities of Bhaktapur districts including: Suryabinayak, Thimi, Changunarayan and Bhaktapur were present in the interaction program. The interaction program aimed to create platform for OPDs to share the issues of women with disabilities, sensitize local level representatives in the issues of girls and women with disabilities at the local level and provide suggestions and recommendation for further planning programs and budgeting in this sector for the next fiscal year.

Ms. Jyotsana Prajapati, Program Manager of the organization moderated the introduction and welcoming of the participants. After the introduction and welcome, Ms. Laxmi Nepal, founder of organization moderated the interaction program. The open floor was provided to the representative voices of women with disabilities from each municipality where the they highlighted issues faced by person with disabilities. Then Ms. Laxmi Nepal who also was moderating the session made a presentation on “The Way Forward for Disability Inclusive Local Government and Promotion of Access to Justice for Girls and Women with Disabilities.” After the presentation, the floor was opened for interaction. The moderator directed the interaction forward with the key discussion on three different areas: the works done by municipalities so far on disability sector, the challenges or issues they have faced  and their plans and commitments for the coming fiscal year. They shared some of the works conducted in the sector of disability and also the challenges.

During the interaction, both the OPD representatives and local government representatives shared their recommendations and suggestions to take the agenda of disability inclusion forward.  Some of the points raised on this during the interaction are as follows:

• To advocate more to allocate budget for women and persons with disabilities in the federal level
• One nagar should conduct one skill development training. One nagar should establish one employment center for persons with disabilities according to their ability. We should make work-plan for institutionalizing.
• The nation should be responsible towards the education, health and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and specifically girls and women with disabilities.
• Within palikas, legally, there should be 3 organizations:
• Disability Coordination committee in each palikas, should do the detailed assessment on what is needed whether education or employment is needed. What kind of employment can be done.
• lekhajokha committee according to the directive. Now it is in district, there should be in local government. In Lekhajokha samiti across Nepal, people with disabilities are getting employment.
• personal attendance recommendation committee. It should recommend the personal assistant. The nation should provide the personal assistant to severe disabilities according to act relating to rights of persons with disabilities.
• Inform and encourage industries to get tax exemption

Outcomes:

• Local government representatives were sensitized about the issues of girls and women with disabilities.
• Event served as learning platform to share from different municipality so that best practices on disability related works could be scaled up.
• Commitments were gathered from the government representatives on addressing the issues of persons with disabilities via programs and budgets at the local level Access Planet’s relationship with local government
• This program plays an important role in making duty-bearers at the local level accountable in addressing issues of these girls and women in their own communities.