How Adolescent Girls Persuaded Local Government to Allocate Official Budget for Girls’ Programming - Tipping Point, Nepal.

In the Rupandehi and Kapilvastu districts of Nepal, adolescent girls from 11 Municipalities successfully secured funds from the local government after advocating for themselves through Girls’ Rights Forums (GRFs).

CARE’s Tipping Point Initiative has been working with girls in various communities throughout Nepal since 2013. In early 2022, GRF leaders from four municipalities participated in an official district-level meeting where they proposed the new budget for girls’ rights programming. On 15 July 2022, the girls’ program budget was enlisted for the fiscal year from 17 July 2022 to 16 July 2023.

The GRFs were able to enlist a budget of 4,600,000 Nepali Rupees in the official Red Book, which funded programming across 11 Municipalities. Some of the programming activities for girls included: pad-making training, self-defense training, basic computer training, life-skill training, awareness-raising campaigns against child marriage and dowry, and awareness-raising campaigns against gender-based violence and abuse.

The estimated reach is around 62,055 adolescent girls from 11 Municipalities. Around 10,000 community people along with girls’ family members are also reached through this win.

CARE Nepal has been conducting various capacity development initiatives to promote girls’ agency, relationship building, and influence the structure which affects their lives. Through the third phase of Tipping Point, girls learned to identify the issues they faced. They chose to continue their advocacy work in five areas: Fight against child early and forced marriage (CEFM), along with control over sexuality and mobility restriction; education opportunities for girls; and fight against sexual assault and gender-based discrimination. This advocacy win by girls in Nepal was possible due to years of trust and relationship-building between the GRF and the local government, with support and mentorship from CARE and WOREC. The win demonstrates that girls with the tools to lead their change can create real, positive outcomes.