Empowering women is crucial to achieving gender equality and economic growth, with estimates indicating that equal labor force participation could add up to USD 28 trillion, or 26%, to the global GDP by 2025. Women empowerment and participation are integral to boosting economic productivity and addressing gender disparities. Women who are economically independent contribute more to their families, communities, and countries' economies. However, gender inequalities continue to persist in all areas of social and economic life. With women constituting 51.02% of Nepal's population, it is essential to include them in the economy to improve their status and serve as a foundation for not just the current generation's social empowerment, but also for future generations to progressively adopt more egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles. To this end, we must focus on developing strategic approaches to enhance access to innovative financing, effectively implementing policies and laws that advance women’s rights, conducting programs targeted towards promoting female entrepreneurship, and advancing gender-specific trade policies.
As the President of the South Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF) – a regional organization with United Nations Economic and Social Council accreditation – I have been relentlessly working on implementing initiatives to promote and support women's economic empowerment. At SAWDF, we aim to empower women by strengthening cooperation between regional and international actors, with a focus on women's roles as change makers for driving forward Sustainable Development Goals.
Currently, we are engaged in establishing the first Women Entrepreneurs Green Industrial Park (WEGrIP), a public -private partnership (PPP) model project with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies and the local government of Panchkhal Municipality at Hokse V.D.C. in Kavrepalanchok district. This project is the first of its kind in Nepal and second in South Asia that promotes green industrial concepts with well-integrated climate change adaptation measures. The park will be branded and promoted as an "Agri-Tourism Green Industrial Park," establishing 50 small industries related to the agro-food sector, as well as a tourism-focused service sector. Additionally, we have successfully undertaken several capacity training programs for female entrepreneurs, with a recent focus on addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women. Our programs include Covid Challenges-Business Resilience and Business Recovery Action Plans; Digital Entrepreneurship - Emerging Entrepreneurship Opportunities in Digital Space; and E-Commerce and Digital Marketing, among others.
As we continue our efforts to empower women, we invite you to join in our journey. Together, we can change the economic policies, legal frameworks, and cultural norms that hold back women.