The Importance of Championing Female Empowerment in India, Nepal and Bangladesh

In India, Nepal and Bangladesh, women and girls face significant challenges in accessing their freedoms and fulfilling their potential. Deeply entrenched cultural norms and systemic inequalities restrict their opportunities, excluding them from decision-making within their families and communities and limiting their access to education and employment. These barriers create a cycle of vulnerability, hindering not only individual women and girls but also the progress of entire communities.

How Child Marriage Creates Barriers to Female Education in South Asia

Girls’ education is still undervalued in many parts of South Asia. This is especially true in rural communities, where gender discrimination and poverty mean child marriage is often prioritised over girls’ education. Understanding what might force a child or young person into marriage is an essential part of ending this harmful tradition and its impact on girls’ futures. 

Ways that Karuna is Working to Overcome Gender Inequality in South Asia

The consequences of gender inequality in India, Nepal and Bangladesh can be devastating for women and girls, leading to abuse, exclusion, trafficking and, in extreme cases, death. Across South Asia, gender inequality is prevalent and widespread due to long-entrenched cultural norms, meaning that women and girls are marginalised from society, losing out on access to education, economic opportunities, legal protection and safety from violence and trafficking.

Participatory Action for Resilience, Adaptation and Nature based Solutions

India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Our community-centered approach works with local farmers to develop adaptative agriculture techniques. These integrate modern technology with nature-based solutions and renewable energy to create resilient and sustainable livelihoods. These will boost income and food security not just today, but for generations to come. By providing disaster mitigation training, we can increase reliance on local expertise to prepare for and respond to disasters. And, by facilitating the creation of local networks that connect
village communities with government departments and authorities, we can boost awareness and engagement to permanently improve disaster management. We also provide a specific focus on vulnerable women and women farmers to boost their economic status and strengthen their legal security.

The Challenges Faced by Migrant Workers in South Asia

Millions of people across South Asia, including entire families, are forced to leave their homes and communities to seek work as migrant labourers, largely due to the increased pressures that poverty, a lack of sustainable livelihoods, and climate change have on local opportunities.

Migrant workers often travel huge distances to find daily wage work in sectors such as agriculture, construction, and domestic work, as this kind of insecure work is often the only choice available to them. This desperation for work leaves them vulnerable to manipulation, exploitation and abuse from traffickers and opportunists. Lack of access to educational resources, combined with low literacy rates, means that many migrant workers struggle to access the rights and benefits that might protect them.

Menstrual Exile: The Dangers of Chhaupadi in Nepal and What it Means for Women and Girls

Menstrual exile refers to a range of discriminatory practices that impact the lives of many women and girls across South Asia today. Due to local traditions and stigmas, women and girls are discriminated against during their menstruation period. They are excluded from their communities, including their own homes, schools and workplaces. 

The effects of menstrual exile are far-reaching, obstructing women and girls’ access to education, healthcare, community, and even the safety of their own homes. Chhaupadi is a severe and dangerous form of menstrual exile that is still prevalent across many poor, rural communities in Nepal, affecting the lives and opportunities of the women and girls who live there.

Empowering Schools and Communities in Rural India

Sangamner, Maharashtra

A collective working together to effectively prevent violence against women in India

32 districts in 10 States

Violence-free Schools – reducing inequality

Amravati, Maharashtra

Empowering Schools and Communities in Rural India

Sangamner, Maharashtra