International Human Rights Day; Equality, Reducing Inequalities, and Advancing Human Rights

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that everyone in the world is entitled to from birth to death.   These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, gender, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental rights of life to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty. It is the standards that recognize and protect the dignity of all human beings. No one can voluntarily give these rights up nor can others take them away from others.  

Human Rights Day is globally celebrated on 10th December every year to commemorate the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -the document that outlines the fundamental rights of all human beings that must be protected universally. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights plays a prominent role in coordinating global efforts to celebrate the day, which routinely features cultural events and performances, public meetings and seminars, and other human rights-promoting educational activities. At a plenary session on December 4, 1950, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that invited all UN member states and any other interested organizations to commemorate the Dec. 10, 1948, proclamation of the UDHR with an annual celebration, called Human Rights Day, to be held on the anniversary of that landmark date. 

Each year a theme is selected to draw attention to a particular facet of the effort to uphold human rights. Themes included eliminating discrimination, fighting poverty, and protecting victims of human rights violations. The theme of this year`s Human Rights Day is "Equality." Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." The principles of equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. It’s celebrated to create public awareness about social, cultural, and physical rights and to ensure the welfare of society in every possible context.  Additionally, since 1968, which the UN-designated as the International Year for Human Rights, the organization has periodically awarded a United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights on Human Rights Day.

The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights law. This means that we are all equally entitled to our human rights. This principle, as first emphasized in the UDHR, is repeated in many international human rights conventions, declarations, and resolutions. Human rights are inseparable and interdependent.  One right cannot be fully exercised without the other. For instance, the realization of the right to health may depend on the realization of the right to education or of the right to information. Similarly, infringement of economic, social, and cultural rights can negatively affect many other rights. 

Every person is entitled to active, free, and meaningful participation in, contribution to, and enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural development, through which human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized. States and other duty-bearers must comply with the legal norms and standards enshrined in human rights instruments. Where they fail to do so, aggrieved rights-holders are entitled to institute proceedings for appropriate redress before a competent court or other adjudicators, following the rules and procedures provided by law.

There are no organizations or conventions in Asia to promote or protect human rights. Countries vary widely in their approach to human rights and their record of human rights protection. Human rights violations occur when any government or non-government officials breach any of the terms of the UDHR or other international human rights or humanitarian law. Concerning human rights violations of United Nations laws. Human rights abuses are monitored by United Nations committees, national institutions, and governments and by many independent non-governmental organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, World Organization Against Torture, Freedom House, International Freedom of Expression Exchange, and Anti-Slavery International. These organizations collect evidence and documentation of human rights abuses and apply pressure to promote human rights. Wars of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are breaches of international humanitarian law.

Human rights are very important for making sure that all humans get treated equally. They are essential for a good standard of living in the world.  You are liable to have human rights if you're a human being. Human rights are norms that aspire to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses. They are an important means of protection for us all, especially those who may face abuse, neglect, and isolation. Most importantly, these rights give us power and enable us to speak up and to challenge poor treatment from a public authority. Hence, as human beings, it is our responsibility to protect and conserve these human rights. Despite the right, there are still millions of people out there who don’t have these necessities, but saying it’s a matter of human rights allows activists and others to work towards getting those for everyone.

Prepared by: Swikriti Parajuli

I’m a student and I believe in learning and sharing. Besides community development, I’m passionate about arts, music, and sports.  On the glorious occasion of International Human Rights Day, we wish everyone a very Happy Human Rights Day. Always be yourself, stand up for your rights and protect these rights as well. Let`s be responsible for the eradication of inequality from society this year. 

ICA Nepal is an experienced team dedicated to working in the field of human capacity building, and community development through advanced methods. It pursues to recognize people’s initiation, creativity, and enthusiasm in bringing sustainable development by considering existing cultural dynamics and pluralities. It is committed to creating an environment, in which the opportunity to participate and the construction of sustainable change and development is foremost.

Child Marriage in Nepal

Child marriage usually refers to a social phenomenon practiced in some societies in Nepal, where a young child (usually a girl below the age of eighteen) is married to an adult man. Nepal is a developing country filled with norms and values. However, some bad practices are still residing here within the nation, some of them include: Deuki Pratha, Untouchability, Gender Discrimination, Ghumto Pratha, Child Labor, Jhumma Pratha, Girls Trafficking, Dowry and dowry-related violence, Gambling, and Child Marriage has always been one of them. Another form of child marriage practice is that the parents of the future bride and groom arrange a future marriage.  In this kind of marriage girls and boys do not meet until they reach their marriageable age.  Child marriage constitutes a gross violation of human rights, leaving physical, psychological, and emotional scars for life. Sexual activity usually begins shortly after marriage, and early pregnancy and childbirth can lead to the death of both the mother and the baby. In addition, girls and women who marry at a young age are more likely to experience domestic violence at the couple's home.

In Nepalese society, men are often considered superior to women.  Although there have had made different laws and policies, the custom is still prevailing in the society.  According to Nepalese law, the minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20 years of age, but 37% of Nepalese girls marry before the age of 18 and 10% are married by the age of 15. (source: https://www.hrw.org/report/child-marriage-nepal). Boys also often marry young in Nepal, though in lower numbers than girls. UNICEF data indicates that Nepal has the third-highest rate of child marriage in Asia, after Bangladesh and India. 

In ancient and medieval societies, it was common for girls to be betrothed at or even before the age of puberty. Later, there was a decrease in the rates of child marriage across South Asia from 1991 to 2007, but the decrease was observed among young adolescent girls and not girls in their late teens. Child marriage has been illegal in Nepal since 1963 and, after 20 years old both men and women can get married. Nepal has one of the highest legal ages of marriage in the world where arranging a child marriage or marrying a child is punishable by law. Although strong on paper, the laws are not properly enforced and child marriage rates remain high. A UNICEF discussion paper determined that 79.6% of Muslim girls in Nepal, 69.7% of girls living in hilly regions irrespective of religion, and 55.7 percent of girls living in other rural areas, are all married before the age of 15 (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage). Girls born into the highest wealth quintile marry approximately years later than the ones from the opposite quintiles.  Child marriage has lasting consequences on girls, from their health (mental and physical), education, and social development perspectives. These consequences last well beyond adolescence. One of the most common causes of death for girls aged 15 to 19 in developing countries was pregnancy and childbirth. Girls are more disproportionately affected by the practice than boys. 

Child Marriage can be highly observed in the Rural and Terai region of Nepal such as Janakpur, Bardibas, Dhanusa, etc. Some of the main factors including poverty, lack of access to education, child labor, social pressures, and harmful practices paves a way for Child Marriage. Cutting across all of these is entrenched gender inequality and damaging social norms that make girls less valued than boys in Nepali society. Gender inequality, social norms, perceived low status of girls, safe healthcare, safety concerns about girls, and control over sexuality are considered to be reasons for the prevalence of child marriages. Child marriage occurs more frequently among girls living in rural areas. Investing in girls, developing their social and economic assets, giving them access to education and health services, and ensuring that they can postpone marriage until they are ready means greater dignity for women to help reduce the rate of Child Marriage in Nepal. 

On the other hand, as soon as the marriage happens, young brides are forced to prove their fertility after marriage and to give birth to children, especially sons. A young girl with minimal or no education, raised to be submissive and subservient, married to an older man, has little ability to negotiate sexual activity.

Child marriage also threatens the lives of offspring. Mothers under the age of 18 years have a 35 to 55% increased risk of delivering pre-term or having a low birth weight baby than a mother who is 19 or 20 years old. In addition, infant mortality rates are 60% higher when the mother is under 18 years old. Infants born to child mothers tend to have weaker immune systems and face a heightened risk of malnutrition (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage). Married teenage girls with low levels of education suffer a greater risk of social isolation and domestic violence than more educated women who marry as adults.   Early marriage places young girls in a vulnerable situation without education resulting in women having fewer opportunities to earn an income and financially provide for themselves and their children by being completely dependent on her husband. Domestic and sexual violence from their husbands has lifelong, devastating mental health consequences for young girls because they are at a formative stage of psychological development. High rates of child marriage negatively impact countries' economic development because of early marriages' impact on girls' education and labor market participation. Using Nepal Multi-Indicator Survey data, its researchers estimate that all girls delaying marriage until age 20 and after would increase cash flow among Nepali women in an amount equal to 3.87% of the country's GDP.

Despite the government's promise of reform, too many children are still being married off before 18 in Nepal resulting in their futures being stolen. Some of the effects of a child's marriage are: 

• Girls who get married at an early age are often more susceptible to the health hazards associated with early sexual initiation and childbearing, including HIV and obstetric fistula,
• Young girls who lack status, power, and maturity are often subjected to domestic violence, sexual abuse, and social isolation, 
• Early marriage almost always deprives girls of their education or meaningful work, which contributes to persistent poverty, 
• Child Marriage perpetuates an unrelenting cycle of gender inequality, sickness, and poverty, 
• Getting the girls married at an early age when they are not physically mature, leads to the highest rates of maternal and child mortality. 

Some of the practices that can be adopted to overcome Child Marriage in Nepal are: 

• Strengthening the National Legal and Political Framework for Child Marriage and Marriage registration, 
• Empowering Adolescent Girls,  
• Involvement of Religious Leaders as well as Men and Boys, 
• Supporting the ongoing revision of curriculum on Comprehensive Sexuality Education, 
• Mobilizing communities to promote public expressions of commitment, and declare child marriage-free VDCs,
• Strengthening adolescent-friendly health services.

Child Marriages are considered as one of the social menaces that cannot be curbed easily without the support of society. Many times the parents of the girl child forcibly marry their daughters to some elder man so that that person can provide financial support to the girl’s family which may lead their financial condition to turn better, but we must aware more of these people and help them develop a clear mindset where a young girl can get an education and be independent further.  It can also be concluded from the above discussion that in early marriages, the girl child’s reproductive and sexual health is affected the most. 

Prepared by: Swikriti Parajuli

I’m a student and I believe in learning and sharing. Besides community development, I’m passionate about arts, music, and sports. Being a teenager myself, and with all the beautiful opportunities I have, I want to aware more people and hope every girl can achieve their dreams without being forced to get married. 

ICA Nepal is an experienced team dedicated to working in the field of human capacity building, and community development through advanced methods. It pursues to recognize people’s initiation, creativity, and enthusiasm in bringing sustainable development by considering existing cultural dynamics and pluralities. It is committed to creating an environment, in which the opportunity to participate and the construction of sustainable change and development is foremost.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Ambassador through Youth Facilitative Leadership

ICA Nepal in coordination with Kalpa Academy launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ambassador, through Youth Facilitative Leadership Programme. The program intended to engage youths in activities through imparting knowledge about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and building skills on project design and implementation. 

Kalpa Academy “Center for Governance and Sustainable Development” has been working in Nepal since 2019 with the main motto of contributing positively to the broad objectives of sustainable development in Nepal and strengthening Nepal's human resources with life-related skills and knowledge whereas ICA Nepal has been facilitating different capacity-building sessions aiming at the holistic development of the nation since 1998. The program related to the Youths has always become one of the core projects of ICA Nepal. We collectively believe that the Youths are the future of the nation and they must be nurtured with awareness and knowledge for the sustainable development of the nation. Over the strong words of David Nabarro “When it comes to sustainable development every county is a developing country” we hoped to implement this very program aiming at Youths. The launching event was held on 21 October 2021 in the presence of hundreds of youths along with University Professors and development workers. Professor Robertson Work, the chief guest of the event, emphasized the contribution that these innovative programs will bring to the development of youth and the accomplishment of UN initiatives. We will be working with young people directly through training and mentorship. The first batch of the training will start at the end of November to facilitate the youth on SDGs. The purpose of this training is to provide young people with the opportunity to participate in these programs and integrate the SDGs into their daily activities.

The Youths are the future of the nation as well as the key driver for the successful implementation and development. Kalpa Academy and ICA Nepal coordinately strive to engage and educate more youths through SDG education. We believe that every Youth is important, they are agents and leaders of the developed nation. The program is an initiative meant for enabling Nepali youths and contributing to SDG. It is a scheme for learning through engagement. The session highly focuses on Leadership and Capacity Development, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, Quality education, Disaster Risk Management, and Good Governance.

During the launching event, we successfully conducted a brief survey regarding general information about the SDGs. The experts reflected on the serious topics related to the SDG, and Millennium Development Goals along with the brief introduction of Malala Yousafzai. The survey aimed to enlighten youths about their opportunity with more interaction. The Manager of Kalpa Academy Er. Ravi Khanal enlightened the participants on previous SDGs from 2000 to 2015 and the upcoming fifteen years plan from 2015 to 2030. 

The program provides a basic introduction of Module/Case Studies, Workshop/Training/Seminar, along with Field Visit and Presentation. The program carries a 3-month learning period of 2:30 hours per week, including report preparation and presentation. The session extends up to four months with 3 different batches each i.e Nov-Jan (Batch 1), Mar-May (Batch 2), July-Sep (Batch 3), with Certificates. The training will be facilitated with an individual coaching session, personal profiling, skill development training, communication skills, project proposal writing, and many more facilities. What one person perceives as a pain point, another individual may not see it in the same light or see it as an issue that needs to be addressed. This training will bring together students, experts, and practitioners of Governance and SDGs in real-time situations. Excursions in different fields/organizations will also add awareness among the attendees. The experts from Governance institutions/Organizations will provide an insight into their respective fields of work where the Youths will get a chance to directly learn from the specialists and exchange their ideas. At the end of the training, the ambassadors will make participants skilled to interact with officials concerned and work out a program independently on the relevant themes. The attendees will get support for learning, coaching, evaluating, collaborating, and implanting.

After the completion of the training, we have envisioned letting youths know more about their responsibility towards the nation along with professional and personal development through more secured career goals. The enhanced capacity for action-orientation, efficiency in partnership, and handling resources, and visible reliable act of sustainability can be observed among the attendees. The program helps Youths to think outside the box and develop decision-making capacity without being bound by preconceived ideas. Youths who want to contribute positively to society but don’t know where to begin, then this program is for them as one cannot bring change on its own they must be guided. Youths must learn to build a network and work in a team with the groups pursuing the same goal. The session also increases the capacity of the Youths in CV/Resume making, imparting knowledge, exposure of opportunities, social inclusion, and quality life through SDGs. The session will be chaired by experts nationwide and around the globe. The launch event was very fruitful and the attendees also showed their interest in getting involved in this session promptly.

Prepared by: Swikriti Parajuli

I’m a student and I believe in learning and sharing. Besides community development, I’m passionate about arts, music, and sports. 

ICA Nepal is an experienced team dedicated to working in the field of human capacity building, and community development through advanced methods. It pursues to recognize people’s initiation, creativity, and enthusiasm in bringing sustainable development by considering existing cultural dynamics and pluralities. It is committed to creating an environment, in which the opportunity to participate and the construction of sustainable change and development is foremost.