Projects

COMPLETED PROJECTS

• Women Legal Right Promotion Project

Period:	2006 - 2008 AD
Overview:	In Nepal, women acquire citizenship at the age of 16, if the father or husband (if she is already married), affix the necessary signatures for approval before the competent authorities. This situation implies that many women in Nepal have not been able to acquire their citizenship and thus are denied the opportunity to access all the inherent rights of citizenship. With a non-citizens status you cannot open a bank account, buy a property, be granted a passport and leave the country, among many other restrictions. Having this into consideration, SAHARA Nepal in partnership with Apeiron Nepal, initiated a project aimed at providing free legal assistance to women victims of violence and discrimination in order to obtain recognition of their citizenship and their basic civil rights
Objectives:	Advocate on ensuring women's rights regarding citizenship and property ownership at national and regional level Assist women to acquire citizenship certificate regarding affine and consanguine relations Ensure the rights of women in property
Activities:	Beneficiaries selection Discussion with family members Coordination of various stakeholders and civil society members Coordination with District Administration Offices Provision of logistics and financial assistance to women in their process for obtaining citizenship Shakti House as income generating training support to the beneficiaries Information and documentation services
Achievements:	At least 20 women per year received psychological and legal assistance that often led to the successful obtaining of citizenship Team of experts lobbied with women's families and local authorities to help women to gain citizenship. If this strategy failed, the teams, as a last resort, submitted the cases to court.
Funded by:	Apeiron Nepal
Location:	Kathmandu, Nepal