unicef nepal: seema's story

Schools for Asia Nepal

Seema’s storyEMPOWERING ADOLESCENT GIRLS

FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS

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Nepal has demonstrated a strong commitment to achieving the MillenniumDevelopment Goals and Education for All. Nationwide, access to primaryeducation has improved at all levels, especially for girls. In 2000, for every100 boys enrolled in primary school there were only 78 girls enrolled. In2012, for every 100 boys, 102 girls were enrolled. But as they move on tosecondary school, girls—particularly those with limited economic means—face obstacles to continuing their education. In the coming years (2013-17) UNICEF Nepal will focus its efforts on the 15

districts in the country where education performance indicators are lowest.These largely poor, remote districts are characterized by low rates ofenrolment, high rates of repetition and drop out, and high gender disparity inenrolment in the upper grades. They are also marked by cultural practicesthat hinder girls’ empowerment and gender equality. Girls living in thesedistricts are highly disadvantaged both in terms of access to education andeducational attainment, and most disadvantaged of all are the girls fromNepal’s lowest caste, the Dalits. The traditional organisation of Hindu society groups people according to

their hereditary occupations into a hierarchy of social groups known as‘castes’. In Nepal, the lowest rung on the social ladder has traditionally beenoccupied by menial labourers and artisans—formerly known as ‘untouchables’,but now known as ‘Dalits’ or ‘crushed peoples’.All castes have been treated equally under the law since the 1960s, but

social discrimination still occurs and a class divide persists in which Dalits aregenerally more socially and economically disadvantaged than members ofhigher castes. Among Dalit girls aged 5-14 in UNICEF’s target districts, 25 percent have never attended school; those who do attend are far more likely to

EMPOWERING ADOLESCENT GIRLS FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS

Siyarahi settlement

Schools for Asia Seema’s story 3

drop out due to poor performance or for reasons related to poverty, includingthe need to help at home or to get married.In the following pages, you will meet 15-year-old Seema Bishokarma,

a ninth grade student at the government secondary school at SiyarahiSettlement, in the plains district of Parsa. Seema is also a Dalit, as her lastname indicates (Bishokarma means ‘blacksmith’). Her school is piloting aUNICEF initiative that provides extracurricular programmes for adolescent girls with the aim of improving their low rates of school participation. Thistakes the form of two clubs: a peer support tuition/homework club and asports club that offers girls the chance to play football and/or volleyball. The clubs are for girls only, and they give priority to Dalits and otherdisadvantaged girls. Currently being piloted in 20 schools across two districts, these programmes

have been running for less than a year, but are already showing remarkableresults. Rupak Panday, Head of Parsa’s NGO Coordinating Committee, andUNICEF’s partner in implementing the project, explains: “Until recently, manyDalit girls did not attend school regularly, so their performance suffered. Theyfelt shame and low self confidence in school, which put them at greater riskof dropping out. The tuition/homework club fills gaps in their learning andgives them confidence in their abilities. The sports club empowers them andprovides them with positive recognition. Now these girls want to come toschool and they do well.” But the changes don’t stop there: “Parents arestarting to see that their daughters can do something if they are given achance, teachers no longer focus on the boys in class, and the girls are happyto be treated as equals,” says Panday. “There has been a social revolution.These girls have proved to everyone what they can do.”


My name is Seema Bishokarma. I am 15 years old. I live in SiyarahiSettlement, Madhuban Mathual Village Development Committee, in Parsa, a district in the southern plains of Nepal. Like many here, we are Dalits,from Nepal’s lowest caste. My father is the village blacksmith and mymother is a housewife. I have a younger brother and sister. Both of themare in primary school. I study in grade nine. I love to dance and sing andplay football and be with my friends. One day I want to be a social worker.

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05:25


05:32 After I wake up I wash my face and then I wash the dishes.

05:44 I quickly eat dal (lentil soup)and a roti (bread) for breakfastthen meet my friends on the road.


05:47 Seema: Good morning, Jyoti! Jyoti: Good morning! Did you do your homework?

Seema: Yes, but it wasn’t easy. I was really tired after football practice yesterday.

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05:52 Hurry up! we’re going to be late for assembly.

05:53

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06:16 School starts early in the Summer because it gets so hot in theafternoon. No matter what season it is we have assembly. Most morningswe just exercise and sing the national anthem.

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06:24 Sometimes we have a special assembly where students get to perform. Today it’s our turn. My friends and I have been practicing a dance from a Nepali film we saw on TV.

06:22

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There’s no lamp that lights this lonely temple.Don’t come close to me. You can’t accept water that has been touched by me. I’m living with others’ hate. How can I erasewhat has been written by fate? I am a drop of early morning dew, not holywater from the temple.Don’t come close to me. You can’t accept water that has been touched by me. I don’t have any friends except my ownshadow.I don’t understand what lies behind caste.Don’t come close to me. You can’t accept water that has been touched by me.

06:29 At the assembly, I also get to sing myfavorite song. It’s also from a Nepali film and it is about being a Dalit.


“I like this song a lot. There is one word in it—’hate’—that reallytouches my heart, but all of the lyrics apply to me. They are about whathappens if you are untouchable—what happens to me. If you are a Dalitand you go to community gatherings, people tell you to move back, stayseparate, don’t mix with the others. Once, in my old school, we had apicnic and one of my teachers told me to go sit alone, away from theothers. I was the only one she said this to. But the most disturbing thinghappened when I was eleven. I went to my mother’s family home and myuncle took me to a big temple there. I saw some people beating a manand I asked my uncle why they were beating him. My uncle wouldn’t say,but we left very quickly. When we got home, he said: ‘That temple is forhigher caste people and that man they were beating was from a lowercaste. We too are low caste, so we left. I didn’t want anything to happento us.’ I found this really shocking. It bothered me a lot.”

—Seema

“Just five years ago, Dalit children had to sit in the back of the class. Ifthey spoke in front of the higher caste students, those students wouldsay, ‘Hey, do you have the capacity to speak here?’ and the Dalits wouldstop talking. People didn’t touch them or take food from them. Thencame the Maoists. They said everyone has the right to live as an equal.That anyone can be anything. That all children must go to school. TheDalits themselves have also become more conscious. They have seen thatother castes are hungry for education—that education leads to change.”

—Akhilesh Pandey, Teacher and Coordinator of the Girls’ Peer Support Tuition/Homework Club

NEPAL’S CASTE SYSTEM

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“We are working to get our community’s most disadvantaged childreninto school and to help them succeed. Last year, UNICEF worked with usto analyse records of our students’ achievement tests over time. Therewas a clear pattern. Students living below the poverty line—especiallyDalit girls—were very weak academically compared to the other students.They were also the most likely to be absent and to drop out—whether tohelp at home or to get married.“We have taken measures to get them into school. At the end of the

Welcome to School campaign we looked at who enrolled and startedmaking home visits to those who did not. We counseled the parents—many of whom are illiterate themselves and may not recognise the valueof education—about the importance of sending their children to schooland informed them about scholarships that could help them buy schooluniforms and, in some cases, school materials.“Making sure they stay in school requires other measures. When

students fall behind, they are at risk of dropping out. UNICEF supportedus in setting up a tuition/homework club. It helps girls to catch up andit helps them feel more confident and comfortable in school. At the sametime, we set up football and volleyball clubs—which is somethingentirely new for girls. These have really empowered them. Now they areactive—not just watching the boys play like they did before. Playingsports gives them a sort of recognition. Together, these programmes arebringing big changes to the classroom. Girls want to come to school. Notonly do they attend regularly, they participate; they ask questions andexpress their opinions. Their learning is more meaningful now.”

—Bhagwat Prasad Tharu, Head Teacher

DALIT GIRLS AND SCHOOLINGHow does UNICEF help?

Providing innovative

needs-based solutions

UNICEF is known for its innovative

needs-based programming and

evidenced-based advocacy. In 2004

UNICEF Nepal initiated the Welcome to

School (WTS) campaign in just 13

districts as a means of supporting the

government’s commitment to the

Education For All goals. The annual

month-long awareness raising campaign

and enrollment drive was so successful

that in 2006 it was mainstreamed by the

government as a national campaign,

resulting in 500,000 additional children

enrolling in school in that year alone.

Peer support tuition/homework and

sports clubs for adolescent girls are now

being piloted in 20 schools in two

districts. By the end of 2013, UNICEF will

expand the programme to 100 schools,

and to more in subsequent years. By

demonstrating the effectiveness of these

activities in increasing the enrolment and

attendance of adolescent girls, UNICEF

aims to convince the village-level, district-

level, and eventually the national-level

government to include these activities in

their education plans and budget.

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How does UNICEF help?


06:48 There are many more girls in my class thanboys. If they can afford it, parents send their boysto private school. They think they will get a bettereducation there.

“These days, it is usually girls that stand first in theclass. They know they need to work hard in schoolbecause if they don’t do well, their parents may forcethem to stop. The boys, on the other hand, knowthey will be sent to school, no matter how little they work.”


Equity in education

UNICEF, in collaboration with other

partners, has supported the government in

introducing scholarships for disadvantaged

children, including girls. As a result, many

more girls are now in school. Currently

UNICEF is supporting the government in

developing a comprehensive strategy for

education that examines issues of access,

quality and retention in order to come up

with recommendations on how to

strengthen equity.

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“Some girls in the Dalit community are engaged when they are very young, especially ifthe family is poor. After their engagement, many drop out of school. ‘Why invest insending her to school?’ her parents think. ‘In a few years she will go to live in herhusband’s house. We need to teach her the things she needs to be successful there:cooking, cleaning, looking after children.’ Plus, if she goes to school there is always therisk that she might ‘go with’ boys or be attacked, thereby bringing shame on the familyand putting an end to her marriage prospects.”

—Bhagwat Prasad Tharu, Head Teacher

“One girl I knew was engaged when she was five years old. At 15 she got married and wentto her husband’s house and had to stop going to school. My auntie, who is about my age, isalso married. My grandparents were poor so she didn’t have a choice. Now she no longergoes to school. Sometimes I worry that my parents might take me out of school to have meget married. My mom always says ‘You can continue your education for as long as youwant,’ but I worry that she might change her mind due to pressure from the neighbours orour relatives. My father is very supportive of me going to school. I don’t worry about him—except that if something happens to make my mother change her mind she might be ableto convince him to change his as well.”

—Seema 07:55

EARLY MARRIAGE

09:13 At break time we stop totalk with Sunita Didi (older sister).


“Last year, a woman from the District Development Committee came to my house. She told me, ‘You are the most educated woman in this village and yet you are just staying home doing household chores when youcould be a role model for girls who are in school.’ She asked me to applyfor UNICEF’s Young Champions Programme. “Previously I had tried to motivate my neighbours to send their girls to

school. But they would say to me, ‘Look at you. You’ve completed grade12 and you are still a housewife, so what does it really matter if we sendour daughters to school? What use is education to a girl?’ I didn’t have ananswer for them. Now that I am here and working in the school as aYoung Champion, it’s easy to motivate them. I just use my own example.”

—Sunita Chowdhary, Young Champion

“If we can produce even 10-20 role models in one school, then the wholecommunity will understand the need to empower their daughters andstart sending them to school.”

—Rupak Bandya, Project Director, NGO Coordinating Committee, Parsa

ROLE MODELSHow does UNICEF help?

Young Champions

In Nepal, education is a profession that is

dominated by men. What’s more, many

communities have few, if any, models of

young women who have been successful

in education. The Young Champions for

Education programme engages young

people for their own development and the

development of their communities. In

Nepal, UNICEF has been supporting this

program in seven districts where girls’

enrolment and attendance rates are low.

Through this program, young role models,

preferably women, are selected from the

community to support schools and to

monitor the enrolment and attendance of

students. They also advocate for girls’

education in their communities and

support the tuition/ homework and sports

clubs for adolescent girls.

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10:07 Social Science is my favorite subject. The teacher asks us to work in groups to discuss the question ‘In what matters should you seek advice from a doctor or nurse?’

10:18 After we come up with our answerseach group sends someone up to share ourthoughts with the class. Our group focused on cases in which you have a sick child.

“There are lots of social problems in ourcommunity, for example, alcoholic fatherswho beat their wives and also families thatdiscriminate against their daughters and don’tsend them to school. One day, I want to be asocial worker and change these things.”

—Seema


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11:03 In English class we are learningabout the different forms of conditionalsentences. I like the teacher. He makesus laugh. But most of us still think Englishis difficult.

“In the classroom, I only have 40 minutes aday to teach 100 students. I try my best, butthere is no way I can give time to all ofthose who need it.”


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“I am illiterate and my husband studied to class five. I was sent to schoolbut I wasn’t interested, so I sold all of my books and used that money tobuy ice cream. When my father found out what I had done, he got veryangry and told me I was not going to school anymore. I was 10 years oldwhen he sent me to Kathmandu, to live with one of our relatives andwork as a carpet weaver. Eventually I realised that I should have stayedin school. Sometimes I feel like going back, but because of my age, mychildren, and my family responsibilities I feel I can’t. I also feelashamed. I would like to be able to read and write, even just thesignboards in town. “Being illiterate has caused us a lot of problems. We don’t have much

income. What we earn pays for two meals a day with nothing left over. If we had studied to class eight or ten we could be earning a lot more.“The culture is changing. Education is far more important now. That’s

why our children’s education is our main priority. I am encouraging mydaughters to study at least until they get their school leaving certificate(at the end of grade ten). How far they go beyond that depends on theirtalents and abilities. Seema has participated in many competitions—dance, school, sports—and she always comes up with a great success.She is also very focused, intelligent and serious in her studies. So we willsee. I have to consider her wishes because it is her future. If she wants ajob, that’s fine. If she wants to keep studying, that’s fine. I am not goingto make her stop and get married. I want her to first stand on her owntwo feet. Then she can get married.”

—Bimala Bishokarma, Seema’s mother

EDUCATION MATTERS

12:10 In the summer schoolends at 11:30. My brother andsister and I all come home andeat lunch with my mother (centre).

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“As for the tuition programme, whatever she asks, Itry my best to make her free so she can go. I can’tsay I am aware of exactly what changes thisprogramme has brought for her, but I trust her. If she wants to go, that’s fine with me.”

—Bimala Bishokarma, Seema’s mother

13:34 Back at school I hang around with my friendsuntil Tuition Club starts. We sing, practice dancingand talk about homework and sports.

14:05


Piloting and expansion of girls’ clubs

Before piloting the peer-tuition/homework

and sports clubs in 2012, UNICEF proposed

broad guidelines on the activities to the

schools, and each school decided the details

such as when and how often the activities

would be conducted. In the future, UNICEF

will hold regular reviews of these activities to

determine which model works best. The

lessons learned will be reflected in the new

guidelines as the activities continue to be

expanded to more schools.


“I offer tuition in English three afternoons a week. Another teacheroffers tuition in science and maths. Most of the girls in the programmeare Dalits. They are here because their parents are not educated and theyare poor—which means they don’t get the support they need to continuetheir education. They get scolded; their families don’t have money toprovide the pens and papers they need to do their schoolwork; they havea lot of chores and little time to do their schoolwork; and they don’t getany help with it. In the classroom, they used to be shy due to the gapsin their knowledge. They would sit in class thinking ‘What if the teachercalls on me? I don’t know the answers.’ Then when they got poor resultstheir parents say ‘Why should I keep sending you to school? You aren’tdoing well anyway. Just quit and help us out at home.’“That’s why the peer support tuition and homework programme is very

important for them. They get two hours of a teacher’s time, guaranteed.And their parents—who may not have enough money even for food—don’t have to pay for it. It has only been running for six months, butnow these girls are talking openly in class with the teachers and theirpeers, they are asking questions and getting the support they need.”


THE PEER SUPPORT TUITION/HOMEWORK CLUB

“The tuition and homework club has made me a better student. It isimportant for girls to have this because many are weak in the classroomand don’t participate. They are shy. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s becausetheir parents tell them not to speak too much because they are girls.”

—Seema

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“Every day I put the students into groups of five: two talented students,one moderately weak student and two who are very weak. Then I teachthem about a particular topic—for example, today we are learning aboutreported speech—and have them work on a particular exercise as agroup. Group representatives come to the front of the class and workwith others and with me to check their work. I set it up this way so thatthe girls can help each other learn. The friendly competition betweenthe groups motivates them, and because they also have to talk with theteacher, they no longer feel shy and are happy to participate in class.”


15:04 We work together in groups to do the exercises.


15:23

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“Before this intervention girls were not involved in sports. People wouldsay, ‘This is not our culture.’ Girls running, jumping and moving like boyswas socially unacceptable. So when the school first introduced thisprogramme with volleyball and football, it wasn’t easy to convince theparents to allow their daughters to play. The uniform in particular was a big hurdle. A generation ago, women were expected to coverthemselves from head to toe. They are no longer expected to cover theirheads, but they must at least cover the rest. Those who wear revealingclothes are considered vulgar and unacceptable for marriage. But linkingthese programmes to the school allowed us to overcome both of thesechallenges. With teachers coaching the teams and supporting the girls, it was easier to convince people that it was okay. “This programme has been running for less than a year but I have

already seen lots of positive results. One of the most important is socialinclusion. There are both Dalits and non-Dalits that participate. Playingsports together has made them more friendly with and supportive of oneanother. This environment is also appreciated by their parents and thewider community. Because of it, the whole concept of ‘untouchability’ isdiminishing. “This socially conducive environment has also created positive support

in the learning environment. Those who need help have started askingfor support from other students and the teachers. The girls are activelyparticipating in class, and most important, because they are playingsports they want to come to school, which means they attend regularly.”

—Ramesh Prasad, Teacher and Coordinator of the Girls’ Sports Clubs

GIRLS’ SPORTS CLUBS

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16:12 We make two teams and play on the village pitch. We all still feel a bit strange in these uniforms.When I asked my parents about joining the sports club they were very supportive. They didn’t mind at allabout the uniform. However, we do have to be careful in front of society. Many of us still wear our trouserstucked up under our shorts. It just feels more modest that way.

16:12 We have shirts and shortsbut the uniform doesn’t come withshoes, and none of us owns sportsshoes, so we play in bare feet.Sometimes my feet really hurt, butmostly it just means we can’t kickthe ball so well.


What do you think about girls playing football?“It’s not good. They wear short pants.”

Why is that “not good”?“This is not our culture. It is not acceptable. After some years we maycome to accept it, but probably not in our generation.”

What do you think about the tuition and homework club?“Both clubs should be open to boys too.”

Do you understand why it is only for girls?“The girls are lagging behind—and they are shy.”

Do you think these activities help with that?“Could be.”

Which do you prefer, girls who are shy or those who participate?“The active girls that participate.”

Why?“Because they can improve our society. If a girl is active she can rear herchildren in a better way and society can change.”

But do you want society to change? More equality may mean menhave to do more work at home. “Look at a bicycle. If it has only one wheel, it won’t function. Similarly,society cannot function with only one sex doing all the work. For oursociety, our country, we need to educate our women.”

Do you all agree?“Yes. But change comes slowly. Development starts with the individual.If two people start to develop, in time all men and women will develop.”

16:38 Lots of people from thevillage come out to watch us play,including some of the boys fromschool. They laugh when we makemistakes, but they also cheer forus when we play well. I’m gladthey come.

THE VIEW FROM THE SIDELINES: WHAT THE BOYS HAVE TO SAY

“Some people say girls like us should be learning skills likemaking handicrafts that will allow us to earn money oneday. I agree that it is important to be able to stand onyour own two feet, but earning money isn’t everything. Ifyou are good at sports you get honour and prestige, andthat sort of recognition is important too. Sports activitiesmake you feel good about yourself and because of thisfeeling you do better in school as well. When I play a gameand people clap I feel so good. I feel so encouraged. I feelconfident that I can do something worthwhile.”

—Seema



Creating change for girls and their communities

To support the sports club activities, UNICEF provides equipment,

including volleyball nets and balls, footballs, badminton sets, and

jerseys. UNICEF also supports inter-school sports matches to encourage

friendly competition among the girls. These often become major

community events where many community members witness girls

playing sports—perhaps the first time they have ever seen such a thing

in their lives.

16:56 I get everything I needfrom a game of football:exercise, time with friends, thechance to learn from othersand recognition. Whether it issports or singing or dancing orschoolwork, when you feel youare good at something that’swhat you want to do.

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17:43 My father worked allday today building a latrine. Heis also a blacksmith. When I gethome my mother is helping himfinish a project he is workingon for someone in the village.


18:04While they are working, I help make dinner. Theskills I learn in sports club are useful in lots ofother situations, for example, cooperating withothers in a game is a lot like working with mymother or my sister in the kitchen to cook ameal. In football it feels good when you worktogether to score a goal. There is a sense ofjoint achievement--a lot like when all of us worktogether to complete a task at home.

20:10 After doing my homework I go to bed.

The education and empowerment of girls creates abetter future for the girls themselves, and beyond that

for their families, communities and nations.

UNICEF is working with the government, local education authorities and NGOs in Nepal to

support the country’s most vulnerable adolescent girlsin developing the skills and confidence they need tocontinue their education and achieve their dreams.

www.supportunicef.org/schoolsforasia

To fund all of its work UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations from individuals,

governments, institutions and corporations. We receive no money from the UN budget.

UNICEF’s goal is to make a difference for all children, everywhere, all the time.

ABOUT UNICEF

All children have rights that guarantee them what they need to survive,grow, participate and fulfill their potential. Yet every day these rights aredenied. Millions of children die from preventable diseases. Millions moredon’t go to school, or don’t have food, shelter and clean water. Childrensuffer from violence, abuse and discrimination. This is wrong. UNICEF works globally to transform children’s lives by protecting and

promoting their rights. Their fight for child survival and development takesplace every day in remote villages and in bustling cities, in peaceful areasand in regions destroyed by war, in places reachable by train or car and interrain passable only by camel or donkey. Their achievements are won school by school, child by child, vaccine by

vaccine, mosquito net by mosquito net. It is a struggle in which success ismeasured by what doesn't happen—by what is prevented.UNICEF will continue this fight—to make the difference for all children,

everywhere, all the time.

UNICEF Nepal

PO Box 1187

UN House

Pulchowk

Kathmandu

NEPAL

Tel : + (977) 1-5523 200

Fax: + (977) 1-5527 280

www.unicef.org/nepal

Photography, writing and design: Kelley Lynch

Following the success of Schools for Africa, in January 2012

UNICEF launched the Schools for Asia initiative:

www.supportunicef.org/schoolsforasia

unicef nepal: seema's story

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