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Engaging Youth in the Constitutional Process in Nepal   
June 23, 2010 — Drafting a fair and equitable constitution is a long and laborious task for a country emerging from conflict. The people of Nepal can bear testimony to this fact. Nepal’s government recently announced that they were extending the Constituent Assembly for another year to try and bridge some of the impasses between rivaling parties in creating the country’s new constitution. The extension of the process may cause discontent among the Nepali people, but it also allows for more opportunities for their voices to be heard. CEDPA is working with the WomenAct coalition to ensure that the rights of women and youth are included in the new constitution. WomenAct, a coalition of over 35 women organizations, was formed in 2008 after a series of CEDPA workshops. The coalition has worked hard over the past two years to express the importance of including women’s needs and rights in the new constitution. An integral portion of the coalition’s efforts went into drafting and presenting a Charter of Women’s Rights to the Constituent Assembly. In addition, the coalition conducted sessions on gender equity for assembly members.
Recently, WomenAct and two grass-root organizations, Samudayik Sarathi and Rural Community Development Service Council, conducted a series of seminars to educate and engage youth in the constitutional process. With support from USAID and The Asia Foundation, they selected five moderators from 45 municipalities around the country to lead the seminars. The seminars covered the judiciary system, national interest protection, state restructuring and forms of governance. Moderators were then trained on the complexities of these issues and questionnaires were developed to facilitate feedback from the participants. Each seminar included an average of 50 men and women from universities, NGOs, cooperatives, local youth clubs and the media. The young people relished the opportunity to voice their concerns about topics such as freedom of speech, freedom of choice and the compulsory army service in an open forum. Over 6,750 youth attended the seminars, eager to make their concerns heard to elected officials. The results from each session were collected and compiled. The reports were presented to members of the Constituent Assembly, government representatives, civil society organizations and the media. The project was instrumental in making the young people feel like they were being heard and increased their expectation of participation in the political process. Learn more about CEDPA’s work in Governance. |
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