Women and girls are discriminated against both socially and legally in Nepal. Socially and traditionally especially in remote rural areas, child labour (especially of girls), domestic abuse, and sexual exploitation are socially accepted norms. Additionally, girls are traditionally not educated and kept illiterate, increasing their financial dependency and keeping them unaware of their basic human rights. A number of laws also discriminate against women's citizenship, inheritance rights, divorce rights, and even by meting out minimal to no punishment against their physical or sexual abusers.The recent conflict has only added to the problem, causing many fathers and husbands (on whom women were dependent) to be killed or disappeared and making it more difficult for women to seek justice and enforcement of the few protections they do have under the law.The Women's Foundation (WF) is a non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in 1988 by a group of professional women, to address the problems of women in Nepal by increasing public awarenessof opportunities for economic and social self-development, by fostering social responsibility and self-reliance in developing villages, and by empowering women to improve their lives and community. The issues surrounding women's rights touch every area of society and skill from agriculture to health care to teaching, so the WF has developed a variety of social, educational, legal, and financial programs, and almost anyone can help in some way.The Volunteer Society Nepal places volunteers with the WF, provides language and culture training that will enable them to maximize their potential to contribute and learn, arranges a homestay experience, and provides support for volunteers for the duration of their stay.
What a volunteer can do to help:
Any of the following volunteer activities may be done full time, or combined with another VSN volunteer program:

Teaching English at a shelter for survivors of violence

Who lives at the shelter?
Women and children who are survivors of domestic, physical, or sexual violence or the recent conflict, who were abandoned by their husbands and fathers, or whose husbands and fathers died, orphans, and survivors of rape and torture.
What does the shelter provide?
A home, food, education, skill training for income generation, extracurricular training and classes, psychological counseling, and health care.
Where is the shelter?
The shelter is located in Kathmandu, Nepal
Who would I teach and when?
Class times and groups are flexible, but classes for school-age children would be taught after school ends at 4 p.m., and children are generally divided into younger (approx. ages 8 – 12) and older (approx. ages 13 – 17) age groups.
Groups and times for women's classes are more flexible.

Skill training (for income generating activities)

What programs are currently in place?
Current skill training programs identify local resources and use local materials for the development of skills, which contribute to sustainable resource use and economic development. Examples of skill training programs offered include sewing, weaving methods, tailoring, beautician training, paper making, retail shop running, animal-raising, toy-making, and other small business products training or marketing.
What could I do to help?
Volunteers can hold workshops, classes, training, etc. on existing programs or production methods, or for a longer stay, even introduce new products and training programs.
Where would training take place?
Training would generally take place at our training center in Kathmandu, Nepal, but depending on the type of training, length of stay, and ability of volunteer, another location might be arranged.

Work on an Organic Farm

Why an organic farm?
At least 80% of the population of Nepal is involved in some type of agriculture, and greatly affects the lives of Nepali women. Poor farming methods, misuse of pesticides and chemicals, deforestation, and lack of agricultural education contribute to rural poverty and the desperate condition of many families, women, and children. The organic farm not only provides training, but serves as a source of food for the shelter for survivors of violence, and provides additional income to run the shelter and WF programs.
What work would I do?
Work may vary greatly depending on a volunteer's experience, time of year, and other factors. Volunteers may do manual labor on the farm, or may hold training or workshops on environmental education or organic farming methods.
Where is the farm?
The farm is located in the Kathmandu Valley, less than an hour bus ride away from Kathmandu.
Volunteer Requirements:
A minimum of a five-week stay is required (one week of language and cultural training, followed by four weeks of volunteer work).
The volunteer must make a final decision on whether they want to work with the WF (and notify VSN of this) at least one month prior to coming.
Once a commitment has been made, it is very important that the volunteer sticks with their commitment. VSN's values our relationship and the good reputation of our volunteers with our partners and it is important to maintain our rapport of reliability and trust.
Volunteers must be female
Volunteers must be at least 20 years old.