<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d18369c7e80680e0ac7b1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="853"/><figcaption>Photos: BRITISH EMBASSY</figcaption></figure>As the UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Girls’ Education, I am lucky enough to meet girls and governments in many different countries.Last week I was delighted to visit Nepal to learn more about the challenges, and solutions, to increase girls’ education in response to the school closures because of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic. I wanted to understand first-hand the climate change threats, and how girls and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-moving-nepals-climate-activism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women have a vital role in Nepal’s response</a>.From Kathmandu to Karnali, I saw the impact of the ‘perfect storm’ of Covid-19 and climate change. It’s clear that girls’ education has been particularly badly affected. I heard how families’ finances are under pressure, making it increasingly likely girls will drop out of school and be forced into early marriage. I saw the aftermath of climate-related damage like flooding and landslides to school buildings, creating further disruption for students.These challenges are not minor setbacks, especially when we recognise how important education is in shaping a global response to climate change. Education builds the skills, confidence and capacity of young women and men, and therefore our collective ability to respond to more frequent natural disasters, extreme weather, and conflict over scarce natural resources.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-double-burden-of-climate-and-covid/">The double burden of climate and Covid</a>, Nepali Times<blockquote>It’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InternationalDayoftheGirl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InternationalDayoftheGirl</a>!Today, and every day, girls’ education must be prioritised. In <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nepal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nepal</a> last week, I saw first-hand the impacts that climate change is having on girls' education, but I also met inspiring women and girls who want to join the fight. More here 👇 <a href="https://t.co/E7WmoMVRzw">pic.twitter.com/E7WmoMVRzw</a>— Helen Grant (@HelenGrantMP) <a href="https://twitter.com/HelenGrantMP/status/1447524074989707264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2021</a></blockquote>And promisingly, it seems clear that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-climate-activist-makes-waves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">young people will step up</a>,  if supported. UNICEF has interesting research showing that young people in South Asia want to know more about the science and practical examples of both climate-related damage and adaptation.Most acknowledge that the effects of climate change are disturbing their education: heatwaves inevitably make it hard to concentrate, and flooding prevents them from travelling to school. But the good news is that 85% want to do something about it.My experience in Nepal completely backs up that research. After majestic views of the Himalayas on a flight to Surkhet, I met a truly inspiring group of young women. They explained how Karnali province was susceptible to floods and landslides but emphasised how local action and female empowerment could lead the response.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d18399c7e80680e0ac7b2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="942" height="942">I am proud that British support to the Girls’ Education Challenge and wonderful organisations like the VSO helped this group to advance girls’ rights. They have supported marginalised younger girls to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/sisterhoods-empowering-education-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stay in school and learn effectively</a>.They have convinced parents and communities to outlaw child marriage, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ensuring-menstrual-hygiene-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tackle menstrual taboos</a> such as chhaupadi, and rebalance chores so they do not impede older girls’ education and empowerment.As I continued my journey by road, to the green and golden Tarai lowland and the ‘river island’ delta of Rajapur, I saw their incredibly rich farmland. The monsoon and glacial melt combine to wash down a billion tonnes of alluvial silt, creating a threat for agriculture-dependent communities, at risk of severe flooding.Here too <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/women-in-climate-hot-spots-face-challenges-adapting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women bear the brunt</a>, almost two-thirds of women work in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vulnerable agriculture sector</a>,  as opposed to less than half of the total men. I met a wonderful group of Janjati women farmers who had boosted productivity with a climate resilient, low maintenance water supply to irrigate paddy fields and vegetable farms.What is more, UK support and local engineers had worked together to hedge against unpredictable flood surges by building, for example, raised flood shelters with ramps.It is undeniable that women and girls are among the most vulnerable to climate shocks, but just as they’re part of the solution. That is one of the reasons why the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put girls’ education high up on the global agenda, to support all girls to complete 12 years of quality education.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d183c9c7e80680e0ac7b3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="556" height="302">We have set an ambitious target to get 40 million girls back into school, and with higher learning levels in the coming five years. We backed that up at the London Global Education Summit in July, where international partners raised $4 billion to support education globally, including in Nepal.Two weeks before I arrived, Nepal’s development partners, led by the British Embassy Kathmandu and the World Bank, signed a landmark agreement to support Nepal with $7.4 billion of investment to ensure a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from Covid-19. This finance will accelerate Nepal’s ability to cut carbon emissions, whilst supporting job creation, renewables, and growth in the green economy.Next month, the UK is hosting <a href="https://ukcop26.org">COP26</a>, the UN Climate Change Conference, which will bring together leaders from around the world to agree on action to tackle the urgent threat of global climate change. The science is clear and unequivocal: human influence is warming our atmosphere, our lands and our oceans. No one is immune to the devastating effects of climate change, but it’s hitting the poorest and most vulnerable hardest.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/women-in-climate-hot-spots-face-challenges-adapting/">Women in climate hot spots face challenges adapting</a>, Marty LoganWhen Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba arrives at the COP26 conference, I’m sure he’ll make clear Nepal’s potential, ambition, and need for climate finance. But amidst the talk of billions of green investment and carbon dioxide emission cuts, on the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October we must not forget that the poorest and most vulnerable girls and women already suffer the worst impact of climate change and are least able to adapt.In the countdown to the annual Dasain festivities that were gathering pace as I departed, I was told how unusual it was for the rains to still be falling. Freak occurrence, or just another example of climate change affecting weather patterns?What I do know is there is one sure way to reduce risks and safeguard the future: educating girls. Through education, girls and women are not only empowered to improve their own lives, but they can also drive change in their communities and help families and neighbours adapt to climate impacts and build more inclusive societies.Helen Grant was appointed in January 2021 as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Girls’ Education.

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Educating girls for climate action

<figure><img width="765" height="432" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba56f9c7e80680e0736c6jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Room to Read's local mentors supporting girls through remote mentoring session.</figcaption></figure>With schools closed for the past five months, and families losing their livelihoods due to the pandemic, many girl students across Nepal are helping their parents and may not rejoin schools once they reopen, a new survey has shown.Some of the girls, especially from poorer families, have been lured into seeking jobs, and some have even fallen prey to labour and sexual exploitation, the survey by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-time-for-every-purpose/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-time-for-every-purpose/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597123246065000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGkmsG1vTn8ZTapfDddZ3aX5jooHA">Room To Read</a> literacy group has shown.The Girls’ Education Risk Survey among 3,992 girls in four districts from April-June this year showed that financial hardship caused by the pandemic may push back <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19596#.XzDWDIoza72" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19596%23.XzDWDIoza72&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597123246065000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFXr2zy8leFPGPyMxip6_6Y0lt5IQ">Nepal’s gains in improving its female school enrolment.</a>During the COVID-19 lockdown there has also been an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/child-marriages-up-during-nepal-lockdown/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/child-marriages-up-during-nepal-lockdown/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597123246065000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDTbpd2OUWeEr4twYUnv3Fie-Tpw">increase in domestic violence</a> against female members of households, and Room To Read itself has lost some of its students to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/more-child-marriages-in-locked-down-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/more-child-marriages-in-locked-down-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597123246065000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHtm9ChCz-vEMds8H0Oz2EPkSlLAA">child marriage.</a>“Keeping girls at school was already a difficult task, but this pandemic is keeping them away from school and is putting them at a higher risk,” explains Salina Tamang at <a href="https://www.roomtoread.org/countries/nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.roomtoread.org/countries/nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597123246065000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDdd99zMSOm6TUF78a4kWeFj7ipA">Room to Read Nepal.</a> <figure><img width="1366" height="768" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5719c7e80680e0736c7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This survey included three indicators for identifying risk of not returning to school: girls not studying at home while their schools are closed, a loss of job or income in the household, and a girl’s stated concern that she will not be able to return to school.Of the nearly 4,000 girls surveyed in Banke, Bardia, Nuwakot and Tanahun districts through June, 45% of girls reported their household income had fallen because members had lost their jobs -– a factor that has lead girls to drop out of school even before this crisis.Another 16% of the girls surveyed said they had stopped studying at home since school closed in March, meaning they will be hesitant to return to school or will have difficulty catching up and passing important gate-keeping exams when they do return.Of those surveyed, 7% admitted that they would probably not return to school when it reopens. The reasons include the need to work or provide care at home, lack of parental support, and limited financial resources. (See chart). <img width="870" height="529" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5749c7e80680e0736c8jpeg.jpg" alt="">One 17-year-old surveyed in Banke district had left for Kathmandu in a truck when the lockdown began to find a job to augment her family income. But she fell into drug addiction, and had to be rescued.“We were monitoring her because she had attended one of our awareness programs against sexual exploitation. Which is why she knew how to save herself when she fell into bad company,” says Ram Pyari of Room To Read.Another 15-year-old from Kohalpur lost her father just before the lockdown started, increasing the responsibility to take care of her mother and three smaller siblings. She decided to drop out of school to take care of her family.“We are trying to find a way for her to continue her education, while managing her family’s needs,” explains Rachana Chaudhary of Room To Read in Kohalpur, who has been counseling the girl. “However dire the situation, a girl’s education should not stop.”The Nepal survey was part of a series conducted by <a href="https://www.roomtoread.org/countries/nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.roomtoread.org/countries/nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597123246065000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDdd99zMSOm6TUF78a4kWeFj7ipA">Room to Read</a> among 28,000 school-going girls in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia andTanzania during pandemic lockdowns. The results were similar to Nepal – 49% of the girls were found to be at risk of not returning to school.“We were very concerned about the impact on education of girls from low income families, and we need to develop strategies to retain them in school,” says Pushkar Lal Shrestha, Nepal Country Director at Room to Read.  Most of the girls interviewed for the survey were involved in domestic chores and did not have access to remote learning. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-impact-on-food-and-school-in-nepali-children/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-impact-on-food-and-school-in-nepali-children/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597123246065000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEp3gSpILwJJE3DcBlJ-Y4srzuO9Q">Figures from another survey by UNICEF</a> in May confirmed some of these finding. It showed that more than half the families reported a loss of jobs or earnings, with one-third facing food shortages.The UNICEF poll also showed that children in 95% of families had stopped going to school, and 52% were not even studying at home, with only 12% attending classes online or by radio/tv.Room To Read has been conducting remote learning classes as well as mentoring sessions with girls to keep them safe and motivated. Counselors sent keep in touch with their students through SMS or social media.

Half of Nepal’s girls may drop out of school

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121156/636a44879c7e80680e04d336jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"/>Nepal has made significant progress in raising primary school enrolment, with more than 95% of boys and girls now attending school from Grades 1 through 5. More than half of adolescent girls in rural areas are now in secondary schools; 15 years ago it was less than 30%.Despite this achievement, poverty, family pressure and gender-unfriendly schools mean that the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19596#.XOUa4yAza70">dropout rate</a> for girl students is still high. As a result, adolescent girls from rural areas get caught in a trans-generational cycle of poverty inherited from their mothers, and are more likely to pass it on to their own children.In response, VSO Nepal, in partnership with Aasaman Nepal, the British Council, Global Action and Mercy Corps, is helping girls in districts like Parsa -- where female literacy is low -- through a program called Sisters for Sisters’ Education. Older girls are recruited to mentor younger ones, increase their enrolment and prevent dropouts.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121156/636a448a9c7e80680e04d337jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800">The older girls are volunteers from the community, who act like Big Sisters to get Little Sisters into school and guide them through adolescence. Big Sisters provide not only academic support but also encouragement and taboo-busting information on sexual and reproductive health to the younger ones.More than one-third (36%) of Nepali women over 15 <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/nepal/literacy-rate-youth-female-percent-of-females-ages-15-24-wb-data.html">have had no education</a>. This rate increases with age, and more than 91% of women ages 60-64 cannot read or write.Sisters for Sisters not only gets Big Sisters to mentor Little Sisters through school and act as positive role models, it works with younger girls, their families and schools to ensure they remain within the formal education system.Although <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/child-marriage-in-nepal-eloped-at-13-mother-by-17/">child marriage is illegal</a>, girls living in rural areas get pulled out of school to be married as early as 13. As girls enter adolescence, this and other pressures increase, resulting in a rising dropout rate: 6% drop out of primary school while 8% percent drop out of secondary school.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121156/636a448d9c7e80680e04d338jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800">By leaving school, adolescent girls in rural areas fail to acquire a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/not-just-half-the-sky,1178">lifetime capacity for critical thinking and problem solving</a> that can only be learned via secondary education, which goes beyond basic literacy and numeracy skills.As Little Sisters age, VSO supports them to enrol in higher education, which enhances the girls’ confidence and self-esteem, enabling them to take control of their own sexual and reproductive health and rights, and develop life skills.So far, peer learning support funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has helped 8,115 girls in Nepal in 50 schools in Dhading, Lamjung, Surkhet and Parsa.Priyanka Budathoki is with VSO Nepal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121156/636a44909c7e80680e04d339jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800">_______________________________________________________________________“Never look back” Sunti Devi is 34 and her daughter is 12, the age she was when she got married. Aged 16 with two babies in her arms and a small bag, Sunti was forced to leave her husband’s home. She does not want her daughter, or other daughters in Nepal, to go through what she did and now mentors female students in her community. Sunti’s story:<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121156/636a44939c7e80680e04d33ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="217" height="193">“I was in Grade 7 when my parents fixed my marriage with someone in a faraway village. I became a mother at 13, and my in-laws taunted me for giving birth to a daughter. A year later I gave birth to a baby boy and hoped to be accepted back to my husband’s house. I returned only to find that he had married someone else.I completed Grade 10 and began teaching in a primary school, renting a room to raise my children as a single mother. I started working in Sisters for Sisters’ Education and have never looked back. I am living in the same community where my husband lives with his second wife, but that does not affect me anymore. I am determined not to let my students be forced into marriage at an early age. As an Auntie Champion I train the girls in life skills, mentor them and increase their confidence.”_______________________________________________________________________“I am proud of my sisters”Apsana Khatun, 19, from Province 2, is a Big Sister community volunteer who mentors four girls (Little Sisters) in a community school. When her relatives wanted her married Apsana’s mother resisted. Her story:<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121156/636a44949c7e80680e04d33bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="816" height="544">“I am a Muslim. The girls in my community cannot go out on their own, and have to wear veils. My relatives wanted me married off, but my mother allowed me to go to school. Many other girls are not so lucky. After completing Grade 10, I became a Big Sister community volunteer in Sisters for Sisters’ Education in my village.I am responsible for four Little Sisters, whom I mentor with academic guidance and emotional support. At first their parents were not happy with me. But I persisted, and got two of them who had dropped out back in school. Now, the parents treat me like family. I feel so proud when the girls in my school say they want to be teachers, doctors and nurses. My mother never went to school; I want every mother in Nepal to be educated."

Sisterhood of students

mainNavigation

footerNavigation

opinionSubnav

girl-child-education

Educating girls for climate action

Half of Nepal’s girls may drop out of school

Sisterhood of students