Outcome NPL_D_1.4

By 2027, more people, especially women, youth, and the most marginalized and poor increasingly participate in and benefit from coordinated, inclusive, accessible, participatory, transparent, and gender-responsive governance, access to justice and human rights at federal, provincial, and local levels.

Significant progress was made towards this outcome in 2024. Women, especially the ones from excluded groups are now participating in various governance processes and benefiting from gender responsive governance services. Collective advocacy by women and marginalized groups in six provinces have had concrete results such as : 1) allocation of budget amounting to NPR 919,000 (USD 6,858 ) by nine local governments for various issues related to gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) such as women peace and security (WPS), referral clinics to enable access of women to various multisectoral services and awareness raising by self-help women’s groups; and 2) development of 17 local level action plans by 17 municipalities in three provinces, for various areas of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) including women peace and security issues. More women are now also participating in various governance mechanisms including in at the decision-making levels. A total of 110 women from four provinces are now representing in various governance and monitoring mechanisms at the local level. These include women participating in the sub-committee for implementation of the second National Action Plan on WPS, human rights networks, road construction user committees, and forest user groups. Gender responsive governance was further institutionalized at the local and federal level. In three provinces (Sudurpaschim, Madhesh, and Karnali), two municipalities have started collecting disaggregated data for cases registered at the judicial committees; one municipality started reviewing the need for policy related to gender-based violence (GBV) elimination fund; and one municipality has started referring the cases to One stop Crisis Management Centre for health treatment of GBV survivors, and 11 LGUs established a breast-feeding corner for lactating mothers as part of gender responsive infrastructure. At the federal level, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) amended the Gender Disability Equality and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Policy 2021 following a comprehensive GESI audit of NHRC. Further, the Government of Nepal demonstrated strong commitment to comply with the international human rights frameworks on GEWE such as CEDAW through timely submission of the 7th Periodic Treaty Body Report of the state party to the CEDAW Committee. Additionally, two CEDAW shadow reports were submitted by Shadow Report Preparation Committee, a network of more than 80 diverse CSOs as well as the National Muslim Women Welfare Society. These commitments were further evident in the 18-point declaration issued by 47 women judges from across the country including the former first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, calling for action from all stakeholders to promote gender equality and social inclusion within the judiciary. Further, a mentoring guideline for enhancing leadership of women judges has been developed as a result of the historic conference, "First National Conference of Women Judges: Enhancing Leadership Skill". UN Women made significant contribution to achieving these results, by implementing several initiatives ranging from capacity building support for both rights holder and duty bearers, strengthening coordination support, advocacy dialogues at the national and community levels, enhancing accountability mechanisms, and legal reforms. UN Women provided technical and financial support to its programme partners, LACC, JURI Nepal, CVWN and Tewa to strengthen the participation and advocacy of women and marginalized groups through leadership and advocacy training, reflective dialogues, networking, and platforms for collectivizing and building solidarity, with financial contribution from the Government of Finland and European Union. UN Women provided technical and financial support to develop the GEDSI Policy which outlines key strategies for fostering gender responsive institution, processes, and service delivery. The role of UN Women as a strategic partner in formulating the amended GEDSI and advancing GESI was also commended by NHRC during an international conference. Based on the progress made, the original strategy and theory of change for this outcome is largely still applicable and thus, remain unchanged. If as expected these strategies are successful, then more women and girls including those from the most marginalized groups will benefit from and contribute to gender responsive and inclusive governance processes.

By 2027, more people, especially women, youth, and the most marginalized and poor increasingly participate in and benefit from coordinated, inclusive, accessible, participatory, transparent, and gender-responsive governance, access to justice and human rights at federal, provincial, and local levels.

Substantive progress was made towards this outcome, reflecting systemic shifts in women’s civic engagement and enhanced gender-responsiveness of public institutions. Women, youth, and excluded groups demonstrated measurable increases in meaningful participation in governance processes and greater ability to influence decision-making and accountability mechanisms. Concurrently, government institutions exhibited increased openness, responsiveness, and commitment to gender-inclusive policies, planning, and resource allocation, indicating positive shifts in institutional behavior. As reported in monitoring reports, 7,496 women from marginalized groups participated in local governance forums, including 109 in leadership positions, marking a shift from passive presence to active civic engagement, with women articulating priorities in public forums that had historically excluded their perspectives. In these gains, feminist movement building and collective actions by women’s rights organizations (WROs) played a critical role by expanding civic space and strengthening women’s leadership and confidence to participate in political and public life, including the forthcoming elections. Six grassroots WROs conducted advocacy events that resulted in NPR 500,000 (USD 3,850) allocated for community awareness programmes, and two local governments committed to making existing GBV funds more accessible to survivors. Grassroots WROs referred 38 cases across caste and ethnicity groups to police, judicial committees, One-Stop Crisis Management Centers (OCMC), and courts, demonstrating strengthened trust in referral systems and improved community-to-justice linkages. The Government of Nepal reinforced its commitment to translating treaty obligations on gender equality into measurable results by developing its first-ever Roadmap for CEDAW implementation. Covering 49 of 82 recommendations from the 7th Periodic Review, the Roadmap establishes a coordinated framework for implementation and reporting across all levels of government. Local governments demonstrated institutional shifts by adopting and implementing gender-responsive laws, policies, and guidelines. Eight local governments adopted and operationalized GBV Elimination Fund Procedure Acts, enabling 60 survivors to access NPR 65,000 (USD 542) for transportation, treatment, and livelihood support. Seven municipalities adopted Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) policies, while two local governments endorsed GBV Elimination Fund Guidelines, unlocking previously unused survivor-centered resources. Local governments further demonstrated ownership by allocating a total of NPR 15.41 million (USD 106,636) for gender-responsive initiatives across key sectors, including support for women’s entrepreneurship and livelihood, leadership development, and access to justice. Efforts to improve access to justice produced tangible results. Seventeen local governments waived case registration fees, benefiting 55 women. Twenty-six local governments established or strengthened referral mechanisms, resulting in 55 referrals to OCMC, legal aid providers, and the police. Nine municipalities introduced disaggregated case recording systems, and two local governments established confidential rooms and breastfeeding corners, improving dignity and accessibility within justice services. UN Women provided strategic, technical, and financial support, convened multi-stakeholder platforms, and promoted feminist, rights-based, and inclusive governance approaches. Civil society partners implemented advocacy, accountability, and service-linkage interventions, while donors, including the Government of Finland, UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the European Union, Australian DFAT, and the Multi-Partner Trust Fund, enabled sustained engagement on inclusive governance, access to justice, and human rights. These results affirm the original theory of change: that strengthening the capacities of rights holders and duty bearers, combined with inclusive mechanisms and accountability processes, leads to more gender-responsive governance and justice systems, particularly in the current context of increased public demand for accountability, rising youth movements and forthcoming elections. Within this framework, sustained investment in young women’s leadership and a smooth transitional justice process will be critical to advancing inclusive and rights-based governance.

By 2027, more people, especially women, youth, and the most marginalized and poor increasingly participate in and benefit from coordinated, inclusive, accessible, participatory, transparent, and gender-responsive governance, access to justice and human rights at federal, provincial, and local levels.

Women and the most marginalized and poor increasingly participate in and benefit from coordinated, inclusive, accessible, participatory, transparent, and gender-responsive governance, access to justice and human rights at federal, provincial, and local levels. A total of 481 individuals (354 females, 127 males) accessed justice through 11 Judicial Committees, and informal justice mechanisms supported by UN Women in 11 Local Government Units (LGUs). This was further strengthened by the assistance of four legal aid lawyers. Among them, A total of 77 women (diverse ethnic groups) supported by 11 Grassroots Women's Organizations (GWOs) successfully accessed justice services, indicating the organizations' effective engagement in governance. These GWOs also conducted 23 advocacy programs involving 537 people (420 females, 117 males), addressing topics like strengthening GWOs-LGUs coordination for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) and facilitating access to justice. Furthermore, 25 community awareness events were organized by these GWOs, reaching 665 community members (620 females, 45 males) to combat discriminatory practices. UN Women’s financial and technical support were crucial in these advocacy efforts. Further, three key policies - Mediation Procedure, Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion Policy, and Judicial Committee Procedural Law - were officially endorsed by two LGUs (Gauriganga Municipality, and Bhajani Municipality), highlighting an enhanced commitment to gender-sensitive justice processes. This was facilitated by Legal Aid and Consultancy Centre under the project on access to justice with funding and technical assistance from UN Women. Additionally, the first amendment to the Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006, came into effect, addressing key citizenship issues and paving the way for previously denied citizens to obtain citizenship through UN Women’s advocacy efforts in close collaboration with key development partners and civils society organizations. Six LGUs allocated a total of NPR 13,00,000 (USD 9,848) for GWOs to conduct community awareness, showcasing increased collaboration between LGUs and GWOs. This was a result of UN Women’s support to capacity building efforts in gender-responsive justice and human rights advocacy, reflective dialogues, sharing platforms, and video-making skills. The first-ever CEDAW shadow report was submitted by the Muslim Women’s Group through the National Muslim Women Welfare Society (NMWWS), highlighting the status of Muslim women in Nepal and related key issues faced by this group and demanding accountability from duty bearers to address such issues. To facilitate this process, NMWWS received technical and financial from UN Women. Nepal's first same-sex marriage was registered at the local government, marking a milestone in marriage equality advocacy. This followed UN Women's recommendation on same-sex marriage equality and represents a significant achievement in civil rights. The federal Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizen finalized and submitted Nepal’s Seventh Period Report to CEDAW in July 2023. This was achieved with continuous technical and financial support from UN Women, indicating strong collaboration and commitment to eliminating discrimination against women.