The Women Leadership and Organization Strengthening Program was implemented by Sarbodaya Development for Campaign Nepal (Sarbodaya Nepal, Jumla) with support from Tewa Nepal, Lalitpur. Sarbodaya Nepal is a women-led organization established in Jumla District, operating for over two decades across Karnali Province districts including Dailekh, Kalikot, Achham, and Jumla, focusing on women's education, health, income generation, and advocacy for marginalized women and children deprived of their rights.

Despite constitutional provisions introduced in Nepal's Constitution 2072 BS (2015 AD) regarding women's rights, effective implementation at the local level has remained insufficient due to inadequate attention from responsible bodies. Recognizing these challenges, Sarbodaya Nepal designed this program to strengthen women's advocacy, enhance capacities of women leaders, and intensify efforts for women's empowerment across all eight municipalities of Jumla District.

The program brought together key stakeholders including Deputy Mayors/Vice-Chairpersons, Women and Children Section Chiefs, women executive committee members, journalists working on women's issues, women advocacy leaders, and Sarbodaya Nepal Board members. Through comprehensive capacity-building initiatives, the program focused on women's leadership development for upcoming elections, gender-responsive budgeting, gender equality and social inclusion at local level, and institutional development of the organization.

Project Objectives

• To strengthen women's advocacy and access to justice by conducting capacity-building training programs for women in Jumla, enhancing their skills to collectively raise issues, seek justice, participate in upcoming elections, and develop political leadership.
• To improve local governance and social advocacy by building the capacity of deputy mayors/vice-chairpersons from all eight municipalities to prioritize women-related programs, while raising awareness among local stakeholders on gender-responsive budgeting and supporting organizational institutional development.