WOW Kathmandu 2017 Workshops

By the end of the workshop, the participants were acquainted with some tools for starting their own initiatives and its sustainability (Hosted by Nikita Acharya from Urban Girl)

Nikita Acharya is a Cofounder/CEO of Urban Girl which is leading e-commerce in Nepal and Cofounder of UG Cakes which is also a leading online cake seller in Nepal. She is also the initiator of the Royal Wedding, a wedding planning company in Nepal. She is the country ambassador of the Women Entrepreneurship Day through which she has been actively involved in promoting women entrepreneurship in Nepal. 

By the end of the session, the participants were able to explore how body image affects how we see ourselves and society perpetuates beauty standards based on stereotypes and biasedness. (Hosted by Jyotsana Maskay and Shiwa Karmacharya from Loom Nepal)

Jyotsna Maskay is fat, fun and a feminist. She draws her power and energy from the women's movement and believes in using an inter-sectional approach to analysis. She does not claim the knowledge extracted from women's experiences, but that has sharpened her experiences in areas of movement, women defenders, migration, violence based on gender among others. She has set up a feminist organisation called LOOM that adopts a multi-generational approach in interconnecting generations of activists. She loves dogs and reading detective books.

Shiwa Karmacharya is a young feminist. Raised and inspired by three strong women in her family, she harnessed feminist values at an early age. She works for a feminist organisation. Shiwa is a basketball coach and a member of the first women's national basketball squad since 2009. 

The participants discussed their experiences and explore different gender roles for girls and boys and discuss why it exists. (Hosted by Punjita Pradhan)

Punjita Pradhan is the Founder and Chairman of Utkarsha Nepal. As a freelance journalist, she has more than 10 years of experience in various print and audio-visual media, locally and internationally. Along with a diploma in English Literature, she is also a documentary filmmaker – researching, writing and developing stories on social issues to raise awareness.

Punjita envisages Utkarsha as an organization that will pioneer positive social change in our societies. She is the recipient of the Youth Leadership Award (2014) for her contribution in the field of journalism. She was trained by the World Media Summit (WMS) to become a crisis/war journalist.

The participant recognized the importance of self-care and use some tools to minimize stress and burnout by the end of the session. (Hosted by: Gomawati (Srijana) Pun)

Gomawati Pun: serves as Treasurer to NAWHRD and also is the Founder and Executive Director of her own organisation, the Women Forum for Women in Nepal (WOFOWON). WOFOWON is an organisation that is made up of a network of women workers working in the informal and entertainment sectors of the country. She highlights the importance of the ability for women workers to come together and unite for a common purpose, as well as how essential it is for the movement to ensure that all voices are heard. In particular, she says that “young women leaders are important in the organisation to strengthen voices against discrimination and exploitation that are faced by all women.”