Launch of OKN raises hopes among rural women in Nepal
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For more than a decade, READ - Rural Education And Development, Nepal - has been building community libraries. These libraries are run with the active participation of the community and have their own income generating scheme for meeting operating costs and financial sustainability. Over time they have organically expanded into community centres, dynamically involved in the overall development activities of the community.
The community libraries are contributing in diverse fields, such as education, health, empowerment, childhood development and cultural promotion. They provide knowledge, information, inspiration, support and above all motivation to drive the community into shaping its own future. The establishment of libraries spurs progress and development in the area, and this in turn creates positive changes and growth opportunities for the library itself. The Jhuwani Library at Chitwan formed a separate women's group to further the empowerment of women in the community. 'Even when we want to sit together and discuss our problems, we do not have any space, and tea shops are not a place that our society accepts for women. Libraries being a place of education, offer a neutral and safe space for us to meet, and enables acceptance from our husband and families. This is the voice of women of Jhuwani Community Library in Chitwan. The formation of women’s groups has helped the women to gain self-confidence through increased interaction, encouraged their journey into the public sphere and honed them for participation in decision-making roles. Jhuwani Community Library organizes frequent awareness raising programs for women, and organizes interaction programs promoting dialogue and discussion around women's rights. This platform has helped them to identify problems within their areas and to seek solutions through dialogues with concerned parties. Discussions on issues such as violence against women, trafficking, women's legal right results in greater awareness amongst members of the community library, and these groups have been able to take action against social injustice at local level. Although the women in the area have little training and experience in leading rights-based campaigns, they have benefited greatly from participation in group activities and interactions. They are instrumental in designing and planning the content of trainings and workshops, often utilizing library materials for preparation. In July, 2005, a new component was added to the myriad activities at Jhuwani Library - the Open Knowledge Network (OKN) project was launched. This project includes the installation of computers in the library and provision of training to the community on the use of computers for addressing issues in the community. This could be possible by making the people more informed about more societies, by bridging the technological divide between men and women / rural and urban. It is expected that they can also voice their concerns and share their experiences. Women are looking forward to working on raising the status of rural women and creating space for their own identity. They are also hoping to use ICT tools to get united for their progress and achievement. |
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