Governance, Advocacy, Justice and Empowerment: Overview

In alignment with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5: Gender Equality and Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions; SEBAC-Nepal has been actively empowering women and young girls through a wide range of advocacy and leadership initiatives. These efforts focus on legal awareness, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), decision-making power, community justice, and the promotion of human rights and peacebuilding.

SEBAC-Nepal’s initiatives directly contribute to SDG Target 5.5, which emphasizes ensuring women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in political, economic, and public life. They also align with SDG Target 16.7, which promotes responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels.

At the national level, these actions support the Government of Nepal’s 16^th Five-Year Plan, which sets a target to achieve a Gender Development Index (GDI) of 0.99. Through these initiatives, SEBAC-Nepal has played a vital role in uplifting women and girls in both social and economic spheres. Key areas of impact include enhanced community justice for victims and survivors, promotion of human rights, and the strengthening of local peacebuilding mechanisms.

In line with this goal, SEBAC-Nepal has successfully implemented 15 projects focused on advocacy, leadership development, gender equality, and good governance

Governance, Advocacy, Justice and Empowerment: Areas of Expertise

✅ Advocacy and leadership initiatives through empowering women and young girls
✅ Enhancing Women engagement in decision making process and meaningful women participation
✅ Community empowerment program through gender advocacy in communities
✅ Legal awareness campaign/paralegal support in communities
✅ Awareness campaign/movements in communities for community justice
✅ Support for violence survivor, including women and girls through legal support, awareness raising, psychosocial support, paralegal support and livelihood promotion
✅ Launching campaigns against harmful socio-cultural practices (such as Chhaupadi and child marriage), Gender Based Violence (GBV), domestic violence, and against caste- and gender-based discrimination;
✅Enhancing skills and knowledge for income generation;  
✅Strengthening and capacitating women rights forums;
✅Delivering training in leadership to aspiring female leaders at the local level

Key Interventions and Achievements of SEBAC-Nepal

✅100,000 women and young girls empowered through advocacy and leadership initiatives
✅Mobilized 245 right based networks (pressure groups)
✅685 women right forums established and empowered for justice and rights of the women
✅Imparted legal awareness campaign in 75 communities for eliminating harmful socio-cultural practices (such as Chhaupadi, child marriage, polygamy marriage), domestic violence, and against caste- and gender-based discrimination and violation in the community;
✅1250 women engaged at decision making processes at the community level
✅Imparted a number of leadership and legal literacy training to 675 elected female representatives of the local government to make them capable in decision-making process;
✅2200 women elected/nominated at the vital positions of local level users’ groups, network and other groups
✅260 women owned land/houses through land certificates
✅Awareness campaign/movement in 60 communities for community justice for victim/survivors, human rights, and peace building.
✅195 women elected as political representatives in the local government
✅Over 80 CSO networks formed, established and strengthened for creating right holders’ voices;
✅12,000 women participated meaningfully in various workshop, seminar, conference and raised their voices of justice, expressed their needs, opinions, etc.
✅Provided paralegal support to 99 women groups (19 Dalit/Janajati and 80 others) through paralegal program and training;
✅9,000 women and men changed their gender roles atthe house and community level through community empowerment program.
✅26 Community Peace Centers (CPCs) formed and mobilized in conflict, peace, legal services and reconciliation process.

Key Project Implemented by SEBAC-Nepal in Governance, Gender Advocacy and Empowerment (Total 15 Projects)

S.N.	Project Name	Donor	Project Duration	Project districts
1	Girls Power Project	Plan International Nepal	April 2013 to June 2019	Sunsari
2	Reduction of Workload for Development of Women's Leadership: Achham	Achham Livelihood Security Project/CARE-Nepal	May to September 2003	Achham
3	Women leadership Development and Empowerment Program (POWER)	Care- Nepal	July 2000 to December 2006	Achham
4	Women's Leadership Development Project: Achham	Remote Area Development Committee/ CARE-Nepal	July 2002 to June 2003	Achham
5	Youth Empowerment Program	Plan International Nepal	July 2011 to June 2017	Sunsari District
6	Capacity Building & mobilization of Local stakeholders (SMCPTA) project	GSF/UN-Habitat	July 2013 to January 2015	Sindhupalchowk
7	Peace Promotion Centre and Sanitation Program: Achham	Care Nepal	January to December 2008	Achham
8	SAHABHAGITA Program: Achham	CARE Nepal	August 2007 to December 2010	Achham
9	Women's Participation in Constituent Assembly: Achham	Enabling State Programme/DFID, Lalitpur	September 2006 to January 2007	Achham
10	Participation of Women Enabling their Real Representation Project: Achham	Remote Area Development Committee/CARE-Nepal	July 2005 to December 2006	Achham
11	Training Program on Capacity Development of Female Representatives: Achham	Remote Area Development Committee/ CARE-Nepal	September 2001 to July 2002	Achham
12	Training in Capacity Development of Female Representatives: Achham	Remote Area Development Committee/ CARE-Nepal	May to June 2001	Achham
13	Support to Women Right's Forum for Advocacy and Awareness about Women's Issues: Achham	CARE-Nepal	July to December 2006	Achham
14	Paralegal Program: Achham	NGOCC/Achham	February to November 2006	Achham
15	Empowerment Project	Lutheran World Federation-Nepal	July 2004 to October 2006	Achham