Youth champion discovers her calling after working with disadvantaged youth in Functional Literacy Class programme

Chanda Sah, 23, has been inspired to pursue a career in education after working as a facilitator for the UNESCO Functional Literacy Class (FLC), a Joint Programme supported by KOICA.

"I am so energized by seeing the impact FLC has had on adolescent girls in my community that I am going to enrol in an education program at the first opportunity," she says.

Sah became involved with the Joint Programme through a local organization that provided vocational training to girls who had dropped out of school.

Sah identifies child marriage as the most detrimental practice for girls and women; and believes that all other efforts to uplift girls and women should complement efforts to reduce child marriage. With the FLC programme, she worked with girls who were school dropouts, others who had never been to school, and some who had been child brides.

Child brides are denied further education - they lack literacy and are unable to manage finances, making them completely dependent on others. Pregnancy at a young age has huge costs for their reproductive and psychological health. And they are subjected to gender-based violence.

Chanda Sah, Rauthat

As the FLC grouped participants with facilitators from their own communities, she has been able to follow the girls' progress after the programme's completion. She has seen a marked improvement in their confidence because of their new learning. "They can now say no to child marriage. They can list all the detrimental effects it has had on their health and even points to the law against it. This has helped them continue their education and improved their wellbeing."

COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns that followed have resulted in many girls going back to farm work, while some parents took advantage of lower dowries and smaller weddings to marry off their daughters. But Sah is encouraged by a gradual change in attitudes that she has seen among young girls and among their parents.

"Girls who get an education and earn a living show family what they are capable of, and become role models in the community. This has encouraged previously hesitant families to send their daughters to school," Sah says. Vocational training has also helped. "There are three or four women in my neighbourhood who have installed sewing machines at home and are stitching clothes. They are becoming financially self-sufficient."

Despite the progress, Sah knows that a lot remains to be done. "Our society is still very conservative in its attitudes towards daughters. Parents and guardians must also be educated because girls defer to them when it comes to education and marriage," Sah says.

Sah is committed to working with adolescent girls for their upliftment. "Girls in our communities have no ability to protect themselves," she says. "They cannot even speak up for their own wellbeing. That's why I will continue to work in education."

About the UNESCO-UNFPA-UN Women Joint Programme

"Empowering Adolescent Girls and Young Women through the Provision of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and a Safe Learning Environment in Nepal" is a Joint Programme led by UNESCO, UNFPA, and UN Women with support from KOICA aiming to empower girls and young women through an integrated approach to education, health, and gender equality. For more inquiries, contact the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu at [email protected]