Two-day girls' conference in Bardiya adopts seven-point resolution

By Siraj Khan,Nepalgunj, Feb. 19: A two-day Girls Conference 2081 has been completed in Patharboji of Madhuban Municipality-1, Bardiya. 

The conference was held keeping the girls' participation and their concerns in the local-level planning process as a major agenda. 

The conference focused on issues such as girls' rights, problems and challenges they face and their participation in local-level planning processes. 

Parvez Ali Siddiqui, the chief patron of Banke UNESCO Club, said that the primary goal of the conference is to empower girls, address adolescent rights issues and enhance their participation at the local level.

The conference organised by Banke UNESCO Club and Radhakrishna Tharu Janasewa Kendra under the Empowered Girls Project in partnership with Plan International Nepal has passed a six-point resolution.  

The resolutions passed by the conference include maintaining the legal marriage age at 20 years, conducting an awareness campaign in the community under the leadership of the Kishori Club to end child marriage and urging the local level to allocate a budget for the overall development of girls and adolescents.

Similarly, the Kishori Club regularly raises awareness about sexual and reproductive health rights through street plays, rallies and interactions. Every year, it organises children's and teenage girls' gatherings, prepares a plan and submits it to the local government.

A nine-point memorandum prepared at the conference to address the problems of girls was submitted to the deputy mayors of Gulariya and Madhuban Municipalities.

Anita Chaudary, Deputy Mayor of Madhuban Municipality and Sabritri Gautam, Deputy Mayor of Gulariya Municipality both participated in the conference and committed to implement the decision made at the conference.   

They said that the problems faced by girls and adolescents will also be addressed when the local government formulates plans.