South Asian workshop calls for joint policy reforms for women’s economic empowerment

KATHMANDU: A two-day South Asian regional workshop on women’s economic empowerment concluded in Kathmandu on Tuesday, with participants calling for joint policy reforms and coordinated regional action.

Organised by the South Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF), the Regional Policy Dialogue and Advocacy Workshop was held from September 21 to 22 as part of the FAME Project’s regional initiative, ‘Advocating for Change: Women’s Economic Empowerment through Collective Action’. The initiative is supported by Agence Française de Développement and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Twenty delegates from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives and Bhutan attended the workshop. Participants reviewed six months of research into the challenges and opportunities facing women entrepreneurs across South Asia. They also used plenary sessions to identify transferable policy practices and formulate recommendations for gender-responsive economic policies.

SAWDF President Pramila Acharya Rijal said the event provided an important platform to identify shared challenges, exchange effective policy practices and consolidate evidence-based regional priorities.

Anju Pokhrel, under-secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, outlined schemes and programmes for women entrepreneurs in Nepal. She stressed the need for action at the local, provincial and federal levels.

Marina Dubois of GERES spoke about projects linking renewable energy initiatives in Europe and South Asia and the opportunities they create for women.

Françoise Puig-Inza, Ambassador-designate of France to Nepal, highlighted the collective aim of strengthening economic opportunities and the role of feminist civil society organisations in economic development.

The workshop concluded with a consolidated set of regional recommendations and a roadmap focusing on transferable policy practices, country-specific considerations, priorities for regional collaboration and opportunities for continued collective action.