[{"bbox": [82, 104, 1147, 372], "category": "Text", "text": "male counterparts for work of equal value, women earn, on average, NPR. 0.70 for each Rupee earned by men²⁴. They have limited control over their own cash earnings, with only 51.8% of married women aged 15-49 reporting having control over their earnings²⁵. Despite their critical role in agriculture and agroforestry²⁶, sectors with solid green job growth potential²⁷ in line with the EU's MIP priority 1 (Green Growth), women continue to face severe barriers in accessing land, productive resources, credit, technology and markets. Limited knowledge about markets, as well as restricted opportunities for setting-up enterprises and agriculture businesses hinder women's farming yields²⁸, and they are often denied collective voice and representation due to the sector's low levels of organisation. Moreover, about 87% of all child labour is in agriculture, and together with forestry, accounts for approximately 44% of workers in forced labour in the country²⁹. PWDs, landless, lower-caste, indigenous groups and those belonging to minority ethnic groups face additional barriers in accessing resources including common property resources."}, {"bbox": [82, 372, 1147, 610], "category": "Text", "text": "The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MOLESS) is mandated to implement the Labour Act (2017), including provisions on gender equality and non-discrimination in access to work and economic opportunities. It demonstrates limited capacity to meet international commitments (e.g., ratified ILO Conventions) and uphold labour rights, particularly for women and PWD, with few services available at the community level. While trade unions, employers' organisations, cooperatives and other member-based organisations (MBOs) have better local level reach, they still lack a coordinated GEWE approach for labour and productive rights. Gender relations in the private sector are mediated by harmful gender norms and unbalanced power relations. Therefore, engaging micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly business development service providers (BDSPs) and financial institutions, is essential for women's economic empowerment (WEE)."}, {"bbox": [82, 640, 1114, 666], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## Priority Area and sectors: Governance - Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions"}, {"bbox": [82, 666, 1147, 1037], "category": "Text", "text": "Formal and informal barriers limit women's substantive participation in governance systems. Despite the quota system, women from excluded groups, LGBTIQ+ persons and PWD remain under-represented across public institutions, and with limited access to decision making platforms. Established systems of patronage, practices and hierarchies within governance institutions where men, and in particular dominant caste/class men, have held power, continue to limit GE efforts. Women are routinely regarded as 'unskilled' and 'incapable' of carrying out their responsibilities. Moreover, the general perception is that the space for civic engagement is shrinking, with a reported increase in backlash against women human rights defenders (WHRDs). The trust deficit between the state and citizens continues to widen, given increasing public concerns over corruption, inequality, and ensuring rule of law. Those affected by the protracted armed conflict (including survivors of conflict related sexual violence) await justice and reparations, more than a decade after the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement in 2006. Implementation deficits across sectors and levels of government, present a critical challenge to the realization of GE commitments – these include low capacities of government officials to advance GEWE, limited financing, lack of coordination across different levels, and weak data and monitoring systems to capture impact of policies and rules on diverse groups from an intersectional perspective."}, {"bbox": [82, 1037, 1147, 1358], "category": "Text", "text": "Despite a strong mandate to implement and monitor GE commitments, the national women's machinery (MOWCSC and NWC) demonstrates limited capacity and authority to shape the political agenda. GEWE is not seen as a strategic priority by the more \"influential\" actors such as the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM), National Planning Commission (NPC) and Ministry of Finance (MOF). Gender mainstreaming is not prioritized by key sectoral ministries, with limited spaces for civil society engagement in formal processes of governance. Formal GE coordination mechanisms do not exist yet at provincial and local government (palika), nor inter-level coordination between provincial, local and federal level. Thus, the action will prioritize strengthening of institutional capacities at all levels to advance GE, and leverage the opportunities presented by federalism to strengthen political ownership, catalyse investments and enhance both vertical and horizontal accountability for GEWE Civil society is very active in the GE theme. To strengthen the demand side of governance, the action will support women's rights organisations (WROs) and youth organisations (YOs) especially those advancing the rights of the excluded groups, with skills and resources for civic engagement and political dialogue."}, {"bbox": [82, 1390, 647, 1418], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## Priority Area and sectors: Governance - Social protection"}, {"bbox": [82, 1424, 1147, 1479], "category": "Text", "text": "Social protection, a key lever for advancing gender equality. Currently, it reaches approximately 30% of women, leaving most women and girls without income security, while only about 17% of the total population have access to"}, {"bbox": [72, 1504, 548, 1528], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁴ GoN and ILO, 2019. National Labour Force Survey 2017/18."}, {"bbox": [72, 1527, 524, 1550], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁵ GoN, 2017. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016."}, {"bbox": [72, 1549, 1063, 1573], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁶ These two sectors engage 21.5% of Nepal's labour force, with one out of every three employed women engaged in these two sectors."}, {"bbox": [72, 1571, 699, 1594], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁷ ILO, 2019. Nepal Employment and Environmental Sustainability Factsheet 2017."}, {"bbox": [72, 1593, 811, 1616], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁸ FAO. 2019. Country gender assessment of agriculture and the rural sector in Nepal. Kathmandu."}, {"bbox": [72, 1615, 428, 1638], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁹ ILO, 2021. Nepal Child Labour Report 2021."}, {"bbox": [1051, 1662, 1157, 1687], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 7 of 22"}]