Aawaaz – Inclusion for and by persons with disabilities in Nepal

The Programme

Recent years have seen considerable advances for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal provides strong guarantees, including the right to education, right to social justice, participation in public life, and the right to live in dignity and honour. Despite the improvements enshrined in the Constitution and the overall legal and policy framework, however, most services remain out of reach for persons with disabilities. Moreover, existing research and the recommendations given by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“the CRPD”) raise the concern that the intersection of gender inequality and disability creates further marginalisation and social, political and economic exclusion for women and girls with disabilities.
Recognising that women and girls are at greater risk of multiple forms of discrimination, the project aims to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities in Nepal and enhance their capacities, in particular in ensuring that policies are gender-responsive through a range of interlinked and reinforcing interventions. The proposed interventions are directly in line with the Constitution of Nepal, the provisions of the CRPD, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2018-2022 and support the Government of Nepal’s vision of living up to the promise of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development to ‘leave no one behind’.