In 2013, WASH United, a German non-profit initiated the Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration on 28 May to create a global advocacy platform for individuals and organizations to raise awareness about the negative social norms, break the stigma and engage decision-makers in global, national, and grass-root level. The day is being recognized globally and in 2020 alone, the campaign had a reach of 441 million people according to the Menstrual Hygiene Day website.
Menstrual hygiene is a vital topic to be discussed and the celebration provides a space to bring forth these topics, especially now when we have been living with a global pandemic for a year. However, menstruation does not cease during a pandemic and the overview of Plan International’s report, Periods in Pandemic states that “On any single day during this health emergency, 800 million diverse women and girls are menstruating and grappling with the unique challenges of doing so in a global pandemic.”
On 25 May, we invited adolescent girls for a session, “Managing Menstrual Hygiene During the Pandemic: Voices of Adolescent Girls” where our President and Vice-President, Girls Advisory Board, and Her Turn graduates discussed this issue for us to understand and assess their needs. The girls shared interesting stories from their first menstrual experience to the challenges the pandemic has created.
“We were provided a sanitary pad in our school, therefore, we did not have trouble accessing it before but now due to the pandemic, our schools are not running and there is no shop to get sanitary pads near my village. Our parents do not let girls travel far to get sanitary pads as well,” says 19-year-old Pasmaya Syangbo, a Girls Advisory Board member from Jugal Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchowk district. As an immediate response, two days later we were able to send sanitary pads to Pasmaya’s village that would allow them to manage their menstrual health for at least for next 3 months.
In the session, another Girls Advisory Board member, 16-year-old Anju Tamang from Chautara Sangachowkgadi Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchowk district shared, “My neighbor’s daughter is mentally challenged and when she had her periods, I realized she was using the same cloth she uses as a headscarf. I explained about menstrual hygiene but her mother did not think it was unusual. However, I gave her a sanitary pad and explained how to use it.”
After hearing Anju’s statement, the importance of raising awareness about menstrual hygiene is evident. As Anju is a Her Turn workshop graduate and in our Girls Advisory Board as well, she was well equipped through the workshops to share her knowledge in the community.
Similarly, 17-year-old Sunmaya Tamang from Indrawati Rural Municipality, Sindhupalchowk district had already taken the Her Turn Education and Empowerment Workshop before her first menstrual cycle. She proudly shared that she knew exactly what to do and also did not follow the restrictions at her household. She says, “In the beginning, my mother used to tell me that not following the restrictions would get me ill but I still did not. Now they don’t force me and just want me to take care of my menstrual health.”
Sunmaya is just like any other Nepali girl who has a supportive family. We are proud of Sunmaya and all the girls we have worked with because we heard stories about them helping their younger sisters, cousins, and neighbors to maintain good menstrual hygiene.
On this day, we want to raise awareness and celebrate these young change-makers of the society for bringing their voice forward and talking about menstrual hygiene during the pandemic.
Happy Menstrual Hygiene Day!
The “The Power Within Symposium 2024” is born out of the recognition that feminism remains an essential and ongoing movement in our society. Over the years, feminism has made remarkable strides, challenging societal norms, advocating for gender equality, and empowering individuals to raise their voices against injustice. However, in this ever-evolving world, there are still […]
The concept of girls’ travel is a pilot activity, acknowledging its significance as a means of empowerment, education, and personal growth for adolescent girls. From 2 to 5 April 2024, adolescent girls from Dhading district traveled to Pokhara, a tourist town in Kaski district approximately 175 km from their hometown. A cohort of 19 adolescent […]
Announcement: The Power Within Symposium 2024 The “The Power Within Symposium 2024” is born out of the recognition that feminism remains an essential and ongoing movement in our society. Over the years, feminism has made remarkable strides, challenging societal norms, advocating for gender equality, and empowering individuals to raise their voices against injustice. However, in […]
Announcement: International Women’s Day 2024 #InspireInclusion Date: 06 March , 2024 Time: 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Venue: Alice Conference, Bakhundole, Lalitpur Join us for International Women’s Day 2024, a global celebration of women’s achievements in social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. As advocates for women’s education, empowerment, and leadership, we believe in fostering […]
From their classrooms and homes to communities and boardrooms, the resilience of these girls echoes- Every time we engage with these remarkable girls, we are amazed by their courage, grit and leadership. This month was no exception as girls from the Girls Advisory Board traveled from their homes to the capital, Kathmandu to participate in […]
On October 11, 2023, we celebrated International Girls’ Day, a day dedicated to recognizing and honoring the power, potential, and promise of girls worldwide. This year, under the theme “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership; Our Well-being,” our celebration embarked on an inspiring journey towards empowerment. The event highlighted the significance of girl-led leadership and […]
Advancing Girl-Led Leadership Fellowship Position: Fellow – Advancing Girl-Led Leadership Department: Programs Start Date: July 2023 End Date: June 2024 Location: Kathmandu with frequent travels to project sites About Hamro Palo: Established in 2016, Hamro Palo has expanded its work in various districts of Nepal working in close partnership with government schools and communities. […]
For over a decade, we have been educating, empowering, and equipping adolescent girls, boys, and women on health and safety issues, primarily on sexual and reproductive health and rights including menstruation education through our core programs; Her Turn, His Chance Education and Empowerment Program and Sneh Program. Through these programs, we’ve been able to create […]
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an adolescent is defined as any person between the ages of 10 and 19, falling within the WHO’s definition of young people, which includes individuals between the ages of 10 and 24. In Nepal, adolescents make up nearly a quarter of the population, and nearly half of all […]
The month of February was about working with and for adolescents. After years of experience in the field of adolescents and education, Hamro Palo learned the reality that many of the issues that rural adolescents face have significant commonalities with those faced by urban adolescents. Urban adolescents and those from community schools are at greater […]
For over a decade, we have been championing & advocating for a gender-equal world and investing in young girls’ education and empowerment. While we celebrate women’s day every day, March 8 remains more special as we get to be a part of a global celebration of women’s achievement and a continuous fight for a world […]
Adolescent mothers, being among the most vulnerable group, are more likely to face several health risks and consequences. Teen mothers face many physical, psychological, social, and emotional challenges. “It was my husband’s decision to have children. He didn’t allow me to decide. When I conceived, my husband left for abroad. I struggled emotionally and psychologically. […]
“Getting involved in Her Turn Program has been an eye-opening experience for me. I consider myself a leader today. I can stand against injustices and biases happening around me. In the cases of experiencing sexual harassment in the school, family and community, I have been confident enough to take my own stand and raise my voice against it. I owe this to Hamro Palo and Her Turn Program”, shares Salina Shrestha, the graduate of Her Turn Program. This is one of the thousands of stories shared by the graduates of Her Turn and His Chance Education and Empowerment Program. These inspirational stories are what motivate us to continue making substantial differences in the community that we live in.
“Climb with Pancha” – an initiative by Hamro Palo is an opportunity for young girls to explore their interest and potential in outdoor sports led by Ms. Pancha Maya Tamang, a national sports climber. She has participated in numerous domestic competitions and won medals in many international competitions representing Nepal. “Climb with Pancha” emerged in […]
‘Digital Generation’. Our Generation’ Hamro Palo celebrates adolescent girls and their – power, courage, and leadership. While we celebrate girls’ leadership every day, we want to make the international girls day a special event. Every year on 11 October, the International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated throughout the world. Hamro Palo champions girl’s […]
Hamro Palo was established with the vision to provide education and information to girls of rural Nepal where they can have an equal say in their family, school, and the community. We wanted to create an environment for girls to realize their potential and become the change-makers of Nepal. With this vision, Hamro Palo was […]
We believe in empowerment, education, and equality. The Her Turn Education and Empowerment program is a core program of Hamro Palo. The Her Turn Workshop teaches girls about health, hygiene, safety, confidence building, and leadership skills. Since 2013, Hamro Palo has had more than 6893 Her Turn Graduates from 6 districts of Nepal. In 2021, […]
The engine halted and the people inside the vehicle came to life as the ticking of the engine died. Everyone peaked outside the window, excited to begin the day. We got off the automobile and directly headed towards the dining area to fill our hungry bellies with a lovely breakfast prepared by the kitchen team […]
The online safety toolkit presents opportunities of online resources for learning, social connections, major threats, scenarios of adolescent stories, tools to stay safe and ways to report cases of abuse. Last year we went to rural schools and met with almost 60 adolescents to find out about how they are using internet and social media, […]
This is a repost of a blog post from People in Need (here is the original). Check out the video from the flash mob in Gorkha: With the orange ribbons tied on their wrists, Her Turn girls and His Chance boys started moving their hands with a dance step at Bus Park in Gorkha Bazaar, […]
The engine accelerated as we bounced up and down the seats of our ride to visit the third …
Since the beginning of 2020, the pandemic confined people inside their homes for safety but instead, it gave birth to a shadow pandemic, increasing the rate of violence against women. “624 Cases Of Violence against Women And Girls (VAWG) committed during the lockdown, 61% Violence inside Home”, reports Women’s Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) in June. The rising […]
I didn’t imagine there would be no computers in schools in Sindhupalchowk district …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwF7n5ZLMmM शुभकामना …
For the last few months we have been checking-in with our Girls Advisory Board to learn …
Hamro Palo (Her Turn) is a non-governmental organization working in the education and …
My voice, our equal future” Hamro Palo celebrates adolescent girls and their …
#WD2019 #ThePowerOf We are thrilled to attend the Women Deliver 2019 conference in Vancouver, taking place on June 3-6. It’s “the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women.” There will be thousands of change makers, activists, advocates, researchers, decision makers, and implementers discussing the challenges, solutions, […]
Like every other day, today we celebrate the Day of the Girl. We stand with the girls everywhere in the world especially rural girls in Nepal as they are the emblem of courage, strength and leadership of Nepal. It has been 6 years since we began working with and for girls and has been amazing […]
Since our first Her Turn Girls Support Committee symposium in Kathmandu back in 2016, it has been our tradition of adolescents meets at least once a year. And now, that time of the year has arrived as we gear up for our 3rd Adolescents Meet Up on August 9-10th in Banepa, Kavre district. Last year, […]
For most of the girls in the schools of Sindhupalchowk and Gorkha districts, where Hamro Palo organizes four week long Her Turn workshops for the adolescents, the subject of menstrual hygiene always stands out. Asmi Budathoki, 13, from a school in Bhotekoshi, Sindhupalchowk, says, “at the workshops, we learned that menstruation is a natural process. […]
On the 8th of March last week, International Women’s Day was celebrated all over the world. On this special day Hamro Palo attended a rally in Kathmandu planned by Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare. In the rally we highlighted the overall theme of this year’s IWD; #PressForProgress, but we also joined in on […]
This year’s International Women’s Day campaign theme is #PressForProgress, because gender parity won’t happen overnight. We are making positive gains day by day, but still we need to keep motivated, keep pressing forward and progress gender parity. We here in Hamro Palo have made a small video to set focus on the day and show […]
All over the world we celebrate international women’s day on March 8, and in Nepal the day is celebrated with a public holiday. Even though the day is celebrated and recognized, we want to create awareness about why we are celebrating this day, and how important it is to remember why we dedicate this day […]
October 11th is the International Day of the Girl. It’s a day to bring the world’s attention to the discrimination and violence many girls face through situations like early marriage, in emergencies, or in the struggle to access education. But this day is also about celebrating girls’ potential, creativity, courage, and determination. In 2017, to celebrate […]
In August 2017, Hamro Palo introduced a flagship program for young urban women under its umbrella program called Her Turn Girls Support Committee – Mentorship Program. 17 outstanding young women who came from various parts of Nepal residing in Kathmandu, and from all walks of life; from theater artists to social activists, social workers to […]
Call for Application Her Turn Girls Support Committee-Mentorship Program Fellow Linking rural and urban girls via service learning project Overview Since 2013 Hamro Palo has been working in rural villages with four-week long Her Turn workshops in rural government schools to educate and empower adolescent girls aged 12-16 about gender equality, health, safety, leadership and […]
We are thrilled to receive the 2016 With and For Girls Award! We congratulate the other fellow grantees, including 2 form Nepal: Shakti Samuha and Women LEAD Nepal. The With and For Girls Collective is a group of seven organisations that share the belief that girls are vital agents of change. In 2016 the Collective committed US$1million to a […]
This week we mark the one year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Nepal. Around 9,000 people lost their lives, more than half a million lost their homes, and the country spent the last year trying to get back on its feet. Disasters like earthquakes pose unique challenges for women and girls, and rates of […]
Her Turn is teaming up with Oxfam to raise awareness about child marriage. Check out the radio drama we co-created here! Four months have now passed since Nepal’s Great Earthquake and villages continue to struggle to get back to normal life. There has been a lot of discussion about trafficking concerns, and NGOs and families are stepping up their game […]
Three months have now passed since first of two major earthquakes struck Nepal. Three months and nearly 9,000 lives lost, 874,000 houses damaged, and 2.8 million in need of assistance. Now that the urgent relief phase has come to a close, Nepali communities struggle to piece back together their lives, and the longer and more complex […]
Despite the Nepali government declaring the relief phase over, mountain communities are still in fairly dire straits following the spring earthquakes. Her Turn visited Hagam VDC in Sindhupalchok Monday to distribute Her Kits (menstrual hygiene kits) to female students. A landslide struck the village where we stayed overnight. Several homes were destroyed and a family of five […]
Love soccer / football, but have some qualms about its official organizing body and labor practices (especially involving Nepali workers)? Want to enjoy the Women’s World Cup, but hesitant to support FIFA? Her Turn supporter Mike Yates suggested a great idea for a sort of “carbon offset” for enjoying your favorite sport, and we’re running with […]
A group of dedicated girls made a huge difference today. We are so proud of the actions of one of our amazing Girls Support Committees. The risk of trafficking in the aftermath of the disaster has increased, and several days ago the girls in the Committee learned that two girls in their community were going to […]
In 2014, we have worked with over 1,000 girls, 43 trainers, and the attendance rates at our workshops exceeded 97%! To support our workshops, we have also launched Her Turn mentorship program, which guides girls through problem solving process in their schools and communities. If you want to learn more about our impact in 2014, […]
Below is the transcript of our #PointPeriod twitter chat, hosted by Day of the Girl Summit! We talked about how menstruation affects girls’ access to education in the developing world and what we can do to help the girls stay in schools. Many interesting organizations participated and shared their experiences and practices: Femme International, Afripads, Girls’ Globe, Huru International, iTwixie and others. Learn […]
This month, in partnership with Day of the Girl Summit we have launched #PointPeriod campaign. The goal is to raise awareness about how menstruation affects girls’ access to education in the developing world. Shame, stigma, lack of knowledge, lack of menstrual materials and infrastructure prevents many girls from managing their periods with dignity. As a result, they […]
As the biggest holidays in Nepal –Dasain and Tihar– quickly approach, we are busy growing our programs. We are currently designing a mentorship program for rural girls who have participated in our workshops over the last year and a half. In mid-October we are inviting our most successful trainers from each Village Development Committee where we have […]
This summer has been busy here at Her Turn. While the rural schools where we usually work were closed for monsoon / summer holiday, we have conducted our empowerment workshops at a girls’ hostel run by Child Protection Centers and Services – an organization that answers the children’s needs in the streets of Nepal. The hostel is […]
Since February, with the support from Children of the Mountain, we have been working with schools in Tandrang Village Development Committee, Gorkha district. This month we have finished workshops with the last group of girls. We conducted workshops in 3 schools and had over 350 participants. The girls were incredibly active and the attendance rate exceeded […]
Her Turn is growing! We have finished workshops at two schools in Narantan, and we are thrilled to have three new team members join us this month! Yanchen Sherpa is our new Master Trainer, and will help train our local trainers in the villages. Yanchen has 5 years of experience as a teacher both […]
In February we have continued to work in Gorkha district, this time in Tandrang village. It’s a start of our cooperation with Children of the Mountain. In Tandrang we have worked with seven amazing trainers who delivered our workshop to 152 participants from Siddhakali Secondary school. The attendance rates were 97 per cent – much higher […]
Want to know more about Her Turn’s programs? Check out our 2013 Annual Report where you can find information about all of our programming and our impact for the 2013. In it you will also find our recommendations for other working on girls issues and Her Turn’s plans for 2014! We have also jut finished […]
We at Her Turn were saddened to hear the recent news of Patrick Coyle’s untimely passing. Pat, along with his family, was one of the first and greatest supporters of our program. We knew Pat as a compassionate, caring, generous man, ready to help those around him whenever it was needed. He visited Nepal in […]
Last month we finished Her Turn workshop at Tatopani school. Hundred and ten girls completed the workshops and presented at community ceremony. During the event, the girls introduced Girls’ Support Committee’s members, delivered speeches on gender equality and presented a very powerful stage play on human trafficking. Their parents and community were impressed with girls’ […]
Happy International Girls’ Day – October 11th. We have been amazed with the amazing work that has been produced this year to raise awareness about girls’ issues. We wanted to share with you a small video that Her Turn produced. The video was made entirely through volunteer contributions from development workers and caring friends from […]
It’s not every day that we get to meet a heroine like Pasang Lama Sherpa. A student at a public school on the Tibet-Nepal border, Pasang is in Class 7 and has just graduated from Her Turn’s workshop for girls. Like many border towns, Tatopani is a bustling city full of traffic and people moving […]
We have recently finished workshops with over 150 girls from three schools in Siundhupalchok district. The completion ceremonies were conducted at the end of August. We were thrilled to see the girls perform stage plays written by themselves related to child marriage, domestic violence, human trafficking and how to avoid these risks in daily life. […]
Her Turn workshops in three schools of Sindhupalchok district are underway! Over 150 girls are participating and the attendance rates are great. The girls love learning about health and safety issues and developing their leadership skills! The trainers already report that our participants are more confident than when we started. We can’t wait to see […]
In the last two weeks we have conducted a training of trainers in the village of Tatopani. We worked with six amazing local women who will lead Her Turn workshops and help organize community ceremonies in the next two months. They all come from the communities where we will be conducting the workshops. We are […]
Her Turn recently held our Master Training in the village of Thulopakar for the next round of Her Turn workshops that will be conducted in the district of Sindhupachowk. In a week long training that covered the issues that affect girls most in schools and villages, we trained six women from the area. The training […]
May has been an exciting month here at Her Turn! We have been working with a group of eighteen girls from a government school in Teku – an impoverished area of Kathmandu, with high rates of unemployment. All the girls were born in remote rural districts, and their parents have moved to the city during […]
This week we have started a new Her Turn group in a school in Teku – a poor area of Kathmandu. Most of our participants are “low caste” girls from impoverished backgrounds. All twenty girls love the activities. They want to be of help to others in the future, so they named their group Helpful […]
Check out this article from The Hindu on a village in Rajasthan. Excerpts: For the last several years, Piplantri village panchayat has been saving girl children and increasing the green cover in and around it at the same time. Here, villagers plant 111 trees every time a girl is born and the community ensures these trees survive, […]
Her Turn team is looking for a social media intern who will help us develop marketing and promotional materials, run Her Turn blog, develop social media strategy, boost our social media outreach, monitor blogs and support our advocacy efforts. Our ideal candidate: is an undergraduate or graduate student or journalism / media professional, has strong […]
The Supreme Court in 2006 has declared that sex without the wife´s consent is rape and punishable by law – reports Jitendra Kumar Jha in this piece in Republica. Excerpts: RAJBIRAJ, March 27: In a rare case, a woman in Saptari has accused her husband of raping her within wedlock and forcing her to engage […]
Hello! My name is Nicole Andersen, and I am overjoyed to be joining Her Turn as the new social media intern, increasing the outreach, network and support for this amazing community of women! I am currently in the last year of a global media communications masters at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Originally, I come […]
Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world – reports Alertnet. Excerpts: It’s no coincidence that countries with a high prevalence of child marriages also tend to have low literacy rates for young women. Increasing the knowledge of Sylhet youth groups on SRHR issues is crucial to young people knowing […]
On April 30th, the Dutch celebrated the King’s Day. Until last year it used to be Queen’s Day, but in 2013 Holland welcomed its first male monarch since 1890: King Willem-Alexander! Next year, the King’s Day will be celebrated on his birthday: April 27th. The celebrations include outdoor festivities, dancing and singing. This year had […]
Religious and liberal nations agree, after two-week debate, on document urging end to violence against women and girls – writes Al Jazeera Excerpts: A United Nations policy-making body has agreed upon a declaration urging an end to violence against women and girls despite concerns from conservative Muslim countries and the Vatican about references to women’s […]
Child marriage is too big a problem to ignore says Tanushree Soni, Plan International’s Regional Gender Programme Specialist in Asia. Excerpts: So what can we say about child marriage? We know what the causes are – poverty, traditional beliefs, stereotypes – but we also know what the solutions are and what the next steps need […]
Huffington Post published a piece written by Kristi York Wooten titled 7 Easy Ways to Make an Impact on International Women’s Day. We are thrilled to be mentioned there as a program supported by Dining for Women this month! Dining for Women – thank you for your support! You can read the whole piece here.
On the February 22nd, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights opened its 22nd session, which will run until March 22nd. It is dedicated to children’s basic human rights to health. You can see the program here and follow the session on Child Rights International Network (CRIN) website and on the Office of the High Commissioner of […]
We are thrilled to announce that this month, Her Turn is the featured program at Dining for Women. Dining for Women’s mission is to empower women and girls living in extreme poverty by funding programs that foster good health, education, and economic self‐sufficiency and to cultivate educational giving circles that inspire individuals to make a positive […]
This is an article from IPS on the advantages of including religious leaders in the debates of child marriage. Senegal Growing Up Over Marriage By Issa Sikiti da Silva DAKAR, Feb 25 2013 (IPS) – When Abdoulaye Ba heard his local Imam in Dakar, Senegal, speaking out against child marriage, he found that the idea was […]
This is an article from yesterday’s daily Kathmandu Post on the inclusion of women in political bodies and parties. The illusion of inclusion KAMAL DEV BHATTARAI FEB 15 – Following the political upheaval that was witnessed in the country in 2006, and the establishing of a republic two years later, the issue of women’s empowerment, and […]
This is an article from yesterday’s daily Republica. The children involved were 10 and 11. Child marriage a tradition in Chitwan village CHANDNI HAMAL CHITWAN, Feb 18: The atmosphere in a village of Chitwan was festive and a hut in the village was decked out for a wedding ceremony. The relatives of the bride were busy […]
To read a great piece written by a young Nepali blogger about sexual harassment in public spaces in Kathmandu, please click here.
Violence doesn’t have a race, a class, a religion, or a nationality, but it does have a gender. Please click here to read a great article on the epidemic of violence against women worldwide by Rebecca Solnit, who has written regularly for TomDispatch and who wrote A Paradise built in Hell. And if you haven’t already, check […]
Check out the new Girl Effect website: www.girleffect.org. You can find a lot of information on how adolescent girls are the most powerful force for change on the planet.
She sounds like an amazing girl! Check out the info from Wikipedia below: Malala Yousafzai is a school student and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She is known for her education and women’s rights activism in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban has at times banned […]
We are honored to announce an article on girls in development and Her Turn written by Toby Israel – an anthropology student at Middlebury College, currently studying abroad in Nepal and blogging for the Lewis Institute’s project on social innovation. The piece was published on The Lewis Institute website. You can read Targeting Girls to Change […]
Below is an article published on 21 October 2012 on BBC Asia. By Sanjoy MajumderBBC News, Dabra, Haryana Dabra is a typical village in India’s rural Haryana state. It has narrow lanes with open drains and small houses built of brick and mud. Children play in the dirt, while men sit around smoking. Not many outsiders visit […]
We are thrilled to announce our new and exciting partnership with Dining for Women! Dining for Women – Changing the World One Dinner at a Time. Dining for Women is a non-profit giving circle dedicated to empowering women and girls living in extreme poverty. Thanks to this organization’s support to Nepal Teacher Training Initiative, we will […]
11 Oct 2012 was the first time that we celebrated International Day of the Girl. The theme established by the UN was: Ending Child marriage. United Nations Population Fund launched a new report on the issue, which can be downloaded from here. Below please find an article published on UN News Center. On the world’s first International […]
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