Mitini Nepal
Mitini Nepal founders Mira (left) and Laxmi (right)
BODHI will be working with Dr Jane Stephens in Kathmandu on a skills-training project for the members of Mitini Nepal. They will learn English and computer skills. BODHI has committed A$2,000 per year for the next three years.
Dr Jane Stephens, a British GP in London, has been working in Nepal since 1993. She set up the Green Tara Trust in 1999 to provide ‘health-related services to some of the most disadvantaged children, women and men in rural areas of Nepal.’
In Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, Dr Stephens discovered Mitini Nepal, another disadvantaged group, of which she writes: ‘Homosexuality is, supposedly, illegal in Nepal yet the constitution states that basic freedoms of association, expression, and assembly must be enjoyed by all without discrimination. Sexual violation of people of all alternative sexualities is common and hidden from public view. The main NGO working to support these groups is called the Blue Diamond Society. However, the focus of their work and funding is for men who have sex with men due to the increased HIV risk incurred by penetrative gay intercourse. This increased HIV risk means they can get good NGO funding but only for men who have sex with men. The Blue Diamond Society are supportive of lesbians but there is no funding to help them address their own health, education and advocacy needs. As far as I can see there is a huge hole in the development input given to lesbians. For this reason I have recently started to become involved with these groups.
‘Very few gay people can live an openly gay lifestyle. I met four lesbians who had left their villages to come to live in Kathmandu because their families had disowned them and threatened violence and /or forced marriage. Two of them went to work for a prominent women’s NGO supporting sex workers; when it was discovered that they were a couple the head of the organization threw them out onto the street. The Blue Diamond Society have helped them find housing and they now run a small grocery store to support themselves. However, they would like help in improving their literacy, English and computing so that more jobs are open to them. Secondly, along with others from the Blue Diamond Society, they need support in understanding their rights as employees as well as challenging any discrimination through the courts. It is illegal for people to be
discriminated against due to sexuality in the workplace but this is not enforced. The lesbians I have met feel impotent and do not understand their rights, but they are strong women who have shown they can move away from their families, live together co-operatively and run a small business all off their own back. I feel that a small amount of regular financial support would go a long way in assisting these women, and others like them, to live with more stability, positivity and self-reliance.’
Please click here to view the Mitini Nepal budget. Please note that BODHI will not be paying the office rent and bills itemised. Any other shortfall will be made up by Green Tara Trust.
Lesbian wedding (left) and peaceful demonstration (right)
All photos courtesy Green Tara Trust
