Australia Awards South and West Asia

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia has launched a podcast series called ‘Spotlight on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion’. The series aims to inspire ideas about how every individual can apply a gender equality and social inclusion lens to their work. In each episode, Australia Awards alumni will be sharing the innovative ways they are building gender equality and social inclusion into their projects. The entire series is available to listen to for free on the Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia website and Spotify.

The eighth and final episode features Anu Upadhyaya, an Australia Awards alum from Nepal. You can listen to it here.

Alternatively, you can listen to it via Spotify:

Anu is a Project Manager for the Mukti South Asia project, an initiative that aims to combat child sex trafficking in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. She completed a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development at the Australian National University in 2018, with the support of an Australia Awards Scholarship.

In Nepal, as in many other underdeveloped countries, there are deep-rooted inequalities and social barriers that prevent certain groups, especially women and marginalised communities, from accessing opportunities and resources.

Anu participating in a Women in Leadership Network interactive workshop organised by Australia Awards on ‘Bridging the gender gap: Male allies for gender equality.’

This is why Anu believes it is vital to integrate a gender equality and social inclusion lens into everything we do—not just development projects. Doing so helps us acknowledge the difficulties that certain groups face in their daily lives, and actively work towards making sure that our society is equitable, just and inclusive.

In the podcast, she says that a key lesson she has learnt is the power of intersectionality and how important it is to recognise each individual’s unique experiences and needs. She gives the example of a woman who may face barriers not only because of her gender, but also due to her economic status, her caste and/or her level of education.

Anu emphasises that considering gender equality and social inclusion is not something done in isolation. It must be integrated across everything we do. Listen to the episode to hear her tips for achieving this, such as challenging norms, speaking up, and actively listening to communities and their stories.