Australia Awards South and West Asia

More than 40 people, including Australia Awards alums, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials from Kathmandu Post, and Australia Awards – Nepal staff, recently convened in Kathmandu for a workshop highlighting the importance of gender equality in the workplace. Organised by Australia Awards – Nepal to mark the spirit of International Women’s Day, the workshop took place on 27 March. Alums Yajaswi Rai and Reejuta Sharma facilitated the event, which featured a keynote address by Luna Purification, Head of Development at the Australian Embassy in Nepal.

In her address, Ms Purification spoke about fostering an inclusive and harassment-free workplace and explained how sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) is universal and insidious. As a result, eliminating SEAH requires long-term solutions from all spheres of society. Referencing the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s safeguard policy to prevent SEAH and reflecting on her professional engagement in this area, Ms Purification highlighted the importance of having such policy—and implementing it effectively—to ensure a respectful workplace for women. A respectful workplace, she noted, is a place where there is “no tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment”.

Ms Purification delivering her keynote speech at the workshop.

SEAH, as a global issue affecting people in many different ways, needs everyone’s attention. Reiterating that “We all have a role to play”, Ms Purification urged the participants to do their part. Their role, she advised, could be as simple as becoming familiar with one’s organisational policies and practices, ensuring gender balance in panels, signing codes of conduct and abiding by them, building a better understanding of SEAH issues in the workplace, using respectful language, showing professionalism or creating a safe space for women.

In the public discussion that followed, participants shared their experiences and their insights regarding ensuring women’s rights in the workplace through safeguard policies. Dr Savitri Thapa Gurung, former commissioner of Nepal’s Commission on the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, emphasised that even influential women face discrimination because of their gender. Likewise, Dr Sindhu Dhungana, former joint secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment, remarked that the patriarchal mindset kept many professionals from implementing safeguards. Dr Anusuya Joshi, Senior Environmental and Social Safeguard Expert at the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, highlighted the need for a concrete policy to ensure women’s rightful participation in the decision-making processes in their workspaces, referring to the exclusion that most women experience in their workplaces because of their gender. Similarly, Asha Sharma, an undersecretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, signalled that the gendered mindset that people develop as they grow up ultimately translates into their discriminatory behaviours.

Alum Dr Anusuya Joshi sharing her thoughts during the workshop.

People with disability suffer even more from gender discrimination. Shudarson Subedi, former Central President of National Federation of the Disabled – Nepal and now Director of Ability Manch Pvt. Ltd., spoke about the importance of awareness and support systems to safeguard women and people with disability in their workplaces. Disability rights activists Sima Rai, Shila Thapa and Rajuna Singh also raised this issue and urged the participants to be extra attentive in addressing it. Similarly, Dr Dhiraj Pradhanaga and Dr Kashiraj Pandey—both academics—emphasised the need for institutional intervention to ensure a safe place for women and marginalised people.