Women, Constituent Assembly and the Role of Media, Dhangadi

Sancharika Samuha in collaboration with CARE, Nepal organized orientation programmes in Dhangadhi on 17 and 18 June, 2007 , Janakpur on 04 and 05 July, 2007 and Butwal on 07 and 08 July, 2007 . A total of 45 male and female journalists representing both print and electronic media of various districts participated in each programme. The Dhangadhi participants represented Kailali, Bajhang, Doti, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur, Bardiya, Banke and Surkhet Districts. The Janakpur participants represented Dhanusha, Sarlahi, Mahottari and Parsa Districts. The Butwal participants represented Chitwan, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Gorkha, Kapilbastu and Dang Districts.

The Resource Person for all the programmes was Kashi Raj Dahal, an expert in law and Constitution and Babita Basnet, President of Sancharika Samuha facilitated the proceedings.

The Inaugural programme of Dhangadhi was chaired by Karna Shah, FNJ, Kailali and facilitated by Dirgha Raj Upadhyay of Dhangadhi Post. Santosh Sharma, Advocacy Manager of CARE, Nepal , briefly highlighted the activities of CARE, Nepal and the future activities that were being planned. Babita Basnet, President of Sancharika Samuha, welcomed the participants and gave a brief introduction of Sanchrika Samuha. The other speakers were D. R. Panta of FNJ, Dadeldhura and Karna Shah of FNJ, Kailali. In Janakpur, Programme Office of CARE Janakpur highlighted the activities of CARE. The other speaker of the inaugural programme was Arjun Chettri, Vice Chair of FNJ, Dhanusha. In Butwal, Bimal Gadal of CARE, Butwal shed light on the activities being implemented by CARE and the D. R. Ghimire, Chairperson of FNJ, Butwal presented his remarks.

In a very informal and interactive setting, Resource Person, Kashi Raj Dahal informed the participants about the Constitution Assembly, the election processes, the Constitution, the role of media and the importance of women's involvement. On the second day of the programme, the participants identified district wise women's concerns and worked in groups to come up with strategies in the media.