The Industry, Tourism and Environment Committee of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly, in collaboration with the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) and ForestAction Nepal, jointly organized a provincial-level dialogue on July 21, 2025, titled “Women’s Economic Empowerment through Natural Resources: Opportunities, Challenges, and Innovation.” The event aimed to present key insights from recent action research by SIAS and ForestAction on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) through natural resources. It also served as a platform to discuss ongoing initiatives in Bagmati Province and explore pathways for policy and institutional reforms to advance WEE.
The program was chaired by Honorable Ananda Kumar Shrestha, chairperson, Industry, Tourism and Environment Committee of Bagmati Province, with the Deputy Speaker of Bagmati Province Honorable Apsara Chapagain attending as the chief guest. Dr. Bimala Rai Poudyal, expert and former member of Parliament (Upper House), attended as the special guest. The participants were the parliamentarians of Bagmati Province, and researchers from SIAS and Forest Action Nepal. Dr. Sushant Acharya, researcher at SIAS, formally commenced the event with participant introductions and facilitated the program. This was followed by a welcome address from Dr. Gyanu Maskey, researcher at SIAS, who outlined the objective of the program.
Next, Dr. Mani Ram Banjade, Senior Research Fellow at SIAS, presented key findings from the action research project Co-producing a Shock Resilient Ecosystem for Women-Engaged Enterprises (CREW), funded by IDRC. Through his presentation, Dr. Banjade emphasized the importance of policy-level interventions to overcome gender-based constraints. He highlighted the need to improve women’s access to resources, information, and innovations, while also strengthening their capacity. Dr. Banjade urged parliamentarians to not only design targeted policies that foster a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs but also to ensure their effective implementation. This, he stressed, requires both individual and institutional capacity building of the policy implementers.
After that, Dr. Bimala Rai Poudyal, in her remarks highlighted women have always played a crucial role in agriculture, yet they continue to face systemic challenges that limit their access to markets, technology, and decision-making spaces. Dr. Poudyal opined true women’s economic empowerment requires a shift in mindset, recognizing that empowering women is key to empowering the nation. This means ensuring access to finance, inclusive policies, and investments in women-friendly innovations that promote both economic and overall empowerment for all women.
Ms. Kanchan Lama, research fellow at Forest Action Nepal, gave a brief presentation on “Women’s Economic Empowerment through Forest-Based Enterprises.” She highlighted both the benefits and challenges of women-led forest enterprises, noting that while these businesses build on traditional skills and boost women’s socio-economic status, they face hurdles such as conflicting policies, complex procedures, and market barriers. Hence, she urged policymakers to create a more supportive environment for women entrepreneurs.
This was followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Naya Sharma Paudel, environment and governance specialist at Forest Action Nepal, on relevant provincial policies and programs for entrepreneurs, especially women, as well as way forwards to enhance women’s skills and entrepreneurial capacity. One of the parliamentarians highlighted women continue to face structural challenges including double workloads, limited financial access, and hence economic empowerment is hindered by discriminatory practices, lack of gender-sensitive loan/subsidy programs, and bureaucratic obstacles like VAT on agricultural tools and lack of access to forest resources. Likewise, one of the parliamentarians remarked although Bagmati Province is initiating women-friendly programs and supporting local enterprises like Dhaka and Allo weaving, more targeted, inclusive policies are needed. All policymakers expressed commitment to integrating suggestions into policy, emphasizing the need for time-saving innovations, better loan facilitation, and forest and farm-based enterprise support for women.
Following the discussion, Dr. Dil Khatri, Executive Director at SIAS, summarized the key takeaways, highlighting that government support is fragmented and stressed that integrating and sustaining these efforts would enhance their impact. Drawing on global examples, he emphasized the power of targeted, inclusive approaches to drive social transformation and urged the parliamentarians to focus on strategic investments. He also reaffirmed SIAS and ForestAction’s commitment to providing technical expertise in forestry, agriculture, and climate change to support informed policymaking.
After this, Honorable Apsara Chapagain in her remarks expressed the provincial government’s commitment to ongoing discussions on women-centric issues highlighted during the event to guide policymaking. She emphasized the importance of reducing women’s workload through shared responsibilities, inclusive policies, and the adoption of women-friendly technologies. She also urged expanding women’s participation beyond traditional enterprises and simplifying policy provisions and procedures.
The program concluded with closing remarks from Honorable Ananda Kumar Shrestha, who emphasized that provincial governments face financial, legal, and bureaucratic challenges that hinder effective policymaking. He noted that persistent patriarchal mindsets and procedural obstacles also limit the effectiveness of supportive laws designed for women’s empowerment. While acknowledging the importance of research collaboration in shaping better policies, he expressed a strong interest in continuing such discussions with research organizations, highlighting that this event has paved a path for such collaboration. He also sincerely thanked all participants for their active participation throughout the event.