She Leads: Life Skills and Livelihoods

She Leads: Life Skills and Entrepreneurship

Supporting women in Madhesh with the skills, resources, and opportunities needed to foster long-term social and economic change.

Dalit girls and women face a harsh reality shaped by poverty, caste-based discrimination, and gender inequality. As a result, Dalit women have significantly lower literacy rates compared to both the national average and their male counterparts. Overall, the literacy rate for Dalit women stands at just 45.5%, with Tarai/Madhesi Dalit women experiencing an even more stark disparity at only 34.5%. Due to limited higher education and income prospects early marriage becomes an escape from economic hardship—a fate that many Dalit women experience not as a choice, but as an unavoidable reality.

Street Child of Nepal launched the She Leads project early 2025 to address the limited economic opportunities marginalised Dalit women and girls face in Dhanusha, Madhesh Province. Building on the success of previous Breaking the Bonds II project—implemented by Street Child of Nepal to support 400 married Dalit girls—She Leads which is a two year initiative adopts a holistic approach to address the unique challenges faced by the participants. The project focuses on three main key components: Life Skills Education, Livelihoods Training and Financial Literacy.

 

She Leads’ addresses the immediate social and economic needs of 700 young, married girls aged 15 to 24 equipping them with skills and resources necessary for lasting improvements in their socio-economic status and overall well-being, and fostering systemic and sustainable change and breaking cycles of poverty, exclusion and exploitation.

Project Focus 

The program’s three components are designed to tackle the inequalities faced by project participants ensuring they receive the necessary support to overcome significant social and economic barriers. 

 

  • The financial literacy components will focus on teaching money management, savings, budgeting, and labour laws, equipping the participants with the skills to take charge of their financial lives. Additionally, they will receive expert guidance in business planning to develop market-aligned business plans that meet local demands, ensuring their success in real world.
  • The Life Skills education component will empower the project participants to assert their rights and navigate life’s challenges. It covers critical topics such as reproductive health, gender-based violence services, effective communication, and local decision-making processes. The objective is to protect them from exploitation and abuse, raise awareness of women’s rights, and promote social and political empowerment. 
  • The program will develop a tailored procurement plan and provide essential equipment based on each participant’s business plan. This could include livestock for farming or sewing machines for tailoring, ensuring that each woman has the tools needed to establish successful enterprises and build a self-sufficient future.