Transforming gender relations in Nepal’s trail bridge programme: policies and practice

This paper considers the extent to which the full and equal rights guaranteed in Nepal’s constitution are reflected in the government’s trail bridge programme

Abstract

This paper considers the extent to which the full and equal rights guaranteed in Nepal’s constitution are reflected in the government’s trail bridge programme (TBP). A review of the legal provisions and relevant literature was used to inform interviews and field enquiries at nine short-span trail bridges and one long-span bridge. The analysis indicates that the TBP is broadly gender responsive in its policies, but often falls short at field level. The paper concludes with five key suggestions for rendering the TBP more gender transformative: to address the time constraints imposed on women by unpaid care work; to ensure better facilitation of social processes; to strengthen women’s leadership; to maximise women’s income from wage labour through avoiding debt, turning it into assets and undertaking skills training; to incorporate inclusive community planning and construction of long-span bridges.

This work is part of the Applied Research on Rural Roads and Transport Services through Community Access Programmes in Africa and Asia (AFCAP2 and AsCAP)

Citation

Sherpa M, Tumbahangfe A, Acharya Net al.(2020). Transforming gender relations in Nepal’s trail bridge programme: policies and practice.In: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers–Transport173(2): 107–121

Transforming gender relations in Nepal’s trail bridge programme: policies and practice

Published 13 December 2019