Understanding the power of a sense of agency!

A reflection blog by

Aagya Shrestha , Program Coordinator at Ujyalo Foundation

During the leadership institute centered on feminist and intersectional praxis, an intriguing moment unfolded when participants were asked about their understanding of patriarchy. Initially met with silence, one participant eventually raised their hand, characterizing patriarchy as a historical belief system that positioned women as inferior to men—something relegated to textbooks. It dawned on me that, for many, patriarchy was perceived as a relic of history, not a reality. Challenging their perception became a formidable task, as we endeavored to dismantle the notion that practices considered 'normal' under the guise of tradition, culture, and belief were, in fact, problematic. A disconcerting revelation emerged when a participant shared the necessity of lying about their ethnic identity just to access water—an act they hadn't initially recognized as problematic. The casual discussion of gender and caste-based discrimination among the participants, often presented lightheartedly or in jest, left me personally offended on their behalf. The participants' calm acceptance of these issues unsettled me, prompting a constant reassessment of Ujyalo's commitment to the agency of the individuals. But I believed in Ujyalo and most importantly its values.

To my belief, the turning point arrived when participants were tasked with generating themes for community projects based on issues observed or experienced in their communities. Many advocated for addressing the challenges they had faced, expressing a desire to share their knowledge with others. Notably, two groups took a stand against child marriage, having witnessed friends suffer after early marriages, and aimed to disseminate information about relevant laws in the community. Simultaneously, another group sought to initiate a discourse on gender-based violence, challenging the normalization of domestic and intimate partner violence within their community.

The beauty of their advocacy initiatives lies not only in their advocacy but in their determination to persist.

Intersection between gender, class, marital status, age, ethnicity, and geographical region

Out of 23 participants, more than 80% belonged to ethnic communities that have been systematically and historically marginalized, and more than 70% of them lived in distant spaces from the municipality where one vehicle in the route for a day was considered a luxury and if they miss it, the only option was to walk. And, the leadership institute was run in the municipality hall because of the available resources there and we could only notice how accessibility to punctuality was distributed among the participants. Even though the participants’ size was narrowed down to individuals who identify as women between the ages 18 and 29 and are from Panchkhal municipality of Kavre district, we could easily sense the intersection on the basis of various social markers mentioned above among 23 young women. The power dynamic was vivid and our role there was to make them see it and support them to dismantle it in their individual and communal spaces. Please think before generalizing women in one category.

Fighting patriarchy in a patriarchal space

This is what a feminist organization does right, they fight patriarchy in patriarchal spaces but what when the spaces don’t only confiscate the audience/participants we serve but us as the organizers as well? As a young women coordinator at a feminist organization, I have to deal with men in power and positions most of the time, I have kind of normalized not being enough or not knowing enough. Obviously, you can go on and question the patriarchy outside and feed in your self-doubts and insecurities that come with your gender, age, ethnicity, and other social markers. But with my engagement in this program, I have learned a hard way to navigate my way through this after seeing the courage participants have shown to take their community project ideas to the communities.

Empowering while also talking about the sense of agency, where are we with this? Ujyalo Foundation in collaboration with the Panchkhal Municipality and ActionAid Denmark conducted the EmpowHER 2023 program with the women aged 18-29 at the municipality. EmpowHER, the name says it all. However, we might want to rethink the name considering the word ‘empowerment’ because it relies on the assumption that the person who needs empowerment lacks it.

Ujyalo has always advocated for understanding and acknowledging the sense of agency of individuals who cross paths with us in any way. But just doing so seems a little less to me after my involvement in this program with the participants at Kavre where we have to truly and genuinely accept most of the participants utilizing their sense of agency. Participants opted out of the program due to socioeconomic and patriarchal reasons within the communities and families which obviously hampered the Foundation logistically, economically, and whatnot. While doing so, we had to step back and think about our stand as a feminist organization who have been talking about the sense of agency so much and our stand as an organization running a donor-funded program where the number of participants is a significant metric. As I am writing this questioning the name of the program itself, one can assume where we stand on this.