On June 23, 2026, Pahichan Nepal organized a powerful celebratory and advocacy event in
Kathmandu to mark International Single Women’s Day. The gathering established a vital multi-
stakeholder coalition, bringing together government officials, civil society organization (CSO)
leaders, and media personnel alongside single and marginalized women with disabilities. By
placing these women at the absolute center of the dialogue, the event aimed to foster shared
accountability among duty-bearers and directly align state policy planning with the lived,
intersectional realities of women facing overlapping vulnerabilities.
A central highlight of the program was a deeply moving "Red Shawl" respect ceremony, which
served as a radical act of cultural reclamation. By honoring single women with disabilities with
vibrant red shawls, Pahichan Nepal successfully flipped the oppressive narrative, transforming to
symbol of a visible, public badge of victory, identity, and resilience.
Beyond celebration, the heart of the event featured critical advocacy dialogues focused on the
systemic, multi-layered barriers that single women with disabilities encounter when attempting
to access the legal system. Participants mapped out severe gaps in institutional infrastructure,
noting that a lack of universal design leaves physical spaces like police stations and courtrooms
entirely inaccessible. This physical exclusion is further compounded by communication gaps,
such as a severe shortage of sign-language interpreters and Braille legal materials, alongside
pervasive social biases and financial barriers that effectively price marginalized women out of
legal recourse. Through active media engagement and direct panels, Pahichan Nepal successfully
shifted the narrative from a charity-based perspective to a rights-based framework, securing
crucial verbal commitments from government stakeholders to address inclusive legal aid and
institutional accessibility in future reforms.
