Indreni Forum For Social Development ::

Indreni is a Social Organization. It works with the following themes:

Thematic Position of Indreni

The seven major themes and position of Indreni are as follows: (Thematic part of Indreni)

1) Youth empowerment & mobilization:

Indreni, from its establishment, has given emphasis to youth empowerment & mobilization as its major themes and believes the achievement that Indreni has made to this day is mainly due to the contributions and sacrifices made by youths. So that Indreni accepts and keeps its views and positions on youth empowerment & mobilization the points below are followed:

· Youths are the main agents of social transformation and without the involvement of youths, social transformation becomes impossible.

· Compared to other age groups, youths have stamina, endeavor and willpower for social transformation; the participation of youths leads to social transformation and their role is vital.

· Due to unemployment and lack of youth-supported programs, youths are leaving the country and national development has been adversely affected. From local level to national level youth empowerment & employment programs have to be given due importance.

· Youths should be made accountable and responsible for social transformation and national development. Only then can their contribution and accountability become praise-worthy for both society and the nation.

· The state should be responsible towards providing employment to youths; or the youths should be provided with unemployment allowances for seeking to make a contribution to national development.

· The state should adopt a policy of mobilizing local resources and promoting agriculture, medicinal herbs, water resources and tourism related activities while industries should be provisioned by the state to ensure youth employment.

· Youths are vulnerable to drug addiction, social crimes and pessimism, in order to prevent them from such social evils, social campaigns related to the young have to be conducted.

· Youth information centres; friendly competitions of games and sports; literature programs; conferences and reunion centres and network-related activities, enable youths to feel empowered and to be able to take leadership and responsibility in their community.

2) Livelihood:

· In order to promote the livelihood of pro-poor; poor; vulnerable; marginalized or socially excluded classes and communities they have to be given priority and access to the means and resources required. The means and resources of productivity should be made accessible to them.

· In order to identify local resources and means, while also allowing access to the market sub-sector area, livelihood analysis can play a vital role.

· The agriculture system has to be diversified and should be made more professional.

· The capital derived from donor agencies is to be mobilized as per the policy, livelihood or fund directive principle.

· Agriculture laborers are to be brought in within the Labor Act and a justifiable wage is to be determined.

· Emphasis should be given to cooperative and group agricultural systems.

· In order to conduct self-employment skills; seed capital is to be made available.

· By terminating the present land utility policy, the ownership of agricultural land should be given to the tenants. Those who have land should be made agriculture professionals and those who do not, must have non -agricultural professions or opportunities provided to them.

· Every occupation should be made dignified, respectable and have no risk associated with them.

· Livelihood must not be taken as a changing agent due only to conditions, but must also be provisioned as a changing agent of social status. Specifically, programs should be focused on the utilization of natural resources; in particular land and water rights.

3) Natural Resource Management:

Indreni believes that there should be equal rights and access to each natural resource and that the activities of Indreni have given emphasis on land and water rights for the concerned rights holders. Natural resources include the following:

a) Land Rights:

· In the past, rulers misused natural resource land as their will desired and this land was distributed as rewards, gifts, or hereditary properties, so that the distribution of land is now unethical and unjust. So that the distribution of land is to be made scientific, justifiable and ethical; reform of existing provisions must be conducted to make land issues constitutional and justified.

· Land must be considered as a means of production rather than the hereditary property of individuals.

· Safe-dwelling places (shelters) for everyone and cultivatable land for tenants can contribute to an increase in production and ensure food security.

· By classifying land, the provision of land utility policy has to be enforced; for example: land for industrial purpose, shelter, agriculture, forests and tourism etc.

· The existing provision of landlords and tenants, trustees and tenants, state and farmers or any other forms of dual ownership of land, must be abolished and ownership of the land must be provided for farmers or tenants.

· There should be equal ownership of land between husband and wife and legal provisions relating to this must be formulated.

· Land without cultivation; the establishment of industry in arable land and plotting or encouraging urbanization on cultivatable land must be stopped and such land must be nationalized.

· The provision of scientific land reform policy, along with the agricultural reform policy must be formulated and enforced.

b) Water Rights:

· The structures made according to the Gandak agreement have nearly become extinct; such structures have to be reformed as per the changing times and needs, on the basis of equal-justice.

· Problems like water-logging, erosion and the accumulation of silt and quicksand are to be solved according to the concept of sustainable development and the necessary plans of action are to be made and enforced immediately. Also, as a result of destruction caused on the Indian side of the border; compensation is to be provided for those Nepalese people who are affected.

· A review of the Gandak agreement as per legal provisions and according to the concept of the equal-justice agreement is to be made and has to be signed by both parties for mutual and equal benefit.

· The sovereignty of water rights upon the Nepalese people must be ensured and the ability to utilize such water, as per the need of the Nepalese people, must be made unconditional.

4) Educational Rights:

· Providing free and compulsory basic education is the responsibility of the state and the state must not refrain from this responsibility.

· School should be declared as a peace zone by provisions present in the constitution and excluding activities related to educational rights, all other activities relating to political influences must be prohibited on school premises.

· Quality should be maintained in all schools and the educational sector must be made free from the private sector, or business-orientated activities.

· Free and basic education in mother-tongue must be guaranteed to all children.

· By transforming patriarchal culture, daughters/girls should be encouraged to gain an education and be sent to school as boys/sons are, through the adoption of a suitable policy.

· Educational rights must be regarded as fundamental rights and legal mechanisms must be created and regularly supervised by the state.

· Subject matter/contents representing social and gender discrimination must be abolished and inspirational materials relating to gender equality must be included.

· An educational policy producing educated but unemployed students must be abolished and a favorable policy must be formulated to produce a workforce able to compete on the world market.

5) Health Rights:

· Receiving primary health rights are the fundamental rights of a citizen. Due to this fact, accessible, effective and quality health services should be provided to the citizen by the state.

· Along with providing health services, the institutes that are local health service providers should provide health education on personal and public health.

· Substances and materials that hamper the health of the public must have their production stopped; restrictions should then be made on their purchase and sale.

· Advertisement present in the media promoting substances like tobacco, alcohol and other injurious substances must be prohibited.

· Local agencies should manage the emergency fund to ensure the health rights of the poor, vulnerable or socially excluded and these rights must equally apply to women.

· Organizational working at the local level must have its activities conducted in a way that preserves and promotes the health rights of the general population.

6) Women’s rights:

· There should be a provision for the participation of a 50% proportion of women in every governmental, non-governmental, formal and informal agency and sector.

· There should be a provision of 25% reservation in every governmental and employment-related opportunity for women.

· Equal wages for men and women for the completion of the same work must be ensured and any discrimination between the wages provided to men and women must be abolished.

· Women’s reproductive health rights must be guaranteed and recognized in society.

· There should be provisions for the common ownership of land between male and female (husband and wife).

· Violence and any kind of exploitation against women must be stopped and effective implementation of the law is to be enforced.

· There should be equal access to parental property between son and daughter by formulation of and strict implementation of the law.

· In every judicial organization separate benches (Ijalash) for women should be provisioned.

· The state should formulate plans, as well as policies for empowering women, while also providing more opportunities to them.

7) Good Governance:

· In every level and agency of the state, there should be a proportional representation of each class, ethnicity and community of the population.

· Women, dalit, poor, marginalized and socially excluded people should be included and participate in state affairs by the formulation of appropriate policy for their participation and any policy making concerns addressed.

· While formulating policy, the development of plans and their implementation should consider and ensure a participatory approach.

· Every economic activity and important decision made by the government or non-governmental sector must be made public for the people and concerned right holders.

· Each office, agency and organization should adopt a policy of social and public audit to ensure good governance within their affairs.

· Each government office and agency should display a public charter within their premises to make them accountable to the rights holders.

· To each service provider and duty bearer, advocacy is essential in making them responsible and accountable towards rights holders.

· There should be effective and impartial implementation of the policy and principles of the state.

· Abolishment of impunity and a guaranteed rule of law must be ensured by the state.

The right to information is the fundamental right of citizens; access to information that allows a citizen to stay informed about state affairs must be guaranteed to all those concerned. Any policy, strategy or principle may not be supreme, unconditional and unalterable. Any policy, principle, law or strategy must be amended and reformed as per the changing times, needs and aspirations of the rights holders. In this regard INDRENI also assures to its concerned to adopt the policy, themes and strategies will be formulated and implemented as per the changing times, needs, conditions and aspirations of the concerned rights holders. All the information of the organization should be made transparent and accessible to all through the utilization of various publications.