What Happened When WOW Went to Madhesh?

In November 2019, WOW took place in Nepal for the third time. After two successful festivals in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, this edition - WOW Madhesh - took place in Janakpur in the south of the country.   

The host city was Janakpur, State 2, a cultural city and the birthplace of the legendary Sita of the Ramayana Epic. While State 2 is rapidly developing it faces a lot of issues including gender-based violence, child marriage and discrimination, all which we are trying to address through programming of WOW.   The event is being held in the Janaki complexes of the city.   

Madhesh, literally translating to “middle country” is the southern belt of Nepal where Nepal shares a majority of its border with India. The area is of diverse demography with people who have migrated from south of Nepal as well as several indigenous communities.    

Each day started with an exercise class led by Janakpur Women's Development Centre, to emphasise the need to exercise - whatever your age. Later hundreds of girls gathered for training in self-defence.   

WOW - Speed Mentoring takes place at every WOW Festival across the globe. It's an important part of the festival that offers women the chance to meet, network and learn from one another.

Through a partnership with the British Council, WOW has been creating festivals with local teams in South Asia, including in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Kathmandu, Nepal, and Karachi, Pakistan (pictured).