For the 2020 Winter course SOCI 3220C: Working Toward a Violence-Free Society in Nepal, Part 1 On campus preparation for Study Trip to Nepal, Dr. Deborah Conners of Sociology and Anthropology and her students spent the winter term cultivating sociological insight into the social issue of violence against women in Nepal. They did so through readings and through direct contact with the Women’s Foundation of Nepal and local initiatives in Ottawa which support the Women’s Foundation. While the group planned to mobilize the dynamic social action knowledge they acquired in SOCI 3220C during a Spring term four-week trip to Nepal in support of the Foundation, the global COVID-19 health pandemic rendered the travel impossible.
Although the group was disappointed to cancel their trip, they remained intent on employing their knowledge to make a tangible contribution in the struggle to end violence against women. With that, Conners and her group nimbly pivoted to focus on the creation of a qualitative research project. Together they assembled a poignant Guidebook to showcase resources and personal reflections from students in her Working Toward a Violence-Free Society in Nepal course. This Guidebook serves as a helpful guide for future students, and more specifically those who will take part in the course International Community Engagement and Study Trip: Working Toward a Violence-Free Society in Nepal.
The Guidebook includes an insightful literature review, detailed summaries of what students have learned about Nepal itself, useful descriptions of the actual logistics involved in travel, and an accessible introduction to the Nepalese language followed by personal reflections from each student from the SOCI 3220C 2020 class.
Despite the many challenges presented by the health pandemic, Dr. Conners will continue her impactful work in Nepal. Her next step will be to interview five Nepalese female leaders on their vision for gender equality.
Over the summer, Professor Conner's continuing students from her class Working Toward Women’s Equality in Nepal: A qualitative research project, produced a report that resulted in some important insights.
Third-year student Kiana Lawrence explains:
Working Toward Women’s Equality in Nepal: A qualitative research project taught by Professor Deborah Conner’s at Carleton University in Spring 2020, created a project that allowed us, as Westerners, to understand gender injustice in Nepal and find ways in which Westerners can be a part of the solution Our main research question was “What would be a made-in-Nepal approach to women’s equality?”. This research project allowed us to obtain knowledge from scholarly literature, interview five Nepalese women leaders, undertake a data analysis, and create our own group knowledge dissemination projects which bring together our final piece, this class research project report.
Overall, our findings as a class have resulted in some important insights. We would like to ask you to help us promote our research, by posting the attached report on your website. Working towards equality in Nepal allows for empowerment for all women for today and the future.