Empowering Women and Girls – The Tibet Fund

Empowering Women and Girls

We work with multiple partners to protect Tibetan women and girls from gender-based violence and empower them through education, health, and livelihood programs. Key partners are the Central Tibetan Administration Women’s Empowerment Desk, Tibetan Women’s Association, and Drokmo.

We work with the Women’s Empowerment Desk to create effective protection and response mechanisms against gender-based violence in Tibetan settlements and schools in India and Nepal. A network of gender focal persons, barefoot counselors, and complaint committees raises community awareness on sexual harassment and gender based violence, workplace safety, and redressal mechanisms. Gender focal persons educate students about host government laws protecting children from sexual offenses, and serve as points of contact for students in need of safe counsel. Barefoot counsellors visit settlement residents at home to give counseling on positive parenting, domestic violence, mental health, and substance abuse. Committees help to raise awareness in settlements and schools, receive confidential complaints, maintain safe spaces for violence survivors, and conduct safety audits to identify security risks.

The Tibetan Women’s Association in Dharamsala operates a 24/7 helpline and maintains a model safe space that is being extended to other settlements across India. Helpline workers conduct awareness drives and provide confidential counselling on domestic violence, sexual harassment, how to get legal advice and how to access social protection schemes. Safe shelter and emergency funds are also available for women in need.

We support Drokmo, a women-led NGO, to conduct menstrual, sexual, and reproductive health workshops for adolescents at Tibetan schools, where they facilitate entry-level discussions about sexual consent, violence, and the changing patterns of relationships during adolescence. Drokmo also organizes menstrual health management workshops for nunneries and awareness workshops for Tibetan NGOs. The Tibet Fund was instrumental in seed funding Drokmo as part of our Tibetan Civil Society Empowerment Program.

Protection against gender-based violence is complemented by education, livelihood, and health initiatives that empower Tibetan women and girls. The Girls Scholarship Program supports girls from low-income families to attend college, covering the full cost of tuition and living expenses. The Tibetan Women Microentrepreneurship Project supports vulnerable women to grow their businesses and access new markets. The Every Mother and Child initiative gives breastfeeding mothers resources for the nutrition, hygiene, and healthy cognitive development of their babies.