Devika's

Females have the ability to bear children, and so it may seem only logical to relate fertility and ‘anything’ associated with it as ‘women’s business’. The family planning arena, in particular, has been hugely feminised. From assuming the physical responsibility of using contraception to facing its emotional and mental consequences, the role falls almost exclusively on women. But should pregnancy prevention really just be women’s business? What consequences does the feminisation of contraception have? A wide range of modern contraceptive options are available for women in Nepal. They range from short-acting reversible contraceptives (female condoms, pills and injectables) and long-acting reversible contraceptives (implants and intra-uterine devices or IUDs) to permanent methods (sterilisation). In contrast, condoms and sterilisation (vasectomy) are the only male contraceptives available in the market. Misconceptions that male sterilisation leads to reduced physical strength and...

.... ‘त्यसको कुनै पता चल्यो?’ ‘नाइँ, काका !’ ‘त्यो भेटिनलाइ हराएकै थिएन’, उसले भन्यो  .... ‘फिरफिरे’ले अलिकति हाँसोसंगै धेरै आसुँ दिएर गयो ! मीठो कथा, अविस्मरणीय पात्रहरु र भावुक अन्त्य; ‘फिरफिरे’को पढाई-यात्राभारी नै मनमा धेरै खालका आँधीबेरीहरु महसुस भइरहे ! किताबका पान्नाहरु सकिँदै जाँदा अनौठो छट्पटी थियो, जुन हरेक पान्नासंगै बढ्दै बढ्दै गइरह्यो, र अन्त्यमा आँशु बनेर अन्तिम पन्नामा बर्सिए! राता भएका आफ्ना आँखाहरु चिम्म गरी ‘फिरफिरे’ बन्द गर्दै गर्दा यस्तो लागिरहेछ, अब बसन्तलाईजस्तै मलाई पनि कहिल्यै नमेटिने पर्खाइ रहीरहनेछ.. पवन, जुठीमाई र अर्को यस्तै धित मार्ने फिरफिरेको !  ................

Nepali youth delegates including Devika (left) with UN  Secretary-General's  Envoy on Youth Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi in New York. This year marks the final year of the Millennium Development Goals, the eight global goals launched in 2000. Now, the world must decide on a new set of goals to guide development priorities for the years to come. Many urgent priorities compete for attention as member states, UN agencies, and a range of other development actors advocate for inclusion of their issues in these so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to bring the voices of young people into this discussion, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) convened a Youth Forum on 2-3 February 2015, focusing on how to maximize the engagement of young people in the transition from MDGs to SDGs.  The  youth population  of Nepal is significant: according to the census of 2011, the people between 16-40 years (youth, as defined in Nepal's National Yo...

........ I shy away, tryi ng to hide my face because I can't look at your eyes again. Somehow, your fingers run through my hand like a miracle. I turn myself towards you. You smile. My lips feebly curl into a smile as I turn red. You hold my hand and bring it near your face. As it touches your chin, I feel the heat on your skin. You are still smiling that smile, but your eyes are fiery. I separate my hand from yours and caress your face. You have such beautiful eyes, and nose. My heart beat amplifies with every minute that passes by, and I can see yours does too. I take your hand; my eyes locked with yours and slowly leap towards your side. The emotion building up inside, swarms across, from you to me, and from me to this hazel dream. I hesitate. You pull yourself back from this trance. I quietly follow.  … The night gets darker. The bus we are on leaves a track of its being as it speeds up, filling the tranquility with the lazy sound of an old engine, struggling not...

September 9, 2014 2:30 AM As I hurried back to the ward with a packet of Glucose, I was surprised to see bhauju being hastened into the other room. I fretted at the dire state she was in. I tried to call one of the nurses who were holding her, to ask of the situation, but they quickly entered the room, leaving me unhinged. I headed back to the room where she was kept earlier. Some of the women inside gave me hints on why and where my bhauju was taken. I sighed. She was about to deliver! I leaped towards the delivery room and paused at its door. I peeped into it and saw what looked like a corridor. There were rooms on either sides of it. I walked past the first room on my left, and before I could take another step, I heard someone coming towards me. I swiftly returned back to the door, closed it after me and stood at the side. A nurse came out; and walked past me without saying anything. I kept waiting outside. My restlessness grew with every minute that went by. I marched f...

Environment Matters! Note: The word ‘environment’ here means the surrounding one lives in, and not the environment, environment. ;)  “Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us” -           Earl Nightingale Most of us already know how important the environment is for a seed to germinate and grow into a healthy plant. It is not just the water that helps it in the process, but it is the sunlight, the climate, the soil quality, the nutrients. It is the environment as a whole that is responsible for the sapling’s survival and growth. The same rule applies to a person’s development and performance, which we all have the knowledge of. Unfortunately, when it comes to really implementing this knowledge, we tend to surpass this truth with our presumptions and judgmental attitude. One of my high school best friends married some time ago. She was very happy for this marriage because the going-to-...

You find your lost love, or so you think, after years. You hear that your childhood best friend, with whom you lost contacts for ages, married recently. The person you have known to be benign for so long turns out to be just the opposite. You do not win the heart of this one person you tried to, all those time. You thought you were better, but apparently you were just as ordinary as so many people around you. Well, life brings us many surprises; some good, some not so good. And there are some which belong to neither. Nevertheless, surprises excite us, hue our everyday. We are thrilled with every little surprise that comes our way as they make us ponder upon our own flaws and fortitude. Surprises delight us. Surprises leave us with a crippling affliction. Surprises tend to influence us, our way of life, in one way or the other. ;)