Pillar 4

The Strategic Approach of WHR


WHR has been a pioneer in addressing single women’s issues and envisions changing traditional stereotypes and mindsets that keep single women from participating and accessing resources. We strive to change discriminatory policies to give women their rights and show that they are valuable social capital.


WHR’s strategic plan (2019-2023) focuses on five pillars.

Disaster and Humanitarian Response (Pillar IV)


Nepal often faces high magnitudes of various natural hazards such as floods, landslides, earthquakes, fire, cyclonic winds, hailstorms, cloudbusts, drought, famine and epidemics. Different industrial and road accidents, explosions and hazards induced by poisonous substances are also recorded at times. The entire country falls in a high earthquake intensity belt.

The Gorkha earthquake that struck the country on 25 April 2015 killed about 9,000 and injured nearly 22,000. WHR conducted survey in 495 single women headed households after the earthquake, which showed that natural calamities as such destroy means of livelihood and increases workload and this was the case for the two-thirds of of single women affected by the earthquake. Disaster-affected families often lose personal and legal documents necessary to access relief and for rehabilitation. Around 24.4% of single women in Kathmandu valley had lost their property papers and over 49% of them lost their citizenship certificates.

Many women in the country in any case lack citizenship, birth and marriage certificates, mainly due to lack of awareness or limited direct access to government services, which are otherwise often mediated by husband or other men in a household.

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is an integral part of sustainable social and economic development. As per WHR’s commitment towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, this strategic theme focuses on preparedness as well as immediate humanitarian responses in the aftermath of any disaster. The theme aims at recognizing both immediate and long-term needs of single women in the face of such disasters via necessary interventions.