A national platform for women

NIDWAN, the National Indigenous Disabled Women Association Nepal, led the initiative with partner organisations. The Disability Rights Fund’s 2024 annual report describes the consultation as Nepal’s first national Beijing+30 consultation for women with disabilities. The resulting Kathmandu Declaration carried their priorities into the wider review process.

Pratima Gurung describes the gap

In a February 2025 interview published by UN Women, NIDWAN founder Pratima Gurung recalled how Indigenous women with disabilities had been overlooked in the Beijing process. She called their recent discussions “a historic milestone”. She linked their demands to poverty, climate impacts and the exclusion of their voices.

Indigenous priorities enter the documents

UN Women’s subsequent analysis identified 16 references to Indigenous women with disabilities in the Kathmandu Declaration. It also described a separate regional declaration endorsed by 18 organisations. Together, these efforts sought to bring experiences of disability, gender and Indigenous identity into policies that had frequently treated them separately.