48.3% of the population worldwide is female. Nevertheless, equal opportunities are unfortunately still not a matter of course - it is quite the opposite!

Girls and women are discriminated and disadvantaged in many regions of the world. To change this situation, we have decided to join and support the girls' fund Club 48,3. 

UNICEF's girls' fund Club 48,3 is a targeted programme to empower girls and women in developing and crisis countries to give them perspectives for a self-determined life. 

"If you educate a woman, you educate a nation": Every educated girl and every educated woman is essential for our society.

From September 10 to 18, 2022 my daughter and I were able to travel to Nepal together with the UNICEF girls' fund 48.3 and visited educational projects that are run by Club 48.3. 

UNICEF has been active in Nepal for 50 years, and Club 48,3 had funded a project there from 2016 - 2019 to support disadvantaged girls in school. 

Getting to know the project leaders personally and exchanging ideas with the women and girls gave us valuable insights and intensive impressions. 

A lot has already been achieved with the measures taken so far, but many more programmes are still needed. Many communities could not even be reached yet.   

Nepal is in a silent crisis, which is very serious for the people in the country. We are grateful that UNICEF offers the opportunity to assist not only people in urgent emergency situations, but especially those who would otherwise be forgotten. 

In Nepal every fourth person lives in extreme poverty. Many children cannot even go to school because they have to work, live in remote regions - or simply because they are girls. 

Girls are traditionally considered to be less worth than boys in Nepal: Two thirds experience discrimination and violence. Daughters are less well nourished, more likely to drop out of school, are getting married early and are more likely to be at risk of exploitation and poverty. 

In the remote provinces of Sudurpaschim and Karnali in western Nepal, girls' future prospects are particularly bleak - from birth.