Interview with Reena Lama at the World Village Festival on sex workers’ rights in Nepal

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Reena Lama from KIOS’s grantee organisation FAITH will be interviewed at the World Village Festival in Helsinki. The programme “Sex workers’ rights in Nepal” will be streamed online on Saturday 25 May at 18:25 pm EET.

Sex workers in Nepal face a lot of violence, but no one protects them. Often, even their own families turn against them. Nepalese human rights activist Reena Lama breaks taboos and prejudices. From the early 2000s, she has worked with marginalised people such as the HIV positive, sex workers and drug users.

Founded by Lama, Friends Affected and Infected Together in Hand (FAITH) courageously challenges prevailing perceptions in a patriarchal society. How can you get policymakers to advocate for the rights of marginalised groups? How has working on taboo subjects affected Lama’s own treatment and status in society? How do the discriminated groups see themselves and their own rights?

Due to illness, the interviewer has changed. Reena Lama will now be interviewed by Eekku Aromaa, Secretary General of the Finnish Women’s Association Unioni.

The programme will be in English, and it will be interpreted to Finnish sign language.

The programme will be available on-site at the Speaker’s stage in Suvilahti, Helsinki, and through live stream on the Festival website on Saturday 25 May at 18:25-18:50 pm Eastern European Time (UTC +2).

After the programme you can discuss informally with Reena Lama and Miraz Roshan, the director of the FAITH short films, in the Tiivistämö foyer.

KIOS will also share information about our work at the Market of Possibilities of the festival. You can visit our stand M521 on Saturday at 11-21 and on Sunday at 11-19.

Link to the programme page

Link to the online stream

Link to the Facebook event

 

“We have waited for an extended period for change, sought support from those in positions of influence, yet no changes have occurred; instead, the situation has degraded with harmful laws. Now, more than ever, activists from the sex work community are resilient, demanding their safety and committed to advocating for a society built on empathy, understanding, and inclusivity.”

    Reena Lama

Reena Lama

Reena Lama is the executive director of FAITH, an advocate for women’s rights, and a member of the marginalized Tamang community, which is the second largest ethnic group in Nepal. Lama’s journey from a volunteer to the forefront of political activism demonstrates a commitment to dismantling stereotypes, addressing systemic barriers, and above all, working towards ensuring that the most marginalized voices are heard.

KIOS has been funding FAITH’s work for sex workers’ rights in Nepal since 2023 with funding from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.