The first Celebrating Womanhood Regional Awards encapsulating the 7 SAARC countries concluded successfully on October 20, 2008. The awards were presented on the same night as the Celebrating Womanhood Navadevi Awards.

Celebrating Womanhood is based on recognizing the strengths of women and celebrating their achievements. The Regional Awards aimed to encourage sharing and learning from the experiences, skills, knowledge and wisdom of the women who have pressed on in their quest to create opportunities despite adversities. The recipients were chosen on the basis of their contribution to their respective area of work in recent years.

In addition to honoring nine exemplary women from Nepal, the evening saw felicitation of women from seven SAARC countries: Nahid Bashardost for her contribution in preservation of culture in Afghanistan, Syeda Rizwana Hasan for Environmental conservation in Bangladesh, Chimi Wangmo for economic empowerment in Bhutan, Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath for her commitment in bringing Social harmony in India, Dr. Meena Singh Khadka for her contribution in Education sector of Nepal, Nafisa Shah for her exemplary contribution to good governance in Pakistan and Pearl Stephen for her tireless efforts towards establishing Peace in Sri Lanka. The categories were decided on the basis of the women’s contribution in bringing about changes in the sector that is most needed by that particular country.

The event started with a stupefying performance by Mithila Sharma about women power. Similarly, folk dancers from International Dance Centre presented a performance in a musical ballet ‘Danphe Chari’, which was composed by Gopal Yonzon. An audio visual about a custom in Khotang district was shown which was about butternut tree and its importance in the life of a Khotang girl.

The domain of ‘Celebrating Womanhood Navadevi Awards for Nepali Women’, established in 2002, was enhanced to South Asia women this time to encourage their skills, knowledge and wisdom. SAP International had joined hands with Creative Statements (the organizer) to support the event.