FEDO is a national level Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) founded in 1994 to establish the rights of Dalit women by organizing and empowering them for their mainstreaming into national development. It has been working to promote the Dalit’s rights and to eliminate caste and gender based discrimination and promote justice and equality in Nepalese society since its establishment. FEDO works at four levels (grassroots, regional, national and international level)to promote Dalit women’s advancement and participation at the decision-making level and to campaign for the economic, social, civil and political rights of all Dalits and Dalit women in particular through Economic Empowerment, Political Empowerment, Justice and Human Rights, Violence against Women, Peace Process and Constitution Building, Health and Sanitation, Education, Humanitarian Support and Organizational Development to live with self-respect and dignity in society.
FEDO has its 56 district chapters in all the developing regions of Nepal with 2,154 women’s groups with 53,850 group members united, organized and mobilized to fight against caste and gender based discrimination at all levels. FEDO has also been working with several alliances and expanding its network to strongly lobby and bring Dalit issues to the forefront at both the grassroots and national levels. Coordination, collaboration and networking are the major working approach of the organization.FEDO has experience in political governance, human rights, social inclusion and democratization. It has worked on protection and promotion of civil and political rights of Dalits and Dalit women through implementation of laws and policies, representation in government, civil society, and media. FEDO has also increased access to justice and promoted awareness and understanding of human rights. It strengthened the capacity of Dalit and Dalit women to claim their rights in a movement against social and cultural discriminatory practices.