Dalit feminist leaders from India and Nepal came together in Bengaluru to share organising experience, learn from one another and strengthen connections across borders.
From 14 to 19 May 2026, leaders from India’s National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW) and Nepal’s Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) met for a learning programme called Dalit Feminist Sisterhood and Solidarities across South Asia, hosted by Women’s Voice, the NFDW Secretariat.
Dalit women leaders, community organisers and development practitioners from both countries came together to deepen solidarity, exchange learning, strengthen collective strategies and envision transformative futures for the Dalit feminist movement, from the local to the global level.
The programme combined intersectional feminist political education with learning in the field. At Karnataka’s Social Welfare Department, the Nepali delegation learnt about the state’s Scheduled Castes and Tribes Sub-Plan, a public financing framework for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. The delegates also visited low-income communities in Bengaluru, where Dalit women and girls organise for safety, education, housing, health and livelihoods.
FEDO and NFDW are longstading IDSN members and carry long histories of Dalit feminist organising and leadership in Nepal and India. The programme honoured that legacy while creating space for mutual learning, intergenerational dialogue and collective imagination. Together, participants reflected on the emerging challenges and opportunities facing Dalit women, girls and gender-diverse communities across the region.
News source: India’s National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW)
