Dalit Women Network (DWN) was established in April 2018 as a campaign and duly registered on 20 February 2019 in the District Administration Office, Kathmandu, to protect the human rights of Dalit women. It has also been affiliated with the Social Welfare Council (SWC). The organization’s primary focus is to ensure that local governments are responsible and accountable for Dalit women’s access to human rights, justice, and development through women’s empowerment. To achieve this, the organization has established strong relationships with local governments, women’s organizations, Dalit organizations, civil society, and other stakeholders. They actively raise issues related to the rights and inclusion of Dalit women.

DWN has contributed to the promotion and protection of the human rights of Dalit women by strengthening the structure of the feminist movement (Dalit women groups, Dalit women human rights defenders, front-line women leaders, and their alliances) at the local level. DWN believes itself to be a campaigner to increase Dalit women’s access to resources and service delivery, build the capacity of women human rights defenders and women activists, and mobilize them in an advocacy campaign to prevent caste- and gender-based discrimination and promote inclusive local governance from the Dalit women’s perspective.

We create change by

• Raising public awareness of the realities faced by Dalit Women to foster solidarity and support for ending caste-based discrimination and gender-based violence.
• Facilitating that Dalit women’s voices and concerns are amplified and heard for the social justice and development of Dalit women.
• Bringing the cases of caste and gender-based human rights violations to the attention of human rights institutions, law enforcement agencies, and formal and informal justice actors at the local and national levels.