Durga Sob

Durga is a lifelong advocate for the rights of Dalit women, she is a founding member of the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), serving as the President of this organization from 1994 to the present, having the responsibility for coordinating FEDO’s programming, activities and policies as well as for organizing and attending various high level meetings, seminars, workshops and event training.

Durga is also the past president of the Dalit NGO Federation (DNF), and from 2002 to 2004, held the post of member secretary of the National Dalit Commission. Currently, She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Movement Against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism- Japan (IMADR), is a member of the National Development Council (government body), and formerly acted as an executive member of the NGO Federation of Nepal. On a regular basis, her papers and articles have been printed in local, national and international publications.

Durga has had the opportunity to attend workshops and present papers in preparation for both the Third and Fourth World Conference of Women and participate in the NGO forums at the Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing, as well as the Beyond Beijing +5 and Beijing +10 Conferences, and the WCAR Meeting in Durban. As part of the National Election Observation Committee she continues to seek respect for Dalit and women’s rights—and their full participation—in the context of post-conflict peace-building in Nepal. This advocacy is also carried out through Durga's work as a core member in the Women’s Alliance for Peace, Power, Democracy and Constitutional Assembly, and a national network of Women for the Peace-building Process. This wide range of experience has also meant that she has been involved in numerous creative and innovative approaches to secure sustained funding for initiatives that focus on social inclusion, participation and human rights of women who have been systematically excluded both traditionally, as well as in the new post conflict reality of Nepal.