Dalit Feminist Perspectives in India

Dalit women are the most deprived and discriminated sections in caste-based Indian society. They have been victimized through the structural hierarchy of caste which perpetuated the ethos of inequality and maintains the segregation of power. In every sphere of life, they are in a pitiable position, worse off than the upper caste women. Dalit women not only suffer gender discrimination and economic deprivation, but also suffer from discrimination and disabilities in connection with caste. The Indian feminist discourse does not cover the aspect of caste and its interface with gender. This paper seeks to investigate the assertion of dalit women :Y organizations both at the national and regional levels, and the main dalit standpoint which has emerged from a dialogue between the practices and struggles of dalit women and the works dalit feminist intellectuals.