Depiction of Plight and Subjugation of Dalit Women in Baby Kamble’s Prisons We Broke

Baby Kamble reflects on the subjugation and plight of Dalit women in her autobiography The Prisons We Broke. Kamble, while depicting her experiences of caste discrimination, also attempts to show how the women of the entire Mahar community face similar discrimination and, therefore, this autobiography is regarded as the testimony of the entire Mahar community. On the one hand, it talks about how Dalit women fall victim to exploitation and discrimination by the upper caste people; on the other hand, it projects how these women tolerate similar discrimination by the patriarchal norms within their own Mahar community. This autobiography is a Dalit narrative that has been written from a feminist perspective. It offers a realistic insight into the oppressive caste and patriarchal norms of our Indian society. Thus, through this paper, an attempt has been made to bring forth the subjugation of Dalit women as reflected in Baby Kamble’s autobiography The Prisons We Broke.