The Dalit women's movement

India1990s onward

Context

Dalit women organised to name the specific violence and exclusion they face at the meeting point of caste, class and gender, and to challenge both upper-caste feminism and male-led Dalit politics. The National Federation of Dalit Women was founded in 1995.

People and groups

Ruth Manorama and the National Federation of Dalit Women; Dalit women writers including Bama, Urmila Pawar and Baby Kamble.

Key demands

An end to caste-based sexual violence; land, wages and dignity; recognition of Dalit women's leadership.

Timeline

1995: The National Federation of Dalit Women is founded.
2001: Dalit women's groups take caste discrimination to the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban.

On our shelf

Gender and Caste
Gender and Casteed. Anupama Rao
No reviews yet
Essays on how caste and gender shape each other in modern India.
Caste and genderAnthologyIndiaEnglish
From ₹425 (sample price)
Karukku
KarukkuBama
No reviews yet
A Dalit Christian woman's autobiography of caste, faith and the church, widely read as a founding text of Dalit women's writing.
Dalit writingMemoirIndiaTamil
From ₹350 (sample price)
Women Writing in India
Women Writing in Indiaed. Susie Tharu and K. Lalita
No reviews yet
A two-volume anthology of women's writing in India across languages and centuries.
AnthologyWomen's literatureIndiaEnglish
From ₹899 (sample price)