Dalit Women Speak Out

The chapter begins by asking various questions on Dalit women and violence faced by them.
Viewed from a human rights perspective, the phenomenon of violence against Dalit women raises
certain questions worthy of exploration: How is violence against women in general and Dalit
women in particular, to be understood in a broader human rights perspective? As gender violence,
just as any other violence happens in a social context, what is the nature and dynamics of this
context, particularly Dalit women? In this context, how does one understand ‘violence’ faced by
Dalit women in terms of differing forms?

1. Caste-class Gender inter-sectional Violence against Dalit Women

Empirical research, strongly argues for the egalitarian character of the Dalit community and for
the view that brahmanical class--caste based patriarchy, alien to Dalits and their culture, has had
an overpowering impact on them in history. Evidence of this includes Dalit women's experience
of equality and freedom with men in such areas as speech, physical movement, establishing
contacts and relationships, choice of work and employer. earning and spending on household
goods. In fact, in a number of instances, it is the woman who is the principal breadwinner in the
family. Sharing in this common livelihood venture, irrespective of gender and age difference,
brings a measure of equality to Dalit women in their relationship with men.
Although the above argues in favor of Dalit women enjoying higher status among their community
member, one cannot ignore the Brahmanical patriarchy. In the process, three sets of actors
continually exert influence and pressure on Dalit women. One is dominant caste men under whom
Dalit women work as labourers and with whom they interact on a daily basis, who force the women
into submission and subservience to dominant caste male authority. Secondly, dominant caste
women, who are already conditioned by patriarchal ideology, rely on the strength of their male
counterparts' economic, social, and political positioning to influence or pressurize Dalit women
into patriarchal ways of thinking and acting. Thirdly, Dalit men, specifically Dalit women's
husbands and male relatives, are subjected to patriarchal influences and pressures in similar ways.
They, in turn, exert male control over their women.
Their problem becomes more complex and exacerbated for three important reasons. The first is
the Dalit community's relatively weak position in terms of economic, political, and knowledge
resources, which hinders it from waging a frontal assault on patriarchal ideology and supportive
formal and informal structures such as caste codes and traditions, religious beliefs, marital
alliances and practices, dominant caste, male-dominated traditional and electoral panchayats, and
the like. Secondly, the current increase in sub-caste identity assertions among Dalits appears to
make endogamy imperative as a biological and social mechanism to protect and sustain sub-caste
purity. As a consequence, this augments Dalit male control over their women's bodies and
sexuality in terms of choice in marital alliances, etc. on the basis of 'Dalit sub-caste honour' and
'Dalit male honour', values very similar to the 'caste honour' and 'male honour' of patriarchal
dominant caste culture. Thirdly, dominant caste men and-women perceive higher stakes, in
comparison to Dalit men, in perpetuating patriarchy in the Dalit community in terms of
legitimating their discrimination and violence against Dalit women. This last point requires further
elucidation in order to understand discrimination and violence against Dalit women in the class-
caste-- gender framework.

Gender class Axis: discrimination and violence through labour control

Although Dalit men's practice of endogamy and their control over their women's sexuality brings
them benefits, the advantages accruing to them are proportionately less than those that accrue to
dominant: caste men and women. On the other hand, dominant caste men and women enjoy dual
benefits from Dalit men upholding endogamy and controlling Dalit women's bodies and sexuality.
The short-term gains lie, first, in the realm of appropriation of their labour, using livelihood
concerns as bait and Dalit men's patriarchal control over their women as leverage. Secondly, in
order to determine the price of labour as well as property ownership on grounds of gender
discrimination, 'male honour' becomes a useful tool for the dominant castes to exploit Dalit men
in order to control the cost-value of Dalit women's labour. In both ways, the supply of labour and
enhancement of resources are assured for the dominant castes.

Gender-Caste Axis: Discrimination and Violence through untouchability

Another important control device used by dominant castes, with implications for their economic
and political interests, is the caste code of untouchability. To ensure the permanent availability of
Dalit women's' menial' labour for the dominant castes, such labour, considered polluted, abhorrent;
and repulsive to the latter, has been marked as dominant caste-mandated and low caste-performed.
That manual scavenging is still predominantly the task. of Dalit women in certain rural and urban
areas, despite it having been banned by law, attests to the benefits dominant castes enjoy from
Dalits performing this work. Similarly, the ritual-based devadasi occupation among Dalit women
is also an offshoot of untouchability that is beneficial to dominant caste interests. The low social
status attached to Dalit women by untouchability also functions as an opportune rationale for
dominant castes to discriminate against the women and accordingly devalue their capabilities. This
has negative implications for the women's opportunities of access to and control of economic
resources, acquisition of education and skills, and obtain knowledge and information. In other
words, denial of these opportunities prevents any change in the balance of development and power
between Dalit women and dominant castes.

Gender Axis: Discrimination and Violence through gender control

While it is true that dominant caste women, like Dalit women, are subjected to discrimination and
violence by dominant caste men, there is some specificity to Dalit women's experiences. This has
important implications for an understanding of the position of Dalit women vis-a-vis dominant
caste women in the ritual-based ordering of the caste system. As women, both are subjected to
gender discrimination and violence. In the case of Dalit woman, however, the devaluation of her
personality takes on a double dimension: she is devalued not only as woman, but also as Dalit.
Patriarchy submits her to male control of her body and sexuality. The ritual-based caste structure
allocates demeaning labour to her and denotes her low social standing as being due her impure
caste, distinguishing it from that of the dominant caste woman’s higher status. Thus, the systematic
discrimination and violence that Dalit woman face is uniquely different from women of the
dominant caste.
Discrimination and violence through control over sexuality
Page 55-56 (Three conditions)
Thus, in everyday practice of the patriarchal caste defines Dalit women’s relationship with
dominant caste men/women/ and Dalit men in all areas of life as one of availability, affordability,
accessibility, amenability, expendability and adjustability.

2. Types of intersectional Violence against Dalit Women

From the foregoing analysis, it is clear that violence is not gender centric but intersects with
different structures of the system. As such violence can be gender-class, gender-caste and gender-
class-caste. The author puts forward four different kinds of violence here--- a) Targeted Violence
b) Compound violence c) group violence d) serial multiple violence.