Violence against Lower Caste Women in India

http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/reports/re32c.pdf
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,HRW,,IND,4562d8cf2,3ae6a83f0,0.html

Lower caste women experience multiple oppressions in India, particularly relating to violence against them. They experience this violence from men of their own castes as well as men and women from higher castes, but have little ability to gain protection from either the state or other sections of Indian society. Over the years, lower caste women, particularly Dalit women, have been attacked and abused with impunity. Over 160 million people comprise the Dalit community in India and at least half are women.

According to a UNHCR report, "Dalits are discriminated against, denied access to land, water and other resources, forced to work in degrading conditions, and routinely abused, even killed, at the hands of the police and of higher-caste groups that enjoy the state's protection." In addition to this, Dalit women are physically and sexually abused at higher rates than any other group of women in India.

Caste issues are intrinsically tied to the analysis of unequal gender relations in India, as the women's movement has been dominated by upper caste, middle class women, and prioritized their interests. However, recently, lower caste and tribal women have begun to assert their own voice within the women's movement, urging the establishment of a federation of Dalit women, that is separate from both the existing Dalit political groups and the women's movement in its current form. It is imperative that 63 years after independence that the Indian government, and Indian society as a whole deal with these multiple axes of discrimination against lower caste women through legislation and changes in social practices.