Dalits System: The Roles Of Dalit Women

Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as untouchable. The highest population of this class of people have been recorded in India. Dalits are those classes of people who are not only considered as untouchable but also deprived of their basic right to life. According to Ancient Indian System, Dalits, basically are those people which does not belong to any of the four castes i.e. Brahmin, Vaishya, Kshayatriya, Sudhras. They are outcasted or does not belong to any of the four castes and tend to do such impure works such as sweeping roads, cleaning toilets, removal of rubbish etc. They are not a particular caste or class of people but are divided into many small groups. Due to their nature of work, they have been, on

Dalits does not have, in particular, any religion especially in modern times but the origin of the word 'Dalit ' and these class of people where originally named and considered in Hinduism1. In ancient India, the upper class of people have always neglected and prejudiced Dalits.

But Dalit women are more burdened and discriminated on the basis of caste, class and gender. Dalits were considered to be lower class people and therefore Dalit women are even further deprived not only by upper class but also by Dalit males. They had been discriminated many times on the basis of gender and were used by almost all class of people including Dalits itself.

Caste System in

But the situation of Dalit women, which earlier referred to 'untouchables ', made the case worst as they were mostly neglected by the society and forced to work as prostitutes. The scenario in modern world did not made any difference to Dalit women and they are still being discriminated and forced to work as prostitutes, also involved in human trafficking etc. According to 2010 survey, every 18 minutes, Dalit women are becoming victim of forced prostitution, murder, rape etc2.

Also, not only they are abused and discriminated by upper caste of the society but also they are being abused by Dalit men also. The triangular combination, (being women, lower caste and Dalit), have made the scenario worst for Dalit women. As Dalit men are becoming victim of various crimes and socio-economic conditions, they release all their frustrations and tension on Dalit female, generally their wife, and therefore the condition is becoming more and more