Conclusion and Approach to Prevention
The study underlines that violence against Dalit women is the outcome of gender-based inequalities, compounded, and intensified by caste discrimination. In Indian rural society, violence acts as a crucial social mechanism to maintain Dalit women’s caste and gender subordinate position to men and particularly men of dominant castes. Many a time sexual exploitation and rape of these women are justified by dominant caste men as ennobling the Dalit woman victim-survivor and her caste. Furthermore, low caste women are concerned to be impure the protection of their chastity or purity is never the consideration. Also, their repeated abuse through sexual crimes underscores the low position of their caste. Thus, sexual violence against Dalit women is a means to sustain the caste disparity and oppress the lower castes. The study thus illustrates that caste discrimination against Dalit women undermines their dignity, self-respect, and economic, political, and social development, which in turn makes them vulnerable. They are left with no choice. Since caste discrimination is ingrained in society and is rampant in rural areas, it is important to improve the environment which sustains this evil practice.
The foremost factor to bring transformation in society is the education of the deprived sections. Women’s education is intrinsically important to make them conscious of their exploitations and aware of their rights. Education empowers women by flourishing many of their capacities, enables them to respond to the challenges, and brings a reduction in inequalities by confronting their traditional roles. Ironically many Dalit women are educationally backward despite the facilities for free education. The reasons for the high rate of illiteracy among Dalit women are resistance from the family to send girls to schools, insecurity in villages, and girl child labor that forces girls to take care of their siblings when the parents are away at work. Therefore, gender discrimination starts at a very early stage in the life of a Dalit girl. Hence, the study recommends progressive educational policies in imparting vocational skills to dropouts. Dalit girls/women should be given preference and special treatment under existing and future programs. Many policies and schemes for Dalits and women’s empowerment exist at the national, state, and local levels in many sectors including health, education, economic and political participation. Many schemes for Dalits are availed by elites of the community. Thus, social and economic stratification among Dalits prevents the reaching of the benefits to those who are in real need. Also, as many schemes have been introduced by the Indian government for the upliftment of the deprived sections; it is important to introduce the benefits to women as they are responsible for running their households.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: Indian Feminism and Intersectionality
- Select Writings of Dalit Women
- Domestic Violence
- Public Violence
- Victims of Religious Practices
- Conclusion and Approach to Prevention
- References