Donate | Newsletter
Archive | India

Global media outrage over rape and hanging of teenage girls in India

The case of the rape and hanging of two girls in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, widely reported to be Dalits, has caused a global media storm of reports on rape and violence against women in India and the strong links to caste discrimination. Numerous stories have highlighted that India’s ‘rape culture’ and ‘culture of impunity’ will not end until caste discrimination is tackled head on. Leading Human Rights NGOs and the UN have also made statements.

June 12th, 2014|Dalit Children, Dalit Women, India|
Read More

United Nations raising concern for caste discrimination from all quarters

Within the span of a month the urgent issue of caste discrimination has been highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Assembly, The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UNDP. Earlier this year the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women also reported grave concern for Dalit women.

June 12th, 2014|India, Nepal, United Nations|
Read More

Dalit leaders speak at EU Human Rights Defenders Forum

Dalit Human rights defenders and a team from the IDSN secretariat took part in The European Instrument on Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) 2014 Forum on Protecting Those Who Protect. Asha Kowtal, General Secretary of the National Dalit Women’s movement in India, spoke about Dalit women human rights defenders as part of a panel while Henri Tiphagne raised the issue of shrinking space for human rights defenders in India from the floor.

June 5th, 2014|Dalit Women, European Union, India|
Read More

UN: Plight of Dalit women highlighted by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women

“The intergenerational nature of caste-based discrimination condemns women to a life of exclusion, marginalization and disadvantage in every sphere of life. Many of those women are denied an education and economic opportunities, and perform dangerous and unprotected work, including … modern forms of slavery,” stated the SR on Violence against Women, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, in her report following her mission to India.

May 5th, 2014|Bangladesh, Dalit Women, India, United Nations|
Read More

Human Rights Watch Report: India’s marginalized denied education

Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims are most at risk of dropping out of school and being denied an education in India – states the comprehensive report “They say we’re dirty” – Denying an Education to India’s Marginalised, just released by Human Rights Watch.

April 30th, 2014|Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Education, India|
Read More

Groundbreaking Report on Claiming Justice for Dalits in India

Told directly from victims, witnesses, community members, human rights defenders and public officials, the report analyzes over 400 atrocity cases, with 20 in-depth case studies covering atrocities such as murder, rape, mass attack, and land grabbing.

April 18th, 2014|Access to justice, India|
Read More

Dalit women ignite the audience at the Women in The World Summit in New York

“Even if no one else recognizes us as human, we will shout it from the rooftops. … The shame is not on the women, the shame is on India,” said US Dalit woman filmmaker Thenmozhi Soundararajan in the talk she gave together with Asha Kowtal from AIDMAM, at the high profile Women in The World Summit in New York**. Uma Thurman introduced the talk by playing the part of a Dalit woman rape victim and NBC anchor Cynthia McFadden moderated the discussion.

April 9th, 2014|Dalit Women, Diaspora, India|
Read More

Dalit women in India stage month-long march for justice

For a full month Dalit women have marched in India to fight the vicious cycle of caste and gender discrimination that severely restricts the lives of Dalit women and subjects them to violence, rape and violations of their basic human rights in almost every sphere. They are marching to empower other Dalit women to stand up for themselves and join in the fight and they are demanding justice.

March 19th, 2014|Access to justice, Dalit Women, India|
Read More

UNICEF: Dalit girls most excluded from primary education in India

A report just released by UNICEF and UNESCO on out of school children in India highlights that Dalit girls have the highest primary school exclusion rate in India. The report also finds that half of the Pre-School age Dalit children are not attending school.

January 30th, 2014|Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Education, India|
Read More

Aid institutions gather in Delhi for launch of caste discrimination in disaster relief report

Key humanitarian actors including UNDP, ECHO, the Asian Disaster Reduction & Response Network, USAID and DFID gathered in New Delhi for the launch of the report “Equality in Aid – Addressing Caste Discrimination in Humanitarian Response”.

January 29th, 2014|Humanitarian Aid, India|
Read More