Rights groups have urged the Indian government to end human rights abuses tied to its project with South Korean steel giant POSCO and to stop illegal seizures of land that may forcibly displace thousands of Dalits and other vulnerable communities.
Nine Dalit women activists from South Asia attended the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last week. Members of the group spoke at a side event on Dalit women on 4 June, and they appealed to UN member states to address their situation.
Women and girls facing caste-based discrimination need special protections (Press release from Human Rights Watch, IMADR, Minority Rights Group International and IDSN)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has reiterated her commitment to ending caste discrimination. In a statement to a UN side event on Dalit women, she also called on UN member states to address the issue.
Figures from the 2011 census confirm that there are more than 200 million Scheduled Castes (the official term for Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits) in India. The total number of Dalits is probably much higher as Muslim and Christian Dalits are not included in these figures.
IDSN has urged UN member states to recognise Dalit women as a particularly vulnerable group in the upcoming annual resolution in the Human Rights Council on violence against women.
On the last day of her visit to India, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Ms Rashida Manjoo, said that Dalit women experience some of the worst forms of discrimination and oppression.
Following the attack on 200 Dalit families by a dominant caste mob that was angered by an inter-caste marriage, many Dalits have fled Pabnava village in Haryana. Those who remain feel extremely insecure.
Thousands of Dalit activists gathered in Delhi over the weekend to campaign for land rights. They hope to mobilise millions of India’s Dalits to file claims for land.
It is time for comprehensive action to end violence against Dalit women and girls, says Minority Rights Group International on International Women’s Day. The full statement follows here.
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