By Ashley Tellis Telugu author Manasa Yendluri is challenging mainstream perceptions of gender, sexuality and religion Dalit feminist writer Manasa Yendluri has won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2020 for her collection of Telugu short stories, Milinda. Bold and honest, the stories talk of being a minority in India, whether by virtue of gender, sexuality or […]

WomenMay 2, 2021

‘There is caste in every corner of this…

By Ashley Tellis Telugu author Manasa Yendluri is challenging mainstream perceptions of gender, sexuality and religion Dalit feminist writer Manasa Yendluri has won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2020 for her collection of Telugu short…

By Tanvi Akhauri Dulari Devi lives in a discrete village in Bihar where resources aren’t resplendent and dreaming of a luxurious life seems like luxury itself. However, with her regional tongue in Maithili and undying spirit of keeping alive the traditional culture of her state, Dulari Devi is connecting a thousand hearts across India. Her […]

WomenApril 18, 2021

Dalit History Month: How Artist Dulari Devi Signifies…

By Tanvi Akhauri Dulari Devi lives in a discrete village in Bihar where resources aren’t resplendent and dreaming of a luxurious life seems like luxury itself. However, with her regional tongue in Maithili and undying…

By Ruchira Gupta Doyen of the Indian Women’s Press Corps, 75-year-old Mrinal Pandey was charged last month with sedition by the Indian government. She had tweeted about a massive ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi. This same month, someone broke into the home of journalist Neha Dixit. She had been physically stalked since September 2020. “The […]

WomenApril 7, 2021

Gaslighting, Stalking, Revenge Porn: Right-Wing Hate Fuels Attacks…

By Ruchira Gupta Doyen of the Indian Women’s Press Corps, 75-year-old Mrinal Pandey was charged last month with sedition by the Indian government. She had tweeted about a massive ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi. This…

By ADF India “If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is with women.” – Mahatma Gandhi Women are equally endowed with human dignity and no woman should be discriminated or targeted for exercising her autonomy. There are forces in society that become very uncomfortable when women assert their constitutionally guaranteed rights and fundamental […]

WomenApril 1, 2021

Christian Women In Koraput Face Religious Persecution

By ADF India “If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is with women.” - Mahatma Gandhi Women are equally endowed with human dignity and no woman should be discriminated or targeted for exercising…

By BRITNI DE LA CRETAZ On September 14, 2020, 19-year-old Manisha Valmiki was raped in Uttar Pradesh, a northern state in India. She had her tongue cut, and spine broken during the attack, which was allegedly conducted by four men. Fifteen days later, she died of injuries. A week after that, another 22-year-old woman in India died en […]

WomenJanuary 31, 2021

Dalit Women In India Are Facing A Sexual…

By BRITNI DE LA CRETAZ On September 14, 2020, 19-year-old Manisha Valmiki was raped in Uttar Pradesh, a northern state in India. She had her tongue cut, and spine broken during the attack, which was allegedly conducted…

By Jaya Lakshmi and Arvind A S Trigger warning: Mentions of rape, caste-based discrimination The recent rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was forcibly cremated by the police in Uttar Pradesh, an incident which was soon followed by another rape and murder of a 22-year old Dalit woman in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, has shocked the […]

WomenJanuary 18, 2021

“Exclusion, Segregation And Atrocity”: How The State Oppresses…

By Jaya Lakshmi and Arvind A S Trigger warning: Mentions of rape, caste-based discrimination The recent rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was forcibly cremated by the police in Uttar Pradesh, an incident which…

By Priyanka Bhalshankar  Jaya (name changed) 24, a Dalit woman from Mumbai, is studying Masters in Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS). She is a first-generation learner in a family with three generations working as safai karamcharis. Jaya has supported her education on her own by doing part-time jobs since the age of […]

WomenJanuary 18, 2021

“Overwhelming And Taxing”: Navigating Academia As A Dalit…

By Priyanka Bhalshankar  Jaya (name changed) 24, a Dalit woman from Mumbai, is studying Masters in Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS). She is a first-generation learner in a family with three…

By Anuradha Nagaraj CHENNAI, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – When Priya Periyasamy was elected to lead her village council in southern India a year ago, her parents warned that she would face hostility as a low-caste Dalit woman, but nothing prepared her for the constant abuse she receives. Periyasamy is among at least 16 women village […]

WomenJanuary 12, 2021

Denied a chair, Dalit women confront discrimination on…

By Anuradha Nagaraj CHENNAI, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Priya Periyasamy was elected to lead her village council in southern India a year ago, her parents warned that she would face hostility as a low-caste…