South Asia

The caste system in South Asia exists for thousands of years and is traditionally rooted in the Hindu caste system. The four castes, which are also subdivided into countless subcastes, are:

 

Dalits fall outside this caste system and are placed outside society, through untouchability practices.

Dalits are not allowed to use temples or wells and are prohibited from even touching the shadows of higher caste people. In spite of economic development and the improvement of the position of a large proportion of the population in India and other countries in the region, caste discrimination and violence against Dalits has not decreased. Caste discrimination occurs in all layers of society and among all religions.

  

The situation of Dalit women in India needs special attention. They are one of the largest socially segregated groups anywhere in the world, and make up more than two per cent of the world’s total population. Dalit women are discriminated against three times over: they are poor, they are women, and they are Dalits. The traditional taboos are the same for Dalit men and Dalit women. However, Dalit women are confronted with them more often. Dalit women are discriminated against not only by people of higher castes, but also within their own communities. Men are dominant in Dalit communities. Dalit women also have less power within the Dalit movement itself. Women are active in large numbers in the movement but most leadership positions in the organisations, local bodies and associations have until now been held by men.

 

Certain kinds of violence are traditionally reserved for Dalit women. Extreme filthy verbal abuse and sexual epithets, naked parading, dismemberment, being forced to drink urine and eat faeces, branding, pulling out of teeth, tongue and nails, and violence including murder after proclaiming witchcraft, are only experienced by Dalit women. They are threatened by rape as part of collective violence by the higher castes. However, sexual assault and rape of Dalit women and girls also occur within their own communities. For Dalit men, the suppression and rape of women could be a way to compensate for their own lack of power in society. The Devadasi system of temple prostitution is the most extreme form of exploitation of Dalit women. Dalit girl children are forced to prostitution. The majority of cases of violence against Dalit women are not registered. The lack of law enforcement leaves many Dalit women unable to approach the legal system to seek redress. Women are often also unaware of the laws and their ignorance is exploited by their opponents, by the police, and by the judiciary. Even when cases are registered, the lack of appropriate investigation, or the judge’s own caste and gender biases, can lead to acquittal.

 

Justitia et Pax Netherlands supports Dalits, and Dalit women in particular, to raise the discrimination and violence they face everyday at the international political level.

In 2006 Dalit women conference was organised in The Hague.

In June 2009, these rights were officially recognised by the UN and discussed by the UN Human Rights Council. The UN Rapporteur on Violence against Wwomen mentioned the 30 cases of violence against Dalit women submitted in 2007 by Justitia et Pax Netherlands in her report to the Human Rights Council. This was a lengthy process of communication with partners in India on the one hand, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva on the other. In her report, the UN Rapporteur also emphasised her concerns about the situation of Dalit women in India in general.

 

The next step will be to achieve the same in cooperation with Dalit women's organisations in other countries in South Asia. In Nepal and Pakistan, violence against Dalit women also generally goes unpunished. This also requires UN attention.

 

In January 2007, Justitia et Pax Netherlands started the Dalit Research Programme. Within this programme a serie of researches into the position of Dalit women in India is carried out. The researches cover various themes and are implemented in collaboration with an Indian and an international research institution. The researchers and data collectors in the field are also trained. The research outcomes are used to draw the attention of the Indian and Dutch governments, and that of the European Union (EU) and the UN to the position of Dalit women.

 

The first research outcomes were published in March 2009 about the participation of Dalit women in local political processes in India. Prior experiences of Dalit women constituted an important source and, in total, two-hundred women with positive or negative political experiences were approached. Twenty detailed case studies were also carried out. Two national Dalit organisations, Navsarjan and Evidence, have used the results to, among other things, add weight to their lobbying activities.

 

- Keep the UN HRC and UN mechanisms informed about the human rights violations of Dalits in South Asia, in particular about jogini’s and safai karmachari’s.

- Inform Dutch policy makers about the discrimination and violence against Dalit women and share the research results of the Dalit Research Programme with them.

- Support and facilitate partners where needed and work in strong cooperation together tp abandon caste discrimination.

 

Justitia et Pax Netherlands cooperates strategically in the field of caste discrimination with Cordaid and People on a Mission.

Justitia et Pax Netherlands is a member of the Dalit Netwerk Netherlands (DNN) and the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN).

In India, Justitia et Pax Netherlands cooperates with the Catholic Bishop's Conference of India and with several Dalit (women's) organisations.