Archive | Key Issues

Nepal: Dalit girl murdered – risk of poor investigation

An eight-year old Dalit girl in Nepal may have been the victim of a sacrificial murder because of her caste status. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned that the local authorities may not do enough to investigate the crime.

February 11th, 2010|Dalit Children, Nepal|

Nepal urged to address constitutional gaps

A new report provides Nepal’s Constituent Assembly (CA) with a clear roadmap for ensuring the rights of all Nepalese people, including the country’s sizeable Dalit population.

February 10th, 2010|Access to justice, Nepal|

Caste systems obstruct South Asian education

A new UN report finds that India is still home to the world’s largest illiterate population. The report states that caste systems in South Asia have a negative effect on education opportunities.

January 27th, 2010|Education, South Asia|

A Dalit view on climate change

Three Dalit women from Andhra Pradesh took part in a protest outside the conference area of the UN climate talks by ceremonially burning their conference badges. They felt that their voices had not been heard in the COP15 process.

December 17th, 2009|Dalit Women, United Nations|

“We are not thought of as human”

The Guardian has published an investigation into the lives of Dalit women in Bangladesh. The author of the article, Mary Griffin, came second in the British newspaper’s International Development Journalism Competition.

November 26th, 2009|Bangladesh, Dalit Women|

UN Minority Forum: More political participation for Dalits

IDSN urges the UN Forum on Minority issues to consider ways to enhance political participation, especially for Dalit women.

November 2nd, 2009|Political Participation, United Nations|

Join the debate: Express your views!

The international debate on caste discrimination is also taking place on blogs and media websites. Now is the time to join the debate on caste discrimination as a human rights violation and the role of the international community.

September 30th, 2009|India, Key Issues|

Dalits are victims of modern slavery

Bonded labourers in South Asia are predominantly Dalits, also known as ‘untouchables’. The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery highlights this in her report about forced and bonded labour, which will be presented to the Human Rights Council at its 12th session in September.

September 3rd, 2009|Caste-based slavery|

Children speak up against manual scavenging

Dalit children in Gujarat will protest against being forced to clean toilets and septic tanks at the upcoming rally against manual scavenging, organized by Grassroots Dalit organization Navsarjan.

August 13th, 2009|Dalit Children, Manual Scavenging|

Supreme Court ruling brings India a step closer to ending manual scavenging

The campaign to end manual scavenging by the 2010 Commonwealth Games just got a push from a recent Supreme Court Decision, holding Government appointed District Collectors responsible for not eradicating the demeaning and hazardous practice.

July 15th, 2009|India, Manual Scavenging|