Discrimination and rejection are rites of passage for any Dalit, anywhere in the world. One Dalit-American artist contemplates all she has learnt from being branded untouchable. "It requires great will to take on the gravity of who you are in the face of a society that believes you are not equal. Every Dalit I know has had a turning point where they have rejected the stereotype and forged their own way. Whether it was my grandfather who walked 10 km each way to the only grade school that would enrol him, or the Dalit women who fight every day for justice in the Dalit Women’s Self-Respect yatra – this raw strength is what defines us as a community and is what I lean on in the hard times of my work."
"Desraj Bunger a leader in the Guru Ravidass Sabha UK Community says the government must take action.He said: "The caste problems we're having in this country have followed us from India... our government needs to support us because we're desperately in need of their help."
Global day of action to end caste discrimination The 21st June has been launched by a number of Dalit NGOs as a global day of action to end caste discrimination and marches were carried out in London, Washington DC, San Francisco and India. In London, a letter was presented to Prime Minister David Cameron and in Washington DC protesters picketed outside the Capitol, demanding that Congress pass a binding resolution mandating action by US agencies in caste-affected countries.
”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.
Caste-based discrimination continues to follow Dalits even to first world countries
Two reports published in the UK confirm that caste discrimination “cannot be tolerated and should be included in the protections against discrimination and harassment provided in the Equality Act 2010” and comment that the proposed sunset clause, “for a non-discrimination ground is legally without precedent and goes against this key differential”
From caste discrimination through forced marriages to sex-selective abortions, entrenched practices among sections of the British South Asian diaspora pose continuing challenges. From caste discrimination through forced marriages to sex-selective abortions, entrenched practices among sections of the British South Asian diaspora pose continuing challenges. Caste discrimination is common enough; the European Parliament passed a resolution in 2013 calling for EU institutions to include procedures against it in their dealings with caste-affected countries.Editorial
Americans Declare Empathy with Dalits at US Congress event Descendants of prominent African American families, who led the civil rights movement, presented a Declaration of Empathy to the US congress. The declaration appeals to all Americans to stand in solidarity with the Dalits of South Asia to fight caste discrimination and caste-based slavery.
"I am a Dalit woman, I’m here to tell you that this Strange Fruit has a name and its name is caste. Just as there is no way to understand sexual violence in the history of the United States without understanding racism, there is no way to understand the frequency and lack of punishment of violence against women in India right now without understanding caste."
The draft UN Principles and Guidelines for the Effective Elimination of Discrimination based on Work and Descent is a comprehensive legal framework developed to eliminate discrimination based on work and descent, the UN terminology for caste discrimination. This is an IDSN publication.