For Dalit women in India, caste based discrimination takes on violent forms. The social hierarchy works to their disadvantage in every possible way. Community Correspondent Sunita Kasera reports a case from Rajasthan, Karauli.
Sunita feels that only by reporting such stories will the vicious forces of caste and gender stop making the lives of individuals miserable.
She was raped while grazing her cattle one afternoon. The men from the higher Gujjar caste threatened her and her husband into silence. Her only option then became to travel to the neighbouring town of Karauli with her husband to seek treatment and justice.
The might of the upper caste men extends not only to the woman’s family but to the entire Dalit community. Most women prefer to not report the crime for fear of losing face in society or worse facing further aggression from the upper caste.
More and more women are starting to break the cycle of oppression. She is one of them. She is Nirbhaya, the fearless one and she is rising for justice.