Gender issues and its coonection (intersection) with caste

1. GENDER AND ITS INTERSECTION WITH CASTE
1. It gave a lower status to women:
In the caste system, the women were utterly neglected. They
enjoyed a very conservative and traditional type of status.
They were denied the privilege of higher education. They
could not voice their opinion in public affairs.
The women belonging to the higher castes led a still more
precarious life due to the practice of child marriage and
prohibition of widow remarriage. The desire for a male made
women produce more and more childrenwhich affected their
physical and mental condition. Sometimes the lower caste
women were sexually harassed by the higher caste males but
they could not protest against them due to the prevailing
social pattern. In a nutshell,women enjoyed a very low status
in the caste system.
2. It resulted in the introduction of Untouchability:
The worst aspect of the caste system was untouchability.The
untouchable suffered from various social, economic, political
and religious disabilities. In the name of religion, they were
thoroughly exploitedin the most inhumanmanner. The lower
castes were placed in the category of untouchables. Their
children were never allowed to be educated and they were
compelled to take unclean occupation.

2. The Sudra women were prohibited from wearing presses in
the manner the Brahmin women dressed themselves. They
were not allowed to use public well, ponds, places of worship
etc. The fear of the wrath of God and religious conventions
made the lower castes follow all the religious prescriptions
and proscriptions.
3. EXPLOITATION AND PATRIARCHAL POWER:
The power play of patriarchy saturates every area of Indian
society and gives rise to a variety of discriminatory practices,
such as female infanticide, discrimination against girls and
dowry-related deaths. It is a major cause of exploitation and
abuse of women, with a great deal of sexual violence being
perpetrated by men in positions of power. These range from
higher caste men violating lower caste women, specifically
Dalits;
4. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPOWERMENT:
Rural women are politically marginalised, but rural Dalit
women are given even less of a voice in the decision making
process. In India, there is a quota system in place for Dalitsto
haveseatsin the localpanchayat(townassembly),but the role
Dalit women play is consistently subordinated to their male
counterparts. Dalit women who attempt to utilise theirpower
in the panchayat are met with male and dominant caste
backlash, pressure and sometimes violence.

3. 5. WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE:
Sanctionedimpunity on behalf of offenders is a major issue in
India, and the police often deny or purposefully neglect and
delay Dalit women’s right to legal aid and justice. There is a
consistent pattern of delay in report filing and irregularities
regarding criminal procedures, which leads to widespread
impunity and creates serious barriers to justice for Dalit
women. Impunity sends the message that gender and caste-
based violence is tolerated and is thus perpetuated because
there is no effective deterrence for offenders. Often in cases
of rape, Dalit women are pressured to withdraw or settle,
sometimes making a ‘compromise’ and receiving a small
payment by dominant caste members or others in the
community.
6. ACCESS TO KEY PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES:
In India, Dalit rural women face serious challenges in carrying
out their multiple productive and reproductive roles within
their families and communities, in part due to lack of rural
infrastructure and lack of access to essential goods and
services. Theyhavethe highestpoverty levels,are landlessand
depend on the dominant caste for employment, wages and
loans. Theiraccess to resources or even their efforts to access
them are often met with violence.
Due to the intersection of caste, class and gender, Dalit
women are subjected to direct and structural violence.
Specifically, the structural violence and lack of access to
resources perpetuate their poverty and undermine their

4. dignity. Dalit rural women have very limited access to and
control over land, which in turn leads to food insecurity. They
also lack access to water and other communal resources;
when those resources are in non-Dalit areas, the women are
attacked for attempting to use them. When it comes to
infrastructure and resources in Dalit communities, the
government often overlooksthose areasanddoes notallocate
the necessary fundsto ensure equalityof access to resources.
Further, Dalit women lack employment options and other
livelihood opportunities, more so than their male Dalit
counterparts.
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ABHISHEK SHARMA, GSS