How would you situate a Trans-Dalit-Muslim woman, especially when her identity is intersected by factors such as poverty, disability or her status of being a migrant? Should her identity be defined by one of the widely accepted social constructs such as caste, gender, religion or class? By virtue of being a Dalit-Muslim, she does not come under the ambit of the ‘Scheduled Caste’ category; only Dalit-Hindus are recognised under this category. She would not ‘qualify’ as a ‘woman’ or ‘man’ owing to her non-conformity to gender binaries. Moreover, being poor, her access to essential public services would be marred with challenges due to her ‘complex’ trans-status.

Hence, it is critical to examine how gender, which is a spectrum that includes female, male, LGBTQ^[1], interacts with other social identities and power structures such as caste, patriarchy, religion, race, ethnicity, class, etc. to shape experiences and outcomes. Some derive privilege and power from it while others face multiple forms of marginalisation resulting in stark socio-economic and political inequalities. These power equations form the very bases of hegemonic narratives that define socially accepted norms and roles. As these power structures are constantly intersecting in visible and invisible ways, it is imperative to move beyond a single-axis understanding of oppression to an intersectional one. An intersectional approach, takes into account people’s overlapping identities, and allows the unravelling of multiple points and axes of prejudice and oppression that contribute to the everyday experiences of the marginalised gender (Crenshaw, 1989).

The Intersectional theory has its origins in Black Feminist theory, where African-American women’s exclusion from both antiracist and ‘mainstream’ feminist thinking was articulated. Crenshaw recently opined that, “black feminist frameworks have been doing the hard work of building social justice movements that race-only or gender-only frames cannot.” Building on this foundational insight, the theory, in our context, was conceptualised and advocated by Dalit Feminists who framed their struggles as the outcome of the unholy nexus of caste, class and gender; what they termed as ‘Triple Alienation’ or ‘Triple Burden’.

Drawing upon the work of several intersectional-feminist theorists, we see how intersectionality unpacks layers of an individual’s identity which is not possible using frameworks focusing on a single primary marker. For instance, in the Shah Bano and Shayara Bano cases, their intersecting identity of being a Muslim on one hand and women on the other was at conflict; their oppression arose from the intersection of patriarchy and religion[2]. They both faced severe resistance from their community as they challenged the patriarchal underpinnings of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. More recently, we witnessed how women across religions are challenging the status quo of patriarchal-religious orthodoxy – the nuns in Kerala against the influential Catholic Church, women protesting to be allowed entry in the Sabarimala Temple and the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (Khatna) within the Bohra Community. These cases raise a grave question of whether religion and gender rights are mutually exclusive.

The Intersectional theory argues that violence does not occur in isolation and there are several intersecting factors such as identities and institutions that contribute to Gender-based violence. We see how caste, religion and patriarchy intersect as demonstrated in the Kandhamal Riots (2010) that were targeted against Christian-Dalits and Christian-Adivasis or in the clashes between the Jats and the Muslims in the Muzaffarnagar Riots (2013). In both cases, rape and other forms of sexual violence against women were blatantly used as instruments to ‘dishonour’ and delegitimise the marginalised communities.

When we analyse the situation of Dalit women, we see multiple forms of atrocities perpetrated on them owing to their status of being at the bottom of the caste and class hierarchies. Their bodies are used as battle-grounds, subject to brutal forms of sexual violence (gangraped, pararded naked, stoned and humiliated in public) as seen in most cases including the Laxmanpur-Bathe Massacre in Bihar (1997), and the Khairlanji rape and murder case (2006). Rape is used as a tool against the Dalit community to crush dissent and maintain caste-based hierarchies and power relations[3]. Sexual violence on Dalit women reveals a pattern of impunity enjoyed by perpetrators as often seen in majority of the cases. For instance, in the infamous gang rape of Bhanwari Devi (1992), her rapists were acquitted in 1995 on the grounds that ‘upper-caste men would not rape a woman from a lower caste due to reasons of purity’. Till date her case is pending in court but she continues to relentlessly fight for justice. Despite the enduring legacy of testimony by Dalit women, there is a complete normalisation of sexual violence against them. Even in the ongoing #MeToo movement, Dalit women’s struggles remain in the periphery. This indicates the importance of framing and conceptualising structural oppression and systemic violence faced by Dalit women differently from that of non-Dalit women.

In our country, we see how Gender-Just laws are undermined due to impunity and lack of comprehensive legal support and protection provided to victims. The impunity around sexual assaults, particularly enjoyed by upper-caste and upper-class (both State and non-state) perpetrators need to be addressed and strongly enforced by law. Babasaheb Ambedkar said, “the annihilation of caste cannot be fulfilled without the annihilation of patriarchy”. What is required is an overhaul of the casteist and patriarchal nature of institutions, towards building a gender-just society with a narrative of zero tolerance against all forms of gender-based violence.

However, these visible forms of gender based violence merely touch upon the surface of discrimination. Violence is largely invisible when it is a transgender or a queer in question. Since the discourse on Gender has been primarily women-centric, sexual minorities particularly from lower castes and class are disproportionately discriminated and victimised. Even government policies and programmes meant to achieve gender equality cater to the monolithic woman, overlooking a range of sexual minorities who identify themselves as female. For sexual minorities the pendulum swings from extreme exclusion, violence, poverty, ghettoisation to a determined struggle to live a life with dignity and rights.

Therefore, intersecting discrimination needs to be deconstructed in order to comprehensively address fractured narratives on inequality. As the intersectional impact of oppressive power structures on Gender is manifold, the most appropriate response has to be multi-pronged, adopting different strategies and affirmative action. In our pursuit to ‘leave no one behind’, it is critical to prioritise gender-responsive planning and implementation through the lens of intersectionality. Adoption of the intersectional approach, particularly while formulating laws and policies would address structural gaps and pave the path to achieving substantive equality and redistributive justice.

References:

-Crenshaw Kimberl´e. 1989. Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics, 1989 U. CHI. LEGAL F. 139, 150–52

-Gopal Guru (1995), “Dalit Women Talk Differently”, Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 30, No. 41/42 (Oct. 14-21, 1995), pp. 2548-2550.

-Nidhi S. Sabharwal, Wandana Sonalkar et al., Dalit Women’s Rights and Citizenship in India, IIDS-IDRC Report Series No. 40 (New Delhi: Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, 2010).

-Rebecca Johnson, Gender, Race, Class and Sexual Orientation: Theorizing the Intersections, in Feminism, Law, Inclusion: Intersectionality in Action 21, 29 (Gayle MacDonald, Rachel L. Osborne & Charles C. Smith eds., 2005).

[1]LGBTQ denotes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.

[2] Dr. Mary John on Intersectionality - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWhKjM9SgXw

[3]National Crime Records Bureau data shows that four Dalit women are raped every day in the country.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author, and don’t necessarily reflect the position of CBGA. You can reach Priyanka Samy at priyanka@cbgaindia.org.