Hyderabad: Protest against Hathras gangrape

Hyderabad: Seeking justice in the despicable Hathras gangrape and murder incident, the Shaheen Women Resource and Welfare Association along with girls and women conducted a protest march at Sultan Shahi in Moghalpura on Monday.

The Hathras case of gangrape is a reminder that everyday life of a Dalit woman is at the intersection of caste, gender, and violence. Dalit women are subjected to two forms of violence, gender-based and caste-based.

The narratives of dalit women at different junctures of Indian social history reveal how a dalit woman's body is often symbolized as the representation of her caste identity. Outraging the modesty is then seen to subjugate, dehumanise, and discipline the lower castes as per the moral and social norms of the higher castes. Many local cases of gangrape are also deeply disturbing to us," said Jameela Nishat, Founder and Director of Shaheen.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data of 2016, more than four dalit women are raped every single day in the country. Yet, caste fails to gain significant attention in gender - based violence reports in India, she noted.

"The Shaheen Women's Resource & Welfare Association strongly condemns this dehumanizing episode.

As a women's NGO, Shaheen has always been at the forefront to combat gender - based violence by mobilizing women for their socio - economic and legal empowerment. We demand immediate justice for Hathras and an effective judicial remedy to address caste - based gender violence in the country," Jameela Nishat added.