The Court of Bigotry: Contested Sexuality of Dalit and Non-Dalit Women

Abstract

In the Indian context, women, especially Dalit women, have been subjected to scripturally and culturally sanctioned misogyny. These deep-rooted prejudices are manifested at both the societal and the institutional levels. In such a scenario, any assertion of justice by Dalit women is fraught with tensions. The sexual violence against them is routinized, normalized and invisibilized. For the victims, it is a lonely struggle as civil society scarcely registers such crimes; for the law and judiciary, it is another claim for meagre compensation. Their bodies are bereft of honour, and their sexuality is viewed with suspicion, easily accessible to any male of the dominant communities who can lay claim to it. This article explores two case studies—Khairlanji and Nirbhaya, geographically distinct spaces, where Dalit women were brutally raped and mutilated, and the perpetrators were let off lightly. The mainstream media largely ignored the developments. The article also focuses on the fissures within the feminist movement vis-à-vis caste and the politics of sexuality.