Beyond Victimhood: Less Told Stories of Malayali Dalit Women Heroes
Beyond Victimhood: Less Told Stories of Malayali Dalit Women Heroes
by
Dr. Rekha Raj
Assistant Professor
School of Gandhian Thought & Development Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.
Date: 19th April, 2021, Monday
Abstract
Dalit women are often underrepresented and their struggles and achievements are overlooked by both mainstream and alternate political discourses. Amidst the diverse symbolic and explicit oppressions and exploitations which is the everyday reality of Dalit women throughout history, some Malayali Dalit women were able to create their own path. The presentation will be discussing about their lives and how they negotiated and confronted with everyday caste patriarchy in their life period and how this signifies Dalit women politics in Kerala
About the speaker:
Dr. Rekha Raj is an Assistant Professor at the School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies in Mahatma Gandhi University. She is a Dalit and Feminist thinker, social activist, public intellectual and scholar. She has worked in the area of women's rights at Amnesty International India. Her book Dalit Sthree Idapedalukal was published in 2015 by DC Books. It was translated into Tamil in 2017. She has edited a special issue of the Magazine Sanghaditha in 2013. Her articles have been published in Economic and Political Weekly, many leading Malayalam magazines. Her areas of academic interest include Gender, Development and Ethnic, Cultural, Dalit, Ambedkarite and Subaltern studies.