Indian Dalit women, girls targeted by upper-caste rapists

DW (English)

In India, rapists are more likely to attack women and girls from the Dalit community than from other groups. DW correspondent Shalu Yadav met a victim who was raped by an upper-caste man when she was 10 years old.

Transcript

00:00It was a cold evening, when a 10-year-old girl was on her way home after collecting

00:09firewood from the fields in her village.

00:13On a path like this one, a 26-year-old man grabbed her.

00:19He raped her so violently, she ended up in a hospital.

00:26Two years on, her memory of battling death is a blur, but flashbacks of the attack still

00:32haunt her.

00:35Too afraid to go out alone, she rarely leaves home apart from to go to school.

00:43It really bothers me to think about the shame this incident has brought upon our family.

00:51I have nightmares.

00:55I wonder why this happened to me.

01:02She may be too young to understand the reason, but her mother seethes in anger as she spells

01:07it out.

01:09The accused targeted my daughter because we are Dalits.

01:15He dared to do it because he's from the upper caste.

01:18We must stay in our place, as our status in the society is the lowest.

01:23He could have killed our daughter had we not heard of what was happening in time.

01:29The family had to leave their village.

01:31Pressure from the upper caste community, who defended the rapist and blamed the girl, became

01:36unbearable.

01:39Being a woman in India is hard.

01:42Being a Dalit woman is worse.

01:44The community is at the bottom of the rigid caste system that called them the untouchables.

01:50Upper caste men often use rape as a weapon of oppression against Dalit women.

01:55Protests are often held in the wake of rape cases.

01:58But there's hardly any outrage when the victim is a Dalit.

02:04Sana Bano is studying to be a lawyer and volunteers to help Dalit victims with legal advice.

02:10She says her work is dangerous.

02:14People from the upper caste call me and intimidate me.

02:18They remind me that I am a single woman and I should think about my safety.

02:24In some cases, they even follow us to intimidate us.

02:34Manjula is a human rights activist in Ahmedabad.

02:37She says the 10 rapes of Dalit women and girls that are reported each day is far from the

02:42full picture.

02:43And most don't have anyone to help.

02:46I think what is reported is just 25%.

02:49The 75% is still not reported.

02:51Under-reporting is a major issue.

02:54And non-reporting itself.

02:55So only 25% cases are being reported.

02:58Because the Dalit women are not aware about their rights.

03:01And how will they go to the police station?

03:04Who is there to help them?

03:06Who tells them that when you are raped, you don't have to wash your private part and you

03:10don't have to throw away your clothes because those are your evidence?

03:16Manjula knows what she's talking about.

03:18She's a Dalit and a rape survivor.

03:21She says caste and gender work together against Dalit women.

03:26They live with that fear that if I assert my rights, I would be killed or I would be

03:32raped or I have to leave my village.

03:34And this is happening.

03:35It's happening across the country.

03:40She's only 12.

03:43But this rape survivor has already learned what it means to be a Dalit woman.

03:50I don't think it's possible to get justice.

03:53But we will try.

03:54Those who try never fail.

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