the minute i say i'm dalits people say
things like um
really you don't seem sad enough tell it
women
lie at the bottom of the gradation of
both caste and gender
we are not allowed the same pathways to
dignity and
and justice that other women receive
[Music]
india's caste system is over 3000 years
old
and it divides hindus into four main
categories dalits
also known as untouchables don't even
make it into this hierarchy
when india gained independence
discrimination on the basis of caste was
made illegal
but cases of violence against the dalit
community are still reported on a daily
basis
today talit women make up 16 percent of
india's female population
that's your mic my my kids in there we
spoke to some of them
about how they live with caste
discrimination and gender bias
while walking away he said you know
we're never going to work out my parents
are never going to say okay to our
relationship
because you're that and it didn't matter
that uh i was studying and he had
dropped out
and he was practically doing nothing
with his life
he still thought his parents would say
no to me because
according to caste i am supposed to be
the dropout you know another
student does well people say well what a
smart person
i do well people say who does she copy
from my whole life has been a
construction
uh towards hiding this identity
[Music]
difficulty
i am also a survivor and i have many
survivors of caspase sexual violence in
my family
it's a unique spectrum of crimes that
includes being stripped naked
having your head shorn um you know being
you know tarred
you know black um being raped and being
even murdered i received like some
extremely rude extremely aggressive
commentary
both in front of myself and behind my
back from like the parents of kids
like parents of boys that i was
beginning to date
that like this girl will not be included
in our family like
this marriage is not happening and she's
a terrible person and i'm like
[Music]
foreign
of my identity on my back and it was
heavy
and it was i carried it for so long that
it just became a part of who i was
and when i came out i was able to
finally take it off my shoulders and set
it down
and i felt free and i felt light and i
felt like i had nothing to hide
anymore
i want the world to know and you know
sort of
be surprised or blown away all you like
is that
dalits also laugh we are remarkably
joyful
people i guess what surprises people is
that ballots are human
not just caricatures or people they read
about in newspapers
[Music]
this is difficult for me to answer
because
we've been striving for equality for so
long
how do we even start talking about
equality like equality equalizing
is a conversation that happens only when
you're
nearly at the same level to think of a
possible time
when you don't have to do that it just
seems impossible
if people look at this as a philip
women's issue and they think only adult
people should care about it
we we you know this will still take a
much longer thing to achieve
for me equality begins with you first
understanding
everything that your ancestors have done
to mine
that has left you in a much much better
place
and it has left me in a much much lower
position that i also do not deserve