New EU human rights guidelines highlight the need to address caste in EU’s external action

IDSN welcomes the new EU Human Rights Guidelines on Non-discrimination in External Action, where caste is mentioned several times as a form of discrimination that must be addressed. It is specified in the guidelines that the term ‘descent’, “includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status”, and that the EU should, “Participate actively in UN mechanisms and processes dedicated to general and specific discrimination related issues such as … discrimination based on caste (work and descent)”. The guidelines also state the EU must encourage and support active participation of civil society in multilateral fora and mechanisms in relation to discrimination based on caste (work and descent).

MEPs ask EU to act to end the unjust blocking of IDSN’s UN accreditation

IDSN submits input to the UN Human Rights Commitee ahead of India review

Consultation on global action to address discrimination based on work and descent held in Senegal

US blocking of Gay McDougall for UN anti-racism committee is a major setback for the fight against racism (Minority Rights Group)

Oxfam: Caste and gender underpin employment inequality in India

Inequality in employment along caste and gender lines is a massive obstacle to alleviating poverty and inequality in India, finds the Oxfam India report ‘Mind The Gap – State of Employment in India’. The report documents striking disparities in wages and opportunities. The report also highlights the strong links between caste and gender discrimination and forced, bonded and child labour as well as hazardous work. Read the full report here >>

Ground Down by Growth:  Oppression, Discrimination and Exploitation of Adivasis and Dalits in 21st century India (Policy Brief)

This Policy Brief from the London School of Economics reports on oppression and discrimination against Dalits and Adivasis perpetuating labour exploitation and land alienation, entrenching poverty and inequality in India. This brief is based on research carried out across India by the Programme of Research on Inequality and Poverty, Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics. This research is also documented in a book released in 2018.

Pushing for progress for Dalit women in Nepal

IDSN’s member, the Feminist Dalit Organisation in Nepal (FEDO), has issued an e-bulletin with inspirational stories of their work to push for meaningful political participation of Dalit women and fight against discrimination and injustice.

Read the FEDO E-bulletin here
 

The silent death of workers in India (Equal Times)

“Looking at the labour hierarchy means looking at the caste hierarchy. You are just as unlikely to find any upper class Hindus performing manual labour as you are to find high-risk jobs not being performed by lower castes, Dalits (untouchables) or Adivasis (tribal populations),” says Gautam Mody, secretary general of the New Trade Union Initiative. Every day three workers die in the factories of India. A sewer and gutter cleaner dies every week. None of them are of high caste.

Read the article

Dalit Women in Corporate India are Being Left Behind (The Wire)

While companies are increasingly aware of the need for a 'feminist' narrative within the organisation, the corporate sector as a whole ignores the reality of caste and the effect this has on the workplace.

Read the article

From where I stand: “Local and global political and economic systems create and maintain social inequality” (UN Women article)

Article by UN Women on Durga Sob, founder of IDSN’s member organization the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO). She is among the 500 activists meeting in Tunisia from 24-26 April for the Tunis Forum on Gender Equality to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration, nearly 25 years on.

Read the full article by UN Women

Dalit women are standing up against an ancient system of discrimination

I Defend Rights interview Dalit women leaders in India, Manjula Pradeep and Asha Kowtal, who

explain and challenge the caste system that has deemed hundreds of millions of Indians untouchables.

Read the interview

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