Dalit Women : Honour and Patriarchy in South India

One of the only ethnographic studies of Dalit women, this book gives a rich account of individual Dalit women’s lives and documents a rise in patriarchy in the community. The author argues that as Dalits’ economic and political position improves, ‘honour’ becomes crucial to social status. One of the ways Dalits accrue honour is by altering patterns of women’s work, education and marriage, and by adopting dominant-caste gender practices. Simultaneously Dalits are asserting a distinct, politicised Dalit identity. Key to both,is the ‘respectability’ of women.

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One of the only ethnographic studies of Dalit women, this book gives a rich account of individual Dalit women’s lives and documents a rise in patriarchy in the community. The author argues that as Dalits’ economic and political position improves, ‘honour’ becomes crucial to social status. One of the ways Dalits accrue honour is by altering patterns of women’s work, education and marriage, and by adopting dominant-caste gender practices. But Dalits are not simply becoming like upper castes; they are simultaneously asserting a distinct, politicised Dalit identity, formed in direct opposition to the dominant castes. They are developing their own ‘politics of culture’. Key to both, the author argues, is the ‘respectability’ of women. This has significant effects on gender equality in the Dalit community.