Saturday, April 18, 2009

We Are Not Untouchables

©Jakob Carlsen-All Rights Reserved

The International Dalit Solidarity Network's website in an attempt to publicize the still-present plight of the "untouchables", around 250 million people primarily in South Asia, but also in the Middle east and Africa, who are born into a life where they are subjected to dehumanizing practices linked to the notion of "untouchability" and caste discrimination. The so-called untouchables have chosen the name "Dalit" for themselves to signify empowerment.

According to the Indian Ministry of Welfare, two Dalits are assaulted every hour in India, three Dalit women are raped every day, and two Dalits are murdered every day.