Key information
Research track: Track 4 – Changing the Story
Region: South Asia
Country: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
Researchers: Christina Dhanuja, Anju Singh and Debarati C.
Summary
This research investigates a historical outlook and the current state of Dalit feminist-led caste-equity work in South Asia. It interrogates country-specific challenges & barriers faced in resourcing and movement-building. The aim is to produce activist-facing and funder-facing recommendations for sustained funding and movement-building, aided by a transformational toolkit for a caste-informed resourcing ecosystem.
Advocacy Asks
- Investments in long-term, sustained social change led by Dalit feminists in South Asia.
- Call to debrahminize philanthropy that warrants a rigorous understanding of caste-based structures and anti-caste movements.
- Setting up collaborative, pooled funds at global and regional levels to circumvent caste-based, linguistic, & country-specific challenges.
Methodology
Secondary research on resourcing of global feminist movements, followed by primary research with a survey of key actors, interviews, oral history & memory work FGDs, and story circles, to capture the realities of Dalit feminist organizing and resource constraints.
