The Perpetual ‘Other’: Plight of Women Manual Scavengers

Abstract

The practice of manual scavenging has been relegated to Dalit women for centuries. This paper analyses the conditions of manual scavenging women and the different factors such as -caste, traditions, religion; which lead to their employment as manual scavengers. These women are alienated on the basis of caste, class and gender. Their subjugation is two-fold. One from outside the community- the upper castes; Second from within, that is, from their own families or men. They face violence when they try to leave this practice by the upper castes, their families and other Dalit communities, who are above them in the caste hierarchy. The paper aims to study how the intersections of caste, class and gender affect the position of these women. Women manual scavengers are the most marginalised communities, they are the Dalits amongst the Dalits.