‘Likha hai logon ne hamara yeh itihaas, likhna hai humko bhi hamara yeh itihaas...’ (People have written our history; we too want to write our history), sang Manisha Mashaal, activist and lawyer and founder of Swabhiman Society in Haryana, at the 17th national conference of the Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS) at Government College for Women, Vazhuthacaud, here on Thursday.
Ms. Mashaal, a powerful Dalit voice, spoke of discovering her Dalit identity first and then of a Mahadalit. The Dalit struggle was one for dignity, self-respect, and identity, and till that was achieved, their struggle would continue, she said.
She spoke of a Dalit woman’s struggle starting right from school up to university, even facing caste discrimination in buses and autos. “We know we have to fight for our rights, but how do we fight? Where is the space for that?” she said.
