Refinery 29 UK
Dalit Women In India Are Facing A Sexual Violence Epidemic — & Fighting Back
On September 14, 2020, 19-year-old Manisha Valmiki was raped in Uttar Pradesh, a northern state in India. She had her tongue cut, and spine broken during the attack, which was allegedly conducted by four men. Fifteen days later, she died of injuries. A week after that, another 22-year-old woman in India died en route to a hospital after her mother says she was brought home by a rickshaw-wallah driver and “thrown in front of our house” while she “could barely stand or speak.” She also appeared to have been raped; like Manisha, she lived in Uttar Pradesh, and belonged to the Dalit community, which is an Indian caste considered to be in the lowest position. The following month, Manisha’s name appeared on protest signs across New Delhi, India’s capital city, and in other