The effects of caste-based discrimination in India have been documented extensively. However, studies on the role caste plays for women, sexual minorities, and persons with disabilities have not found any voice.
Our work in the protection of disability, transgender and gender rights has made us sharply more aware of the aggravated levels of discrimination that affected individuals face due to their caste status. The existing law and policy fails to recognize the complexity of such intersectional discrimination.
Through this project, we aim to better implement the law relating to caste discrimination in the four Indian states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh through:
- Improving access to justice for marginalized communities by capacity building through lawyer networks and civil society coalitions;
- Strategic impact litigation for implementation of the existing law relating to caste discrimination that pays special attention to its intersectional context;
- Introduction of a new equality law which recognizes caste discrimination and intersectionalities of gender, disability and sexuality into the legislative process, and a new curriculum on intersectional equality in law schools.
