http://www.guardian
Human rights
Mary Griffin The Guardian
Dalit access to politics and justice
Two years ago, in a landslide election, India appointed its first
Dalit woman chief minister. Ruling over Uttar Pradesh, India's largest
state, Mayawati Kumari has become an inspiration for the republic's
170 million Dalits.
In Bangladesh, however, Dalits are yet to enter the political arena
and only in the last 18 months has the country's Dalit population
begun to find its voice. A group with growing support, Bangladesh
Dalit Human Rights (BDHR), which this year convened the first national
Dalit conference, helped to establish the Dalit Women's Forum (members
of whom are pictured right), to fight for female rights and
representation.
In July, the Dalit Women's Forum and BDHR took to the streets of Dhaka
in a mass protest, claiming a lack of representation in the police
force and courts means Dalits are consistently failed by the justice
system. They demanded the arrest and trial of the four rapists of a
16-year-old Dalit girl. Parul Das was collecting water when she was
abducted, gang raped and dumped in the street.
Another public call to action came after 20-year-old Dalit cleaner
Rekha Das was beaten to death after being suspected of stealing a
mobile phone. More than 500 people protested on the streets of Panjia,
demanding justice be done. Three people have since been charged and a
court case opened in October.
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