114 – Feminist Worldmaking: Dismantling Brahminical patriarchy as methodology and praxis

October 3, 2025
11:00 am
H07
This panel, led by Dalit women from South Asia, aims to identify, analyse, and theorise the lived experiences, narratives, and movements of South Asian women from a feminist perspective. Dalit women are positioned at the intersection of caste and patriarchy, enduring multiple layers of oppression. They are subjected to Brahmanical patriarchy, specifically public patriarchy, as detailed by literary figures such as Baby Kamble, Bama, Meenakshi Moon, and Urmila Pawar. This intersectionality means that Dalit women face discrimination in both public and private spheres, limiting their access to opportunities and marginalising their voices within mainstream knowledge production. With increasing migration, the issues faced by Dalit women and queer individuals are no longer confined to South Asia; they have become global concerns that demand international attention. The discrimination they face has migrated with them, manifesting in diasporic contexts and requiring a transnational approach to justice. This panel seeks to bring these issues into the global spotlight, challenging caste and gender oppression in both South Asian and international contexts. In recent years, Dalit women have increasingly entered higher education, challenging both caste and patriarchal structures. Shailaja Paik’s work underscores the significance of this shift, as Dalit women in academia are reclaiming their narratives, centering their experiences, and asserting their knowledge as vital to feminist theory. Their entry into formal knowledge production disrupts not only caste hierarchies but also broader structures of patriarchy, asserting the global relevance of Dalit feminist discourse. This panel brings together interdisciplinary insights from Dalit and queer women who resist oppressive frameworks, creating a more inclusive feminist discourse. It is a radical and transformative space where Dalit women's experiences are validated and centered. By addressing the global dimensions of caste and patriarchy, we aim to reshape feminist theory and praxis, challenging both local and international structures of dominance and ensuring that feminist discourse genuinely reflects the diversity and complexities of all women's lives.

Convenor

Nithya Kothenmaril

Presentations

Dalit Women’s Voices and the Politics of Feminist World-Making: Intervening in Brahminical Historiography
Srinivasa Yashashwani - School of History, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Reclaiming Narratives, Reshaping Feminism: Dalit Women in Knowledge Production
KOTHENMARIL NITHYA - Dublin City University, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
Socio-Economic and Cultural Transformations: A Study of Dalit Women’s Experiences in Kerala’s Caste Colonies (Ghettos)
k s maya - Christ college autonomous, Calicut university, thrissur, India