Reclaiming Narratives, Reshaping Feminism: Dalit Women in Knowledge Production

Abstract

The exclusion of Dalit women from formal knowledge production has reinforced casteist and
patriarchal structures, limiting their representation in academic and activist spaces. However, as Dalit
women increasingly enter higher education and global discourse, they are actively challenging these
exclusions and reshaping feminist thought. This autoethnographic paper examines the experiences of
a first-generation Dalit woman scholar navigating the academic landscape of a European university. It
explores the systemic barriers she has encountered—from social and economic hurdles to the
emotional and intellectual labor required to access elite institutions. By tracing the scholar’s journey,
this paper interrogates the caste-based and gendered exclusions embedded within academia and
highlights the resilience required to break through these structures. In doing so, it critically examines
how Dalit women in higher education are not just participants but active agents in knowledge
production, reclaiming their narratives and asserting their epistemic authority within feminist
discourse.