> Skip to main content
Tag

caste discrimination

2023 Dalit and Adivasi Budget Analysis (DABA)

By India

The Dalit and Adivasi Budget Analysis (DABA) provides a thorough analysis of the Union Budget and examines the budget allocation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. In 2023, the findings were particularly concerning and newsworthy, as numerous government schemes intended to support these groups have had reduced allocations, while many general schemes are counted as part of the budget for these groups, although they are not directly targeted to them.

Contrary to the commitment to end manual scavenging, no funds were allocated for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers under the self-employment scheme, the scholarship programme for children of people engaged in manual scavenging has been dropped, and the National Safai Karmachari Finance and Development Corporation received a negligible allocation.

Safai Karamcharis Andolan on Budget Promise on Sewage System

By India

“[The] budget fails to take notice of hundreds of deaths taking place in sewers or septic tanks, all these years, whereas we at Safai Karamchari Andolan have been demonstrating on the streets daily for the last 264 days in various parts of the country, demanding to put a complete halt on deaths taking place in sewers and septic tanks. Ironically, since we started this #StopKillingUs campaign on May 11, 2022, there have been more than 50 deaths of Indian citizens inside sewers and septic tanks. But, governments are mum on that.”

Safai Karamcharis Andolan responded to the Union Budget for 2023-2024 with a press release and a video. The organisation raised the issue of the SRMS (rehabilitation scheme) being removed from the budget and merging with the ‘NAMASTE’ scheme which only allocates budget for producing sewage cleaning machines, but not for the people.

The question was raised of why the human element has been lost and how the people themselves will be supported to step out of this work.

Read more

Cover image of report on women & girl sanitation workers (smiling girls standing on back of parked truck)

Dalit Women & Girl Sanitation Workers: Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent

By India

This report, by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights provides insight into the lived realities and stories of women and girl sanitation workers in two states in India (Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra). Their voices often go unheard and their lives made invisible due to the stigma attached to their work. Based on a combination of a literature review and focus group discussions with women and girl , the report helps the reader to understand the issues and challenges of daily life from their lens, and the hurdles they face in accessing their rights and entitlements. The report also provides an analysis of existing schemes and budget allocation for sanitation workers and the gaps that must be addressed by the government and society at large.

Cover image of report on women & girl sanitation workers (smiling girls standing on back of parked truck)

 

 

Cover image of report on Gender Responsive Budgeting for Dalit Women (images of active women and girls and graphs)

Gender Responsive Budgeting for Dalit Women

By India

Gender Responsive Budgeting has emerged as critical tool for incorporating a gender perspective into India’s overall planning and budgeting. But are India’s budgets responsive to Dalit women’s needs? NCDHR analyses whether India’s budgets in 2019-2023 have been successful in reaching the most marginalised women after two decades of gender responsive budgeting. The report also proposes changes that the union government can make to make its gender responsive budgeting more inclusive of Dalit women.

Cover image of report on Gender Responsive Budgeting for Dalit Women (images of active women and girls and graphs)

Policy action needed to tackle discrimination on work and descent in contemporary forms of slavery: South Asia

By India

Modern slavery is the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of people through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation. The victim under modern slavery is, therefore, confronted with threats, violence and abuse of power. Modern slavery occurs in different situations in which a victim is severely exploited for the gain of the perpetrator, either personal or commercial. It can take various forms such as bonded labour/debt bondage, forced labour, forced child labour, sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, domestic servitude and unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers.

Discrimination based on work and descent’ (DWD) is the UN terminology for caste discrimination. It affects over 260 million people globally, it has its roots in the centuries-old caste system of India and is prevalent in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Indian diaspora, owing to shared histories, borders and people.

The briefing demonstrates the links between caste-based discrimination and forms of modern slavery in South Asia, including the practice of forced labour in the form of manual scavenging and presents recommendations for policy-makers at various levels. 

Cover page of briefing on comptemporary forms of slavery in South Asia. Image of 3 children hugging.

Communities Discriminated on Work & Descent People’s Assembly – September 2022

By Events, India

Virtual side event to the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Communities Discriminated on Work & Descent People’s Assembly builds on the in-person CDWD People’s Assembly (and its outcome declaration) which took place in June, and July’s CDWD UN strategy workshop.

The Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) organised this side event during the Global People’s Assembly in which NCDHR spoke about the Global Advocacy Plans of the global forum. 

Watch the video

Webinar – How to achieve the SDGs despite the worsening hunger and poverty crisis?

By Events, India

Side event to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the webinar was organised by the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP). The event focused on the discussion on “Building forward better” around four interlinked themes – vaccines, hunger, debt and social protection, and livelihood while discussing it in context of the achievement of the SDGs, especially SDG 5 using the gender lens.

Watch the video

Communities Discriminated on Work & Descent People’s Assembly – June 2022

By Events, India, Uncategorized

Side event to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (UN HLPF), this Communities Discriminated on Work & Descent (CDWD) People’s Assembly was facilitated by the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent, with NCDHR’s leadership.

Participants discussed achievements and obstacles regarding the rights of communities discriminated by work and descent. The forum brought together 39 CDWD rights experts, activists, and other country representatives, and had four aims:

1) to recognise the numerical strength and geographical spread of CDWD communities and the gravity of the discrimination they face;
2) to assess the level of response from individual and collective States Parties in eradicating such discrimination and violence;
3) to explore how the CDWD communities can be formally brought within the ambit of the UN Charter Bodies; and
4) to explore ways and means of generating support from the Foreign Missions

Watch the video of the meeting

Interview to Safai Karmachari Andolan’s director Bezwada Wilson

By India

On 30 March 2022, Safai Karmachari Andolan’s director Bezwada Wilson was interviewed by the Indian TV channel Mirror Now.

“People feel bad for few minutes and later everybody forgets and move on. We shouldn’t keep quite anymore.”
(Click here to watch the video)

“We have no idea whether to collect, manage or dispose the garbage. We are throwing sewage water everyday in Yamuna, without even treating it.”
(Click here to watch the video)