Published Paper Details:

Recent scholarship has increasingly highlighted the significance of Dalit women's suffering within India's caste-stratified society. Dalit refers to communities historically oppressed and excluded through the caste system, resulting in deep seated social, economic, political, and religious marginalization. Dalit feminist theology interprets this oppression not as divinely ordained but as a manifestation of structural sin embedded within caste patriarchy. Within this framework, Dalit women endure intersecting forms of violence shaped by caste, class, and gender, positioning them among the most vulnerable yet resilient subjects of history. Drawing on the biblical notion of dal, the crushed and powerless, this study reframes Dalit women's suffering as a critical theological site of resistance and divine solidarity. Focusing on the Jogulamba Gadwal region, the article foregrounds Dalit women's lived realities of landlessness, labour exploitation, social stigma, and patriarchal control, while affirming their agency, survival strategies, and ongoing struggles for dignity, justice, and liberation.