Researching with Dalit Women Activists: An Intersectional Feminist Social Work Approach

Aligning with an intersectional feminist social work approach in a simultaneity of process and praxis, this article traces and attempts to create an agenda of research that foregrounds how ‘Dalit women’s lives matter’ in feminist research and mobilization at the grassroots. Through critical and participatory engagement with Dalit women activists via the initiatives of the National Council for Women Leaders collective, this article elucidates the experiences of sexual violence faced by Dalit women in India. While framing the intersectional feminist research agenda, it centralizes Dalit Woman activists and their shared experiences on sexual violence in society through cross-case/context analysis of sexual violence against Dalit women across thirteen states in India. The article argues for an intersectional feminist social work research and practice, while working and intervening in the lives of Dalit women.