Gender and Sexuality Studies

Abstract

The case of Pakistani Hindu refugee is not a typical case of forced migration. Rather, it is deeply connected with the partition of the subcontinent, highlighting the intersectionality between religion and territory. The Dalit community was relegated to the margin in the series of events during and after partition. A majority of them decided to stay back in Sindh province of Pakistan, which over the period of time resulted in further marginalisation, making the community further oppressed, because of their religious and caste identity. Deciding to migrate back to India, after having stayed, for decades, on the ‘wrong’ side of the border, the vulnerabilities and challenges have always been presented from a masculinist perspective. Consequently, neglecting the experiences that women from these community have faced in both the regions of Pakistan and India, carrying the intersectional realities of gender, religion, class, and caste identity. Women from the  community not just remained at the margin, but have been further marginalised because of their gender identity. Though migrating with the hope for a better and respectful life to India, nothing much has changed for them, in India. Rather, the nationalist identity and the label of 'refugee'  further excavates the marginalisation that they have been victims of. Based on the narratives of Pakistani Dalit Hindu refugee women, seeking refuge in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in western India, this paper attempts to explore the ambiguities and consequences that the women within the community faces, as they juggle between their caste, religion, nationality, gender and refugee identity.

Keywords: Dalit, marginalisation, refugee women, identity, caste, intersectionality

Biography

Roshni Sharma is a research scholar, who has just submitted her doctoral thesis titled ‘Refugee Women: Negotiating Womanness, Identity and Refugeehood’ to Jain (Deemed-to-be) University. She has been interested in studies related to forced migration and the intersectionality between gender and refugee identity, gender studies and qualitative research methodology.