In India and other countries in South Asia, people have been systematically discriminated against for centuries on the basis of their work and descent. Over 200 million people are Dalits, also known as ‘untouchables’ or ‘outcasts’. They experience violence, discrimination, and social exclusion on a daily basis. While the region is prospering economically, the caste disparities are increasing. The situation of Dalit women needs special attention. Dalit women are one of the largest socially segregated groups anywhere in the world: they make up more than two percent of the world’s total population. They are discriminated against three times over: they are poor, they are women, and they are Dalits. Although both Dalit men and women suffer under the same traditional taboos, Dalit women are confronted with these more often. They are discriminated against not only by people of higher castes, but also within their own communities, where men are dominant. Consequently, Dalit women have less power within the Dalit movement itself. Although they are active in large numbers, most leadership positions in the organizations, local bodies and associations have until now been held by men. Paul Divakar, one of the founders of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), expressed the need to fight for the human rights of Dalit women: ‘The 500,000 villages in our country are pregnant with the pain and power of Dalit women. Their stories break the shroud of the inhuman violence in our society. While confronting us, they also have the power to challenge us to transform the caste and gender stereotypes, prejudice and violence that we perpetrate. In partnering their liberation we liberate ourselves.