We Can't Keep Quiet Women's March Geneva

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault and suicide.

For Dalit History Month, Women’s March Geneva read Coming Out as Dalit by Yashica Dutt. The memoir explores Dutt’s own personal history and the history of Dalit discrimination and activism throughout Indian history.

To gain a further understanding of issues that Dalits face, we sat down with Manjula Pradeep, an activist and founder of the Wise Act of Youth Visioning and Engagement (The WAYVE Foundation), to discuss Dalit activism, alliances between Dalit groups and other marginalized communities, tension between mainstream feminism and Dalit feminism, and how we can support their fight for equality.

Coming Out as Dalit, Yashica Dutt, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43969859-coming-out-as-dalit

WAYVE Foundation website https://www.wayve.net.in/

WAYVE Foundation Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wayvefoundation/?hl=en

4 Dalits stripped, beaten up for skinning dead cow, Pallavi Chakravorty, Times of India
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/4-dalits-stripped-beaten-up-for-skinning-dead-cow/articleshow/53184266.cms

Forced Prositution in the Name of God, Manjula Pradeep https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/user_folder/pdf/New_files/Key_Issues/Dalit_Women/Forced_prostitution_in_the_name_of_God.pdf

India’s engineers have thrived in Silicon Valley. So has its caste system., Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post https://www.inquirer.com/business/indian-caste-system-silicon-valley-microsoft-apple-oracle-facebook-20201029.html

Leave no Dalit Woman Behind, Manjula Pradeep, Smashboard, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUMtfn3gnmc [video]

Untouchability still prevalent in rural Gujarat: survey, Manus Dasgupta, The Hindu https://bit.ly/3n9jhzb

Study shows Roma descended from Indian ‘untouchables’, Nick Holdsworth, University World News https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20121207171926304

Photo by Srimathi Jayaprakash on Unsplash

On 7 March, the Swiss public voted to ban full-face coverings, in a display of shocking — but predictable — sexism and Islamophobia.

Alarmingly, the institutionalisation of Islamophobia is the rise across Europe. Religious and gender-based discrimination against Muslim women has become more commonplace as right-wing, populist sentiments sweep across Europe.

Doreen speaks to Inès El-Sheikh of the Foulards Violets, a Swiss-born, Muslim feminist with North African roots about the results of the referendum; the intersection of race, religion and gender for Muslim women in Switzerland and Europe; and what the “burqa ban” means for all of us.

Note: in the episode, Isobel and Doreen discuss the recent French Senate vote in favour of banning the burqa. The bill is not yet in effect and requires the approval of the National Assembly.

Les Foulards Violets:https://lesfoulardsviolets.org/

French Senate Votes to Ban the Hijab for Muslim Women Under the Age of 18, Hafsa Lodi, Vogue https://en.vogue.me/culture/french-senate-votes-hijab-ban/

As a French Hijabi, This is What I Think of My Country’s Controversial Hijab Ban, Hafsa Lodi, Vogue https://en.vogue.me/culture/france-hijab-ban-impact/amp/

Where Face Masks Are Required but Burqas Are Banned, Rim-Sarah Alouane, Foreign Policy https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/10/switzerland-europe-burqa-ban-referendum-coronavirus-face-masks-egerkinger-komitee/

Switzerland referendum: Voters support ban on face coverings in public, BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56314173

Week in Review: Switzerland turns its back on freedom of religion, Ian Dunt, politics.co.uk https://www.politics.co.uk/comment/2021/03/12/week-in-review-switzerland-turns-its-back-on-freedom-of-religion/?cmpredirect

Swiss voters back ban on minarets, BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8385069.stm

La Suisse adopte « l’initiative anti-burqa » d’une courte majorité, Serge Enderlin, Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/07/en-suisse-une-votation-sur-le-niqab-ne-masque-pas-la-perte-de-vitesse-de-la-droite-populiste_6072230_3210.html

She Was Disqualified for Running With a Hijab. Here’s How Noor Alexandria Abukaram Fought Back, Taylor Dutch, Runner’s World https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a35618728/noor-alexandria-abukaram-human-race/


The opinions expressed in this podcast do not reflect the position of our employers.

Photo via Unsplash

In this episode, Isobel and Doreen discuss the gender dynamic of emotional labor.

-“I Feel Like I Have Five Jobs”: Moms Navigate the Pandemic, Jessica Bennett, 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/parenting/childcare-coronavirus-moms.html?referringSource=articleShare
-You Should’ve Asked, Emma, 2017: https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/ (Français: Fallait Demander, Emma, 2017: https://emmaclit.com/2017/05/09/repartition-des-taches-hommes-femmes/)
-Emotional Labor: The MetaFilter Thread Condensed: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxpbnRlZ3JhbHdvbWVufGd4OjMwMTBhNGU5MTAxNTE1Mjg
-Swiss women continue to shoulder the burden of unpaid work, The Local, 2017:
https://www.thelocal.ch/20170714/swiss-men-doing-more-housework-gender-equality-unpaid-work-survey
-Young Men Embrace Gender Equality, but They Still Don’t Vacuum: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/upshot/gender-roles-housework.html

On today's episode, Franziska, Doreen, and Teresa discuss Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights, by Helen Lewis.

Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights, Helen Lewis, 2020: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46041151-difficult-women
You Should've Asked, Emma, 2017: https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/
Faillait demander, Emma, 2017: https://emmaclit.com/2017/05/
Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’ How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap. Claire Miller, 2019: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html
Swiss voters reject proposal to give basic income to every adult and child, Agence France-Presse in Geneva, 2016: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/05/swiss-vote-give-basic-income-every-adult-child-marxist-dream