JOURNEY OF WOMAN THROUGH SOCIAL HUMILIATION AND TRIALS PORTRAYED IN SELECT DALIT WRITINGS

In the auto narratives of the narrators Kishore Kale, Laxman Mane and Laxman Gaikwad, the women portrayed are from deprived descent, destitute and in miserable condition. There is immense violation of the rights of women guaranteed by the constitution and also human rights proclaimed in various international declarations and conventions promulgated by the United Nations. The narrator describes the miserable and painful condition of the oppressed caste woman under the influence of the various factors known as the established society. The dominance of a handful of people in the mainstream society is brought to the notice of the readers. They have narrated series of incidents of humiliation, exploitation and deprivation of this lower caste women. The struggle of the parents of these writers was also remarkable one and full of hard work. The experiences of demons, sacrificial goats, festivals and ceremonies are generally described in their auto narratives. In these memories many details of childhood are narrated by both the author. The struggle for education is a common aspect that is stated by the writers. Due to their extreme poverty, they go to school without uniforms and books to acquire knowledge. The women in the memoire The Branded and Against All Odds were hardworking who take up responsibilities of their families. It is a regular occurrence in this society that the people of the villages, subject to women on various issues and atrocities, indulged in sexual relations with these lower caste women by having immoral and forced relations. Lower caste girls are bought and sold like animals in the market. It is undoubtedly true that the upper caste men of the society used to oppress these deprived women. But it is also true that their own men were not protecting them, as for them their daughters were a guaranteed source of income.Uchalya received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi in 1988 and is also a winner of the National Award.
The international body does advocate for gender equality and eradication of all forms of discrimination against women. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other conventions and specifically Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979 by the General Assembly, asks its member countries to ensure safe and secure work places for women and end all sort of gender biases and discrimination. This paper attempts to look at the plight of the women portrayed in the Dalit autobiographies.