Dalit Women: Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Access in Rural India through Development

As I promised, the abstract to my paper is below:

Abstract

Dalit women in rural India are discriminated against triply because of intersectionality, the fact that they are Dalit, they are poor and they are women. This community is one of the most marginalized groups in India especially within the rural parts of India where the caste system is particularly important. These women are denied of their basic human rights: life, health and education. India does however have a reservation policy in place but being a Dalit woman is still not easy. There are also many health programs in place but with poor implementation and lack of knowledge, many Dalit women cannot access these health resources. On account of their ‘untouchability’, their health indicators are poor compared to individuals of higher caste. Previous research shows that…