SDG Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities

When observed from the CDWD lens, inequality and discrimination are two sides of the same coin. Historically oppressed communities such as Dalits continue to face discrimination in accessing jobs, livelihoods, and agricultural credits, said the India Discrimination Report 2022 brought out by Oxfam India.

The multiply disadvantageous Pasmanda women who embody Dalit, Muslim and subaltern discrimination has led to their discrimination in all walks of life. The category ‘Pasmanda Muslims’ refers to the most downtrodden groups who indulge in demeaning and menial occupations such as cleaning, scavenging, butchery, bangle sellers, washer-men, vegetable vendors, fishermen, potters, blacksmith, and weavers. These sections are left out of many government programmes meant for Scheduled Castes (as Dalits are referred to by officialdom in India) because of their religious identity.

In Yemen, women from the Al-Akhdam community that languishes at the bottom of Yemen’s social ladder are treated unequally even before the law. They are more likely to be detained of arbitrarily arrested for “shameful” or “immoral” acts, loosely defined as “any act that violates public discipline or public decency” under Article 273 of the country’s penal code.

The Al-Akhdam (servants) are popularly believed to be descendants of East African invaders from the sixth century are theoretically equal before the law. However, in practice people from these CDWD communities face denial of state services, verbal harassment, and attacks on their property and persons.