Reading 'Protest' and the Quest for 'Self-Dignity' in the Poetry of Womanist Kalyani Thakur Charal

Abstract

The many voices of women writers today have given us the hope for an
equitable representation of women from heterogeneous backgrounds.In
the Indian context, the interplay of gender and caste consistently plays a
crucial role in shaping an individual's self-perceptions and guiding their
aspirations and life choices.Needless to iterate that caste and gender
based stratifications have not only prevented women of marginalized
communities historically from accessing education,medical
care,careers, and seeking independent existence,but have also stripped
them of their self-respect and self worth.The present paper aims to bring
a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of gender and caste based
inequalities and acts of violence endured by Dalit women in India on an
everyday basis, culminating in their objectification and victimization,
with reference to womanist poet, Kalyani Thakur Charal's poetic
assertions.