Sanitary Workers and Social Hierarchies: A Critical Analysis of Gender and Caste in Select Short Stories of Du. Saraswati

This paper examines the intersection of caste, gender, and other marginalities to highlight the intensified sufferings of Dalit women sanitary workers, as depicted in Du. Saraswathi's select short stories. A renowned Kannada Dalit writer and activist, Saraswathi critically explores the harsh working conditions of sewer workers, manual scavengers, and sanitary labourers in urban municipalities. Unlike the class-based system in other countries, the caste system in India differs from the class divisions in other countries; by privileging some communities by positing them high in social structure, it excludes certain categories by demarking them as ‘untouchables’ and ‘polluted’. This demarcation not only positioned Dalits in lower strata of social structure, but it also forced them to do menial occupations such as drain cleaners, waste pickers, manual scavengers, swearing by hand, and cleaning away dead animals, etc.

Dalit women, subjected to multiple forms of discrimination due to their intersecting identities, face unique challenges. While most scholars have analysed labour conditions from a Marxist perspective, this paper argues for understanding the social context, employing intersectionality to uncover the deep-rooted biases in the Hindu caste system.

Keywords: Intersectionality, Sanitation, Caste and Gender