Caste minds and the fight for joy: Christina Dhanuja on Dalit women's lives and resistance

The third meeting of eShe Book Club, featuring Christina Dhanuja’s debut work Dalit Women and the Fullness of Life (Penguin India, 2026), was held online on 23 May. The book examines the intersection of caste, gender, trauma, joy, and systemic oppression as experienced by Dalit women.The discussion brought together participants from India, Nepal, the United States, Canada and Kuwait, reflecting the global resonance of the book's themes. Kamna Singh, a PhD scholar at the University of Delhi whose research focuses on the aesthetics of Dalit women's life writings, led the interview with Dhanuja.The central argument of the book – that Dalit women deserve not merely survival or basic rights, but access to the entire spectrum of human experience, desire, joy and possibility – was raised by the participants. The book and discussion also explored how Brahmanical patriarchy and capitalist systems work in tandem to concentrate power in the hands of a few, and perpetuate the oppression of Dalit women.Read the full report on eShe. Join eShe Book Club on Discord.