Empowering Marginalized Voices: Meena Kandasamy's Depiction of Dalit Women’s Lives and its Impact on Feminism and Caste Discourse

In the context of the entwined discourses of caste and feminism, this essay examines the significant influence of Meena Kandasamy’s literary works in elevating underrepresented voices, especially Dalit women. The study investigates her depiction of Dalit women as strong agents of resistance rather than helpless victims of oppression by placing her writings within the frameworks of intersectionality, postcolonial feminism and Dalit literature by examining her major works including ‘The Gypsy Goddess’, ‘When I Hit You’ and ‘Ms. Militancy’ in detail to show how she challenges Brahmanical patriarchy, critiques gendered and caste-based violence and subverts popular feminist narratives that frequently ignore caste. It also assesses her writings’ wider sociopolitical influence highlighting how she helped to create a more inclusive view of gender equality in India and reshape feminist discourse to make caste a primary axis of analysis. It also explores the difficulties and disputes surrounding her writings considering how difficult it is to accurately portray Dalit experiences in a culture that is firmly rooted in caste hierarchy. This study promotes consistent attempts to empower Dalit women via literature, activism and group action and emphasizes the critical need to incorporate marginalized viewpoints into mainstream feminist and literary discourses.